On Friday, Jan. 27, The Lake Dillon Theatre Co. announced it was changing its name to Theatre SilCo. 

According to the theater’s website, the idea for the name change came when the organization had to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The staff started to research what it would look like if it changed its name and brand. 

“Working with the Cincinnati-based firm LPK, it became abundantly clear that although the (theater) had a strong brand with its friends and patrons, our brand in the community wasn’t nearly as strong,” its website states. 

In a digital letter, producing artistic director Chris Alleman explained that “overwhelmingly, we heard that even after over 25 years in the community, there was confusion regarding what we’re all about.”

Alleman said this feedback wasn’t just from second-home owners and visitors but also from longtime locals.

According to the theater’s website, the new name is both is a love letter to Silverthorne and the “fresh bold rebirth of an organization that is embedded in the community with our programming and outreach.” 

The theater initially got its start on March 10, 1993, and the organization was first named The Lake Dillon Foundation for the Performing Arts. Two years later, it merged with the Black Coffee Theatre and changed its name to The Lake Dillon Theatre Co.