Pat and Jim Hansen are the reason that New Village Arts is in Carlsbad. They invited me to their home when they heard we were considering starting a new company and shared all the things that made Carlsbad perfect for us. Pat was in the very first performance we ever did, the playreading series FourPlay at the Carlsbad High School’s Cultural Arts Center. She was one of our first Board Members, a costume designer, props designer, greeter, and all around supporter. Jim was in the front row of every show and ready to have deep, spirited debates about every play. They were always together and shared their love of theatre, their family, and each other with all of us fortunate enough to know them. They were also the founders of the Carlsbad Playreaders and brought so much joy, thought, and entertainment to our community.
They headed off into “the undiscovered country” within a few weeks of each other. Jim flew off on July 19th at 92 years of age and Pat joined him on August 4th at 90. We will miss them both so very much, but feel so happy that we got to share some of our journey with them. Flights of angels, my friends.
– Kristianne Kurner, Founder and Executive Artistic Director
