Nearly two decades ago a 40-year-old theatre professor was told it would never work. Nobody would drive to Garden Valley and pay money to see a show in an outdoor theatre.
And it seemed that way at first. As the Starlight Mountain Theatre sprang up out of the pines near Crouch in the spring of 2000, players performed before crowds of less than a dozen people during that first month.
"We opened with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat," said Ed Davis, founder of the theatre.
The theatre was his dream, and he literally built the place himself.
"My father and I, and one of my actors," remembered Davis.
That first year Davis' vision rarely veered too far into the future. Now, it's hard to imagine this plot of land along the Payette River without a summer performance.
"Oh, I love it," said Michelle Davis, actress and musical director. "There's a reason that I keep coming back."
And as they set the stage for their 17th season, it's almost like starting over.
"It was like a rebirth, you know, this is your second chance," said Davis.
Before last season Davis sold the theatre for financial reasons. The new owners lasted less than a year.
In November, Davis was given the theatre back, but without a bank account. He said his options were slim. So Davis called his kids.
"I said, 'You know, I'm getting too old, I can't do this by myself and what do you want to do, should we just shut it down?'" remembered Davis.
Not only did Davis' son, Skye, say no, he moved back from Utah with his wife and two young children.
"It wasn't as difficult as it sounds," said Skye. "Starlight has always had my heart."
However, desire doesn't always pay the bills. After borrowing about $32,000 to pay for royalties, they started a GoFundMe campaign to try to raise the rest of the $75,000 they would need to make it through the season.
"They started at zero, and I saw it at zero, and it stayed zero for a long time, didn't it?" said long-time Starlight veteran Rob Fields.
But soon the donations came in and began moving the meter. And Davis' emotions.
"When something means something to you and someone gives, it's very rewarding," said Davis. "You feel great about stuff you've done and that people care about it."
In summer stock theatre actors are required to act, sing, and swing a hammer.
"You better be a Jack-of-all-trades and a master-of-many, as my wife says," said Fields.
So building a show from the bottom, with little budget, is not new to these Starlight players.
"Everybody has to do something and it just kind of depends on what you're good at, what you can contribute," added Michelle Davis.
This season, though, those contributions carry a little more equity.
"It's theirs as much as mine, you know it's kind of fun to see," said Davis.
It can be kind of cliche to focus on the familial feel of the theatre. Not here.
What started as one man's dream has since become rooted in three generations.
"Whether we make this a success or we all fall on our faces and it fails," said Skye Davis. "It's important for me for my kids to see that I did everything that I could to make my dreams come true."
Starlight Mountain Theatre's season opens this Saturday with a performance of "Fiddler On the Roof."
Ed Davis, who has directed every show but two in the past 17 seasons, will play a part in this production, the first acting role in a long time for him. So, he said, he will have one more reason reason to be nervous.