'A very easy choice': Benji Cosgrove steps in as new Myrna Loy director (2024)

Some new executive directors might raise an eyebrow – or even two – if they were greeted at their new job by a flooding ice machine and a large pool of water spreading across the floor.

Not so for Benji Cosgrove, the new executive director of The Myrna Loy.

He didn’t bat an eye.

Instead, he figured out which filter was the problem and fixed it.

But he’ll be doing a lot more than troubleshooting ice machine problems as the new director, starting Nov. 30.

A welcoming reception for him is from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, at The Myrna Loy, right before a 7:30 concert by the Alaskan Inuit-soul band, Pamyua.

A film lover and part-time screenwriter, Cosgrove has managed the Myrna box office and theater since 2015.

Prior to that he worked a stint as technical director when Ed Noonan was executive director.

“There’s nobody who knows The Myrna Loy better inside and out, from the mechanics of the building, to the operations, to the finances, to the big vision and dream,” said Krys Holmes, who is stepping down as executive director to take over directing the Montana Arts Council.

“He’s been there alongside me through my entire journey at The Myrna Loy, and is so much the brains behind so many things that happen here that he doesn’t get or take credit for.

“He was always there for the real work of transforming The Myrna. We’ve done so much together."

“Leadership transition is a perilous time for an organization,” she said. “You want exactly the right person – ideally a person who is already doing the work and doesn’t have a huge learning curve … to learn the organization or the community.

“This is The Myrna’s dream come true as far as a transition.

“This definitely, most definitely, is not a case of Benji filling my shoes. The magic here is he will fill his own shoes, which will be a tremendous gift to The Myrna Loy.

“During COVID we just locked arms. It was a tough time. We just worked really hard to come up with things we could do.

“It was really a time of creativity and innovation and stepping back and seeing what is the most important thing our community needs right now,” she said.

“It was actually a very easy choice,” said Myrna board chairman Kirby Lambert of hiring Benji.

“He’s worked so closely with Krys for as long as she’s been director. It was a combination of his experience, his enthusiasm and his love for The Myrna.

“He has a good working relationship with the current staff and we did not want to lose that.

"Benji’s from Helena, so he knows the community and the community knows him.

“The board is excited to be working with him."

“A lot of the positive aspects Krys and Benji created will move forward,” he said, but Benji will bring a different sort of creativity to the work.

Arnie Malina, the founder and guiding creative spirit of The Myrna Loy, greeted the news of Cosgrove’s hire with enthusiasm.

“Passing the torch from Krys to Benji is magical,” he wrote in an email. “ I thank Krys for helping to evolve this magic!!”

Behind the magic are the daily nuts and bolts of fixing ice machines, maintaining the historic 1894 jail building that is The Myrna’s home, and booking the programs that bring internationally acclaimed artists to the stage and award-winning indie films to the screen.

Together Holmes and Cosgrove weathered COVID and rose to the occasion – keeping the staff intact, offering film showings to small audiences, installing a state-of-the art heating, air-conditioning and air purification system and launching a popular Soundstage program presenting live and streamed concerts by Montana musicians.

Theaters are still recovering from COVID, said Cosgrove.

The film audience is still down 30-35% because the audience taught itself how to stream movies at home.

However, The Myrna has offered some great films and programming to entice folks back in the door.

One of the most successful film events was a 2021 premiere of “Power of the Dog,” complete with a personal video message from mega-star Benedict Cumberbatch plus in-person talks by some of the Montanans behind the scenes who helped make the film a success.

It packed the theater.

Coming soon is an award-winning film, “Native Ball: Legacy of a Trailblazer,” about Blackfeet athlete Malia Kipp, who played Division I ball with the Lady Griz.

The Helena premiere is Nov. 16, with special guests and a talk-back session.

It seems only fitting that The Myrna Loy, which was founded by a film lover, is back in the hands of a film lover, noted Krys Holmes.

Cosgrove has been attracted to the arts much of his life, active in Grandstreet Theatre in his youth and working as stage manager of Brewery Follies at Virginia City from 1999-2001.

The arts may very well be a strong part of his genetic code.

His sister is a documentary filmmaker and his brother a set designer with The Met in New York City.

He was drawn to the Media Arts program at the University of Montana, where he learned he loved writing scripts and filmmaking.

In 2015, Cosgrove and his good friend Corey Palmer had one of their scripts premiere in a film in Brazil.

The working title was “Deadbeat Dad,” but transformed in Brazil to Superdad or ”Superpai.”

He realizes for the next year, he may have to set screenwriting aside while he steps into his new role at The Myrna.

He plans to continue what The Myrna Loy does so well – its unique arts programming, its partnerships with the Rodney Street neighborhood and cultural partners and, continue to be “the living room of Helena.”

“If you haven’t come to a live show at The Myrna, you’re missing a lot,” he said.

“It’s not highbrow. It’s not stuffy. There are international artists who are awesome and movies that are award-winning. There are great movies here.”

And Cosgrove urges folks to check out The Pub.

“It’s fun. It’s vital. There’s energy here," he said.

“If you’re not swinging into The Myrna, you’re missing out on a lively cultural aspect of Helena.”