From growing up in Chinook on Montana’s Hi-Line to founding Montana Actors Theater, teaching high school theater, raising a family, and now preparing to take his original play The Harvest all the way to New York City — Jay Pyette has lived and breathed theater for decades.

In this episode of Bear With Us, hosts Julea and Sara sit down with Jay to talk about:

• His small-town roots and how the Hi-Line shaped his work ethic
• The early days of starting Montana Actors Theater with little more than optimism and borrowed lumber
• His years teaching and building a thriving high school theater program
• How MAT grew into a cornerstone of community life in Havre
• The journey of The Harvest from local production to off-Broadway in New York

Along the way, Jay shares stories of risk-taking, resilience, and why theater matters so much to rural communities.