Darrel Fickbohm has studied theater, English literature, and philosophy in the Midwest and is committed to exploring dramatic themes of the Dakotas through acting, writing, and directing. In recent years he has come to specialize in dramatic narration for classical music settings. He has been in such productions as: The Soldier’s Tale, Peer Gynt, The Fiddler’s Tale, Sleeping Beauty, Arabian Nights, and A Christmas Carol.  He has portrayed Mark Twain, Icabod Crane, Hans Christian Andersen, Don Quixote and many others in partnership with both large and small classical music ensembles. 

The “Community Voices: South Dakotans in Military Service” program, in which music and words take equal part on the stage, forms much of what he has done in the last few years. Tonight’s program is on the larger theme of South Dakota’s military people but is a continuation of the Music & Memoirs project that he has done with the SDSO since 2015, also with Avera Health and with private supporters even before that. Helping people tell their stories and spotlighting them in this way has become a special passion. Darrel has brought over fifty different personal stories to audiences on this stage and others throughout the years.

Originally from Sioux City, Iowa, Darrel now lives in Sioux Falls, with his wife and daughter.