5 Questions: Toni Tresca, Bucket List Editor and Arts Reporter

As we head into the #newsCOneeds fundraiser from November 1 through December 31, we want to give you the chance to get to know the people behind Bucket List Community Cafe. More than 60 local news organizations across the state are participating in this campaign to strengthen community journalism, and we’re proud to be one of them. 

For this week’s 5 Questions, publisher Vicky Collins turned the tables on me, editor Toni (Anthony) Tresca, asking about my journey into journalism, what I’ve learned along the way and why I believe so deeply in the power of local news. From my early days in small-town Texas to finding my voice covering Colorado’s arts and culture scene, my story is really about showing up and doing the work, which is the same thing I encourage our interns and young reporters to do every day.

Here’s my conversation with Vicky, a look at how I got here, what drives me now and why community-centered storytelling is at the heart of everything we do at Bucket List.

You are from Mineola, Texas, a small town between Dallas and Shreveport, and then you moved to San Antonio for a time. What was it like for you in Texas, and why did you come to Colorado?  

Growing up in Mineola, a small East Texas town of about 4,500 people at the time, was definitely a formative experience. It was small enough that everyone knew your name, but big enough to get into plenty of trouble. The piney woods that surrounded much of the area were beautiful, and there were plenty of opportunities to get involved. I was that kid who said “yes” to everything, so I was able to become active in the East Texas arts and culture scene from a young age, which may sound like an oxymoron, but there’s more of it than you’d think.

I acted regularly at the Lake Country Playhouse and Historic Select Theater, played percussion in the community symphonic band starting in seventh grade, did my school’s marching band and concert band all through high school and participated in Speech & Debate competitions. I had great teachers and mentors who encouraged me, like the Lake Country Symphonic Band’s director Mike Holbrook and my theater teacher Terri Dievendorf, and they made a huge difference.

That being said, Mineola was not a place I could see myself settling down in. The politics in the area were very conservative, and there was little in the way of professional arts and culture. So when I graduated high school in 2018, I left for San Antonio to attend Trinity University on a theater scholarship. There I acted, did improv and co-founded a nonprofit called New Works SA that’s still running today. Once the pandemic hit in 2020 and Zoom classes were in full swing, I did everything possible to get out ASAP and graduated early. 

By then, I knew San Antonio also wasn’t the long-term fit, and I wanted to be in a city where arts and culture were truly growing. New York was on the list, but it didn’t feel alive in the immediate post-pandemic moment. When I came to Colorado, I felt something different: an arts and culture scene that wasn’t at New York’s level but had lots of room for opportunity. So I came to Boulder, did a dual MBA/MA in theater and stumbled my way into journalism.

You spent some time working in politics. What did you like or dislike about that, and what made you pivot to journalism?

Politics was my first real professional world. I volunteered locally in Wood County Democratic Party events, then on Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 Senate campaign, which was electric even though he lost. When I moved to San Antonio, I interned for Congressman Lloyd Doggett, which was incredibly eye-opening. Doggett’s a good man, but I realized quickly that much of the job in Congress is telling constituents what couldn’t be done, and that was frustrating.

After COVID, I shifted into organizing roles with groups like MOVE Texas. But as someone on the left in Texas, I knew I’d be spending a lot of time losing, and I was at a point in my life where I wanted to create opportunities, not just be told “no.” I thought I’d move to Colorado and do that in the arts management world, but that’s when journalism entered the picture.

When I first moved to Colorado in 2022, I was attending as many events as possible to try to get acquainted with the scene and was bewildered by why the abundance of arts and culture activities across the state weren’t getting covered. I started pitching arts stories after noticing gaps in coverage, and editors like Patty Calhoun and Emily Ferguson at Denver Westword, Alex Miller at OnStage Colorado and Jezy Gray at Boulder Weekly gave me early opportunities.

That was my crash course. I never studied journalism formally; I learned by working with editors, writing, revising and slowly taking on bigger stories. Journalism was a pivot that let me use my skills to tell stories and actually see impact.

You specialize in arts and culture reporting. What led you down that particular path, and what does it take to be good on that beat?  

Honestly, it happened by accident. I’d been disappointed in the lack of theater coverage here, so I pitched myself. There were some great voices here—John Moore, Lisa Kennedy, Alex Miller, John Wenzel, Eden Lane — but there weren’t many critics consistently covering theater, which I’m passionate about. That gap became my entry point.

What it takes to be good in this space isn’t that different from other beats: you have to be curious. If you can’t find what’s interesting about a story, you probably shouldn’t write it. Arts reporting isn’t about assuming people already care; it’s about showing them why they should. That means writing for a general audience, not just insiders, which can sometimes mean writing negative reviews about groups you adore. 

Arts journalism can get sticky because you build relationships in the community, and then you have to critique those same people. But sugarcoating doesn’t serve anyone. I’m not doing artists or audiences any favors by writing puff. My job as a culture critic/reporter is to connect the dots, to highlight why a piece is important or why it falls short, for the benefit of the reader who may spend time and money on a performance.

How does Denver stack up in the arts and culture landscape, and when you’re not reporting on it, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Denver has an impressive diversity of arts and culture options, but it doesn’t have a single industry that defines the area the way other cities do, like theater in New York, improv in Chicago or contemporary art in Santa Fe. For a time, it appeared that Denver could become the national center of immersive performance, but the DCPA’s recent announcement that Off-Center would no longer produce original immersive work makes this more difficult. Instead, the city’s strength is in its variety and its collaborative energy.

The music scene is especially robust, with venues at every level: hi-dive and HQ for intimate shows, the Bluebird and Summit for mid-sized acts and Ball Arena and Red Rocks for the big names. On the visual arts side, Santa Fe’s Art District is thriving with galleries that range from experimental to established. Theater here is vibrant, too. You’ve got the big institutions like DCPA and Arvada Center, but also scrappier, inventive companies like Buntport and Theatre Artibus. That mix of traditional and experimental work keeps things healthy and exciting

Dance is strongest at the top; Colorado Ballet and Wonderbound do incredible work, though the rest of the scene can feel more fragmented, made up of smaller, passionate companies trying different things. What I love most, though, is the collaborative spirit. Denver isn’t New York, where a million shows compete every night. Here, there’s still a “rising tide lifts all ships” mentality, where people are rooting for one another, and that’s part of what makes it such a rewarding city to cover.

As for free time, I’m a voracious reader (nonfiction and horror novels are my staples), and I see multiple movies a week using my AMC A-List pass. I like low-stakes outdoor time, so you’ll find me walking more often than hiking. I’m also a big Nintendo Switch fan (Mario Kart is my go-to), and I love spending time with friends, exploring restaurants and just being part of the community I write about.

You are spending a lot of time working with young journalists at Bucket List Community Cafe. What do you hope they take away from the experience that you wish you knew then?

Mentoring young journalists is honestly one of my favorite parts of this job. Watching someone arrive unsure of themselves and then grow into a confident reporter who produces meaningful stories, and then often lands jobs beyond Bucket List, is incredibly rewarding.

What I hope they take away is that the best way to learn is by doing. Reporting is scary at first: you have to show up, talk to strangers, ask questions and put your name on a story. But once you do, you realize how powerful it is. Our interns have tackled everything from pedestrian safety to surveillance tech to niche arts events, and they’ve produced really strong work.

I want them to see that journalism isn’t about waiting for permission. It’s about showing up and doing the thing. Lots of people talk about it, but the ones who actually do it, by making the hard calls, writing the drafts and going to the meetings, are the ones who will go far. 

That’s why Bucket List matters. We’re one of the few places in Colorado giving students and recent graduates the chance to get hands-on reporting experience in their own communities. By supporting Bucket List, you are investing in the next generation of journalists who are learning how to serve their neighborhoods.