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Updates from January, 2011 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Changing things up!
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The Off Season By Steven Cole Hughes
As residents of Creede, readers of USA Today and two or three people in Denver know all too well, Creede Repertory Theatre is a seasonal company – meaning that programming only lasts from May to September. So, what do the artisans of this 45-year-old, high-altitude theatrical juggernaut do in the “Off Season?” Let’s find out…
Artistic Director Maurice LaMee spends October through April completely submerged in a solid gold, Victorian-era claw-foot bathtub filled with ice. He refers to this as his “Theatre Deprivation Chamber.” During the season, Mo’s “theatre muscles” get overworked, and he uses the ice to bring down the swelling caused by “needy actors,” discomfort over “ticket sales” and the general aches, pains and inflammation caused by “so many damn people in town.”
Actors John Arp and Kate Berry have successfully infiltrated the Arvada Center’s defenses and are each safely ensconced in the upcoming production of A Lion in Winter, where they are gathering reconnaissance for CRT. While in rehearsals, Kate and John say things to each other like, “Wow, you handled that situation with much tact, Kate” or “that scene you have in Act II is filled with so much tact, John,” which appears to their non-CRT cast mates as gibberish, but to us “tact” stands for “Today the Arvada Center, Tomorrow the world!”
Facilities Manager Ryan Prince is, of course, in his Fortress of Solitude turning coal into diamonds with his bare hands, and working on perfecting his x-ray vision so he can see through Batman’s lead-lined cowl, because it’s just not fair that Batman knows Superman’s secret identity, but not the other way around. Am I right, people?
Actors Jessica Jackson, Diana Dresser and Adrian Egolf are in Colorado Springs ostensibly performing in Theatreworks’ Boeing Boeing, but really they’ll be going around town with CRT brochures in hand and knocking on people’s doors saying, “Good morning (if it’s breakfast time)! or good evening (if they’re interrupting someone’s dinner)! Do you know about the redemptive power of live theatre? Are you aware that CRT offers quality theatre at affordable prices? It’s not too late to save yourself! Tickets on sale now!”
Resident Playwright and actor Steven Cole Hughes is spending the winter in a secret underground dance studio in the hipster neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, working with his aerial theatre company Fight or Flight devising ways to use theatre as a weapon because, according to Hughes, the new Spiderman musical on Broadway “just hasn’t hurt enough people yet.”
When asked what she was up to this winter, longtime CRT favorite Christy Brandt said, “I want people to go see [theatre] that I make. If I knew they’d go see [plays] anyway, if I knew that I’d keep working, I’d never do another interview in my life.” Oh no, wait, sorry, that was Christian Bale talking about his role in the new film, The Fighter. Wow. Why’s he so ornery?
And finally, Operations Manager Jonathan Allsup, like Maurice LaMee, spends absolutely no time whatsoever thinking about CRT in the Off Season. He does not create from scratch an entire rehearsal schedule. There’s no way he helps create the performance calendar. He almost certainly does not spend any time hiring the production staff for the upcoming season. And he would never even consider preparing to stage-manage the first show of the new season. He just wouldn’t. He couldn’t.
Dear readers, I will now be writing a monthly blog for CRT in the Off Season, so check back here often for updates, special offers on how to get a free latte with purchase of a subscription package (we can do this, right Jonathan?), and look for Michael Bouchard’s new advice column: “You Damn Kids Get Off My Lawn!” And above all, please keep warm. As we say around here, Old Man Winter: he’s the Reason for the Off Season!
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Michael
My first column will be about “Look at the foot prints you little bastards left on my lawn!”
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Michael Bouchard
Come see your favorite CRT actors around Colorado!
All around Colorado right now you can find some of your favorite Creede Rep actors playing. Here’s the short list:
Michael Bouchard is currently playing in “Don’t Dress for Dinner” at Miners’ Alley Playhouse in Golden and will open “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley” at the Arvada Center on Feb. 3rd.
Jessica Jackson, Di Dresser and Adrian Egolf will be opening “Boeing, Boeing” on Jan. 20th at Theaterworks in Colorado Springs.
John Arp, Jake Walker and Kate Berry will be opening “The Lion in Winter” Jan. 25th at the Arvada Center in Arvada.
Make sure you don’t miss this opportunity to see your favorites around the state!
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Gary Mitchell
Boy, do I wish I lived in Colorado just so I could see all these great actors at work during the winter months. Break a leg to all!
Gary Mitchell
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Gary Mitchell is discussing. 
Michael is discussing. 
Gary Mitchell 2:39 pm on January 31, 2011 Permalink |
I could send plenty of huzzahs about CRT, but being a founding member it seems almost self-serving. It is quite difficult to avoid hyperbole about the artistic heights reached by this theatre troupe over the past 45 years. I wish I could visit every summer but it’s a long way from southeast Kansas and a long stretch on a retired professor’s pension. I NEVER regret going to Creede, though, and have kept written commentary on everything I’ve seen out there for years. Things DO just keep getting better and better… things like acting, directing, set design, play selection, costuming and lighting. Every aspect of theatre, including that most important one — entertaining an audience. Bravo! Bravo! my friends.