Just one more day until Cirque Dreams: Illumination opens in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House!   Here’s a preview of the show, which promises phenomenol thrills of disbelief to audiences of all ages:

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We’re getting pumped about the first performance of Othello on Friday!  For today’s “YouTube Tuesday” we’re featuring videos of Othello costume designer Bill Black.  In this video, Bill explains his approach to costuming the title character:

Did you know that this production of Othello is set at the turn of the 20th century? Here, Bill explains the costuming differences between setting the play in this time era and setting it in the traditional Renaissance era:

For more about Othello, see Meghan Wolf’s posts about rehearsing for the role of Desdemona or visit our official website.

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The Denver Center Theatre Company’s 2010/11 Season was announced yesterday!  Artistic Director Kent Thompson summarizes the season in this video:

 

Here are the plays on the new season:

 

Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps
Adapted by Patrick Barlow
From the novel by John Buchan
From the movie of Alfred Hitchcock
Original concept by Nobby Dimon and Simon Corble
Sept 10-Nov 14 | Ricketson Theatre
    

 

Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits
By Caridad Svich
Based on the novel by Isabel Allende
Sept 17-Oct 23 | Space Theatre
View an interview with the playwright
Contains adult language and situations.

 

Bram Stoker’s Dracula
By Charles Morey
From the novel by Bram Stoker
Oct 1-30 | Stage Theatre
    

 

Reckless
By Craig Lucas
Nov 12-Dec 18 | Space Theatre

World Premiere
Map of Heaven
By Michele Lowe
Jan 14-Feb 26 | Ricketson Theatre
View an interview with the playwright
    

 

World Premiere
The Catch
By Ken Weitzman
Jan 21-Feb 26 | Space Theatre
View an interview with the playwright

 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
By William Shakespeare
Jan 28-Feb 26 | Stage Theatre
    

 

Limited Engagement!
Traces
Created by The 7 Fingers
March 11-May 15 | Stage Theatre

 

Winner! 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Ruined
By Lynn Nottage
March 18-April 30 | Ricketson Theatre
Contains adult language and situations.
    

 

Superior Donuts
By Tracy Letts
April 1-May 7 | Space Theatre

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By Meghan Wolf, actress playing Desdemona in Othello, Denver Center Theatre Company

 

This week I have been exploring Desdemona’s innocence and purity, which appears as fairly extreme to our modern, feminist sensibilities. At the turn of the century, even more than when the play was written, women were exceedingly obedient, so all of my modern impulses to stand up for myself are not appropriate here. Instead, we are focusing on the intention of being loving toward Othello, through and despite his mistreatment of Desdemona. The thinking is that the more Desdemona loves Othello, the more devastating the disintegration of their love will be.

 

It is very counter-intuitive to literally turn the other cheek; I want to fight back! But I am enjoying investigating these unfamiliar choices and foreign states of mind. One of the reasons I became an actor was to fathom the endless variety with which individuals experience and interface with reality. To do so in a way very different from my own is a valuable learning experience.

 

The questions I’m asking now concern Desdemona’s relationship with her innocence and purity: “Does she feel and suppress the impulse to fight back? Is she aware of the cultural attractiveness of purity in women and if so, does she consciously (or sub-consciously) utilize it to please her husband?” My actor’s instincts tell me that any awareness of innocence would undermine it…but it’s an interesting question.

 

Part of my training taught me to marry my actor’s inner experience with what the character is going through moment to moment. For example: if a moment in the play makes the actor feel self-conscious, then in that moment, the character feels self-conscious too. If the character’s behavior or words in that same moment happen to convey a contradictory state (say, self-assured), then the actor can play that the character is trying to appear self-assured through the presenting feelings of self-consciousness. It may sound like a fractured cerebral process but it is actually pretty intuitive and, when it works, can produce a satisfying seamlessness between actor and character states.

 

On a technical note, I am working against a contraindicated physical reaction right now as well, specifically in the final scene of the play. When playing the recipient of death by smothering, the impulse is to stop breathing. But holding my breath throughout the choking would result in gasping for air once I am finally ‘dead’…which would kind of kill that illusion. Remembering to keep breathing while playing suffocation like is like patting your head and rubbing your stomach! I will have to practice this a lot.

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For today’s YouTube Tuesday, Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman talk about how they created the world premiere musical, Mama Hated Deisels, a rambunctious musical portrait of America’s long-distance truckers.  The first preview performance, which is also the $10 Student Night, is on Friday! 

 

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This weekend we will be at the Denver Dance Festival promoting In the Heights, which will play The Buell Theatre April 28-May 9. The Denver Dance Festival is a three-day dance festival held annually in Denver featuring live performances from some of Denver’s best dance talent. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to reach out to a community that may not know that not all musicals are jazz hands and kick lines. 

 

In The Heights tells the story of a vibrant community in Manhattan’s Washington Heights – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

 

Propelled by the rhythms of hip hop and Latin music – uncommon sounds in musical theatre – In The Heights ’ invigorating beat belies a musical steeped in Broadway tradition.  Plus it won four Tony Awards in 2008 for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Orchestration and, more importantly for this weekend, BEST CHOREOGRAPHY! Catch a glimpse of the dancing in this video of the song “96,000″:

 

We took some time to chat with Denver Dance Festival’s creators and directors Sarah Schachterle and Ken Jiminez about the Denver Dance Festival (DDF) and how it connects with In The Heights.

 

Denver Center: What made you start DDF?

 

Sarah & Ken: We wanted to display the talent of Colorado choreographers and dance companies and give them an avenue to unite with other artists and expose the greater community to the abundance of talent in the area. We wanted to gain recognition and popularity in dance within Colorado and to be known throughout the country as an up and coming prestigious dance festival offering a world-class dance experience. We wanted to include the most accomplished local and national dance talent in the festival, exposing the Colorado community to an even greater dimension of dance entertainment.

 

DC: Exposing them to a greater dimension of dance entertainment, that’s great and much like what we are trying to do with In The Heights! Tell us about some of the crews and companies performing.

 

S&K: We have everything from breakdancing to swingdancers. A couple of our groups were accepted on  MTV’s hit show “America’s Best Dance Crew” and we have guest performers from New York City whose main performer and choreographer, “Stretch,” has choreographed for Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and won awards for his choreography for Will Smith. In addition to these acts there is Salsa dancing, jazz, contemporary, and more. There will definitely be something for everyone.

 

DC: Many people don’t know how rich with culture the dance scene is here in Colorado. What would you say to help educate folks about it?

 

S&K: We would say to look into it! There is more than meets the eye. These days there are countless ways to get information…take the time to look it up. You will be amazed at all the culture Denver has to offer – a hint – some of the most interesting things are somewhat “underground” and spend their time and energy on product not advertising or decorating, so you may need to do some digging!

Here’s a video preview of the Denver Dance Festival:

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By Meghan Wolf, actress playing Desdemona in Othello, Denver Center Theatre Company

 

Well, the fun and games are over…on to death.

 

It’s one thing to read the scenes around the table and yet another to embody them. The former is a more theoretical process, closer to story-telling, and the latter is much more personal, like actually living it! This is part of why I love acting – it is a privilege to get to shoot back in time to another era and take on the spirit of another life, let her live (and die) through me…it is thrilling. But it is also sad. To fight for one’s life and love and, ultimately lose..? This is part of the journey and it is a journey I am excited for. However, it is necessarily heart-breaking. If I don’t break my heart every night in this show, I am not doing the story justice.

 

So, I bought myself flowers, chocolate and wine this week. I know no better remedies for a broken heart…

 

In my off-time, I’ve been exploring downtown with my little dog, Lilly. This week we have been reveling in this incredibly beautiful weather (and I’ve been reveling in the chance to rub it in to my poor snow-bound friends back in NYC).

 

I am still getting used to living closer to the sun – learning how not to burn rice at a mile high, taking it slow in yoga class.

 

I’ve started reading a massive tomb called Victorian Women, which is adding to my imaginative fodder for the life of the corseted lady. (Did I mention that our Othello is set at the turn of the century?) From the chapter entitled “Forming the lady: Comportment and dress for young women” comes this advice: “The gait of a woman should be neither too fast nor too slow….Her expression must be sweet and modest. It is not in good taste for a woman to speak with too much animation or too loudly….” I, of course will need to balance these restraints with the demands of a theatrical production. I must be heard, after all, and some animation will be required so as not to bore my audience to death! This is a delicious challenge. Part of the actor’s task is to absorb the given circumstances of the world of the play and then balance verisimilitude therein with the presentation of that world to an audience. Luckily, I have help – my director will keep a sharp eye on this balance with me.

 

Today is the day I will don my rehearsal corset. We are working a bit of violence this afternoon and I must get accustomed to falling to my knees within its bony grasp..!
 

It will be a perpetual Valentine’s Day for me until further notice. You may send flowers, chocolate, or wine to me at the theatre and thanks in advance.

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Bryce Baldwin grew up taking classes at the Denver Center Theatre Academy and performed in the DCTC’s mainstage productions of A Christmas Carol and Richard III. He is now performing as “Michael Banks” in the national Broadway tour of Mary Poppins, produced by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh. We caught up with Bryce at his farm in Thorton, Colorado before he began his seven-month tour:

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By Heidi Bosk, DCPA employee

 

My first Broadway show was Phantom of the Opera. I was probably no more than 10 or 11 years old and I went with my dad who remains to be my theatre “date” after more than a decade later. Coming down to the Denver Performing Arts Complex was a REALLY big deal for me as a little patron, which is why Kids Night on Broadway is such a fantastic program.

 

Let me introduce myself. My name is Heidi and, in addition to other activities I coordinate around The Denver Center, I plan our local efforts for Kids Night on Broadway (aka KNOB). One of the best parts of my job hands down!  So what is KNOB? It is a national audience development program of The Broadway League that basically excites little patrons (kids under 18 years old) and brings families together at the theatre. On a local level here in Denver we take the family friendly touring shows and create a one night event with activities and discounts.  It just so happens we have two coming up!

 

You may already know but the world’s most famous nanny is here in Denver and, with the help of KOSI 101, we are having Kids Night On Broadway for the March 10 performance of Mary Poppins. People that purchase a full price adult ticket can get a child’s ticket for free. There will be activities in the Buell lobby from 6-7:30pm including autograph signing by the actors playing Jane and Michael Banks from 6-6:20pm, coloring, photos by McBoat Photography with official Mary Poppins umbrellas, Hammond’s Candies and official Kids Night On Broadway giveaways. Plus you can take your ticket into Rock Bottom downtown where kids eat free with the purchase of an entrée.

 

The other KNOB evening is  April 1 for Cirque Dreams Illumination where kids will have the opportunity to meet members of the Broadway tour, learn and participate in skills, costumes, tricks, activities and some of the fun acrobatic antics for which Cirque Dreams is world renowned.

 

These events give families an opportunity to have fun at the theatre at an affordable price, which in turn takes those little patrons into lifelong theatre fans. Much like the spirit of Mary Poppins, it gets families out and doing activities together at the theatre. And that is why it is one of the best parts of my job. 

 

Oh, and if you are wondering how to get in on these events… for Mary Poppins you can use the promo code KNOB and for Cirque Dreams Illumination you can use the code KNOBDREAMS. Now I am off to the show, with my family of course. Hope to see you there!

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Mary Poppins is here!  In preparation for the first performance tonight, we thought we’d share some pictures from the load-in on Wednesday:

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