By Suzanne Blandon, Publicist for the National Theatre Conservatory

Scott McLean as Tartuffe and Rebecca Martin as Elmire (Photo by Eric Laurits)

Generally, as a publicist, my job is to get other people in the spotlight. But sometimes they are just a little busy. Case in point — our National Theatre Conservatory Class of 2010. So, I thought I’d take a moment to share why they are so great as well as why you should see them on stage.

Our National Theatre Conservatory is a three-year graduate acting program here at The Denver Center. Each class performs alongside our professional Denver Center Theatre Company. You likely have seen some of this year’s graduating class in productions including The Voysey Inheritance, A Raisin in the Sun, Well, A Christmas Carol, Eventide and When Tang Met Laika.

Their “final exam,” if you will, is a public performance of not one but TWO plays performed in repertory. And, when rehearsals started up for these two plays, they were actually performing in two more plays — Eventide and When Tang Met Laika. And did I mention that they still have a class or two going on at the same time?

So, they basically knew four plays — that’s roughly 80,000 words of text — and rehearsed and/or performed a minimum of 10 hours a day six days a week. I’m tired just thinking about it!

But here’s the payoff. The first of their two public performances — Hamlet — is sold out. The second performance is Tartuffe. Sure there are still tickets available, but for how long? Hard to say.

They perform both plays back to back in the intimate Conservatory Theatre (just 185 seats) through April 24, which also is GRADUATION! So what’s next for these MFA students? Well, they rehearse a “Showcase” performance that they take to the Big Apple and perform in front of agents, directors, casting directors, alumni, etc. Then they are off — living large, enjoying life, landing that dream job.

My hint? Grab a ticket to Tartuffe so you can say “I knew them when…”

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