Theatre news of the week: DCPA launches Recovery Fund

DCPA PUBLICLY ANNOUNCES $4 MILLION RECOVERY FUND

A series of concerts from New York will offer relief to nearly two dozen arts organizations across the country including the Denver Center. From left: Patti Lupone, Laura Benanti and Vanessa Williams.

'The loss continues to be devastating' for the region's leading performing-arts center

By John Moore, Senior Arts Journalist

In response to staggering losses since the COVID shutdown, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts has publicly announced its $4 million Recovery Fund.

This year, as a result of COVID-19, the DCPA has canceled 32 shows, furloughed 130 employees and lost tens of millions of dollars in potential revenue. “The loss continues to be devastating, and it’s only through your help that we will be able to resume programming,” the DCPA said in an email yesterday.

The Recovery Fund has three intentions: To aid in the Denver Center’s return to the stage; to cover health-insurance premiums for furloughed employees through December; and for the continued transition of the DCPA’s education programs online.

Essay: The Aurora Fox on Opening Night: Did it feel safe?

Last month the Aurora Fox, located two blocks east of Vintage, became the first major metro theatre company to open with a full indoor run. Its musical revue “Tomfoolery” closes Sunday despite the new positive COVID test.

“Everyone who appears on stage or interacts with the public at the Aurora Fox is tested for the coronavirus weekly – whether or not they have symptoms associated with the virus,” said Marketing Specialist Steven J. Burge. “Anyone who interacts with audiences, or appears onstage or backstage this weekend for the closing weekend of ‘Tomfoolery’ will have tested negative for COVID this week.”

Vintage, however, is taking several safety precautions beyond what the Fox has been enforcing over the past month. “We will be taking your temperature before you enter, and anyone with a temperature over 100.4 will not be allowed in the building,” said Vintage Theatre Executive Director Craig Bond, who also has installed new HEPA filters in the theatre's HVAC system. And a cleaning company will come in after every performance to disinfect the theatre, lobby, bar area and restrooms.

"With the precautions that we have taken, I really feel like it's safe," said Bond, who is limiting capacity to 35 in his 150-seat mainstage theatre and reports a competely sold-out opening weekend. "I feel good about it because our people feel good about it. They want this." Information: 303-839-1361 or vintagetheatre.com.

DCPA partnering up for Broadway concerts

The Denver Center is moving forward with virtual fall programming in large part through partnerships. For example, the DCPA is one of 20 major nonprofit arts organizations offering access to a three-part virtual concert series called “Live from the West Side: Women of Broadway,” featuring two-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone on October 24, Tony Award winner Laura Benanti on November 14, and actor/recording star Vanessa Williams on December 5.

Each concert will be presented in high-definition from The Shubert Virtual Studios on Manhattan’s West Side. Each will feature a mix of Broadway showtunes, pop songs and personal stories from each headliner. At-home audience members will be invited to email questions, some of which will be answered in real time during the livestream.

Read more: Arvada Center pivoting to radio plays for the fall

An Equity first in Colorado Springs

House Arrest TheatreWorks Colorado Springs’ TheatreWorks has become the first Actors Equity (meaning union) theatre in the Central or Western region of the U.S. to receive permission to work in-person, even if that permission only involved one day of socially distanced videotaping.

TheatreWorks has created a virtual production of Anna Deavere Smith’s 2000 documentary-theatre piece “House Arrest: A Search for Character in and Around the White House, Past and Present.” Based on historical source materials and interviews with figures ranging from Studs Terkel to Anita Hill, “House Arrest” asks how the American presidency has changed from 1776 to more recent years.

To create the piece, eight directors worked with a 16-actor cast entirely on Zoom before gathering for the one-time filming at the Ent Center for the Arts. The individual pieces were then edited into a single, streamable theatre event that includes 40 characters ranging from Thomas Jefferson to Bill Clinton.

TheatreWorks is also offering a companion piece of original monologues drawn from interviews that University of Colorado Colorado Springs students conducted with election officials and insiders from around the Pikes Peak region.

“The national dialogue about leadership is one of the most important conversations to have this fall,” Artistic Director Caitlin Lowans said. “ ‘House Arrest’ offers a rich jumping-off point for investigating what each of us seeks in our leaders — and how they rise or fall under the close gaze of the public eye.”

“House Arrest” can be streamed for free from October 22 through November 1 with a suggested donation of $10-$20 at uccs.edu

A book club for theatre-lovers

Visionbox Studio has launched PlayClub, a virtual book club geared for non-actor theatre-lovers. When you sign up, Visionbox sends you a play script. (For the next meet-up on October 15, it’s “Three Sisters” by Anton Chekhov.) Founding Artistic Director Jennifer McCray Rincon opens with remarks about both the play and the playwright, followed by group discussion. After that, “two of our actors perform a scene from the play, and then I work on the scene with them for a bit in front of the audience,” she said.

Then they do the scene again, demonstrating an alternative acting approach to the same text.

“We have been told over and over that watching actors re-work scenes like this is the most intriguing part of our work,” Rincon said. “It is also an excellent way to gain appreciation for the literature and language of theatre.”

For some strange reason, “Visionbox seems to be thriving in this odd time,” Rincon added. “We have not canceled any classes or performances this year.” Sign up for PlayClub here

Briefly …
The DCPA Theatre Company has announced a part-live, part-virtual memorial service for Director of New Play Development Douglas Langworthy on October 24. Langworthy (pictured) died in March just days before the COVID shutdown, preventing any opportunity to properly remember him at the time. Because of the need for social distancing, anyone who wishes to observe the celebration may do so only via Zoom. Register here. ...