Running Lines - Latest Comments

Re: Today’s poll: Ushers: How far is too far?

bradydarnell — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:23:48 -0000

Seems a bit of an overreaction to me, too. I think an usher should approach someone who is talking or texting on their phone during the performance, but, when someone is using one at intermission, I think it shows that the person knows when is it or isn't appropriate to use it. Or, perhaps more accurately, it doesn't show that they don't.
Ushers should be the second line of defense in offense phone behavior, failing the user's own sense of courtesy only.
I liked how Cirque du Soleil did their current announcement:"Please don't forget to turn your cell phones back on when you leave the show." Cute, and a subtle reminder that we really shouldn't HAVE to be told to turn them off before the show. We should already know.
I think that the ushers' reactions demonstrate the all-too-common, "this is my domain" attitude some people get when issued a uniform - even if it's only a vest.

Re: Today’s poll: Ushers: How far is too far?

danoneill — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:12:00 -0000

I'll jump in. This will not really be an opinion either way, just two quick stories.
1. At a performance of UNDER MILKWOOD by the ntc kiddos back in the day, prop mastered by my spectacular girlfriend and directed by the unassailable Larry Hecht, a dear friend's cell phone went off in the 1st act and it bummed all of us out. This show by the by, is in my top 5 ever. GO DOG GO at the Seattle Rep. is also in there. Similar, spectacular ensemble performances.
2. At a performance of AFTER ASHLEY at the Ricketson theatre with a girl I'd dated for about six seconds, her cell went off and she didn't even silent it-- let it ring through and all. At intermission she checked her message and laughed at the message her friend left her. Needless to say, I left her the next day. Funny story all around, if anyone cares to hear it in person sometime.

So, I don't know if this supports the ushers who do their job, or just bad timing on my side, but man o man, it SUCKS when phones go off at a show. Phew, that felt good John, thanks for letting me vent!

Re: Flood claims actor’s dog, possessions

Dog Joint Pain Relief — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:50:10 -0000

Ohh too bad i can't donate something. Well donating is a good idea but I'm not rich to donate.

Re: Playwright Jake Jay Clark passes away

Dustye WInniford — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:00:54 -0000

I had the privilege of doing two versions of Jake's wonderful, moving play SOLACE in New York City. He was ever willing and imaginitive throught the 5 rewrites we did over a year in 2003. It was a stunningly emotional play that left us all drained, but with a real sense of having accomplished something that was very demanding. He was extremely talented and will be missed.

Re: Flood claims actor’s dog, possessions

dogsdotinfo — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:11:55 -0000

Done ! I would recomend everyone to donate, Rosie is so cute !

Re: Playwright Jake Jay Clark passes away

Mary Wehrle — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:37:55 -0000

There are a group of us from who attended Colorado Women's College from 1971 to 1974 who knew Jay Clark as he was one of the young men taking theater classes and in many of the plays there. We are all shocked by his passing and join in grieving with his family and friends even though we are spread out across the country. Jay was a tender hearted man who will be missed by us all.
Mary Wehrle
Benicia, California

Re: Playwright Jake Jay Clark passes away

Becky Toma — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:54:36 -0000

Jay was a dear friend starting with our college days together. I am saddened by his sudden passing and will always remember that joyous laughter he had.

Re: Germinal Stage actor Akanda (Catherine) Robinson remembered

sandora — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:46:51 -0000

I remember Akanda's breathtaking performance in Hedda Gabler. She was magnificent. I remember her also, for her friendship with my late aunt and uncle, Susan Stringer and Jake Jay Clark. Jake passed away last week in Seattle.

Re: Germinal Stage actor Akanda (Catherine) Robinson remembered

u2bme102 — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:20:08 -0000

She knocked my socks off in a production of Dracula, and was inspiring as a teacher. I lost touch with her, but still she will be missed. She was not only an immensely talented actress, but also an inspiring human being.

Re: Paula Sperry’s funeral Sept. 19

Orlando Vega — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:33:28 -0000

I'm so sorry to hear of Paula's passing. She was my theater teacher at D.U. in 1987 and was amazing. I learned a great deal from her and she helped me with my lack of self-confidence. She will be missed.

Re: Paula Sperry’s funeral Sept. 19

Derek Nason — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:11:57 -0000

Thank you Paula. You are truly one of my greatest mentors. You are with me as I move forward as a Theatre Educator. I learned so much from you, and above all you reinforced the virtues of decency and kindness. My condolences to all of Paula's family and loved ones. Rest in Peace

Re: Paula Sperry’s funeral Sept. 19

Kathryn Gray — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:31:29 -0000

she also was a spectacular "Big Mama" in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof produced by Industrial Arts about 10 years ago or so. She was one of the most amazingly gifted mentor I've ever known and she taught me a lot about listening. She also was a spectacular director, getting the big picture quickly. I always relied on her extra set of eyes and feed back for anything I directed. Her gentle-loving soul and powerful personality will be missed by many. But thank you Paula for making us all see the world a tiny bit differently which perception in turn made us all a little bit better human beings. You were a blessing in all our lives and we thank you for all you gave us.

Re: Paula Sperry’s funeral Sept. 19

Susan Romeo — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:37:15 -0000

Paula was an important mentor to me as a young woman, feminist and human being. I have always appreciated and respected her kindness, intelligence and creativity. She will be missed by many.

Re: Paula Sperry’s funeral Sept. 19

KSG — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:09:38 -0000

Paula was an inspiration to me and her heart was as big as Texas, where she was originally from. She was there for me when many weren't. I was proud to have her at the birth of my son and the joy on her face witnessing her first birth is a memory that will stick with me forever. I loved her greatly and she will be missed.

Re: Vintage Theatre on Steroids!

Mark Dissette — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:17:23 -0000

It's touched on a lot however (I hope I'm not redundant) "It's show BUSINESS not show games or fun" and many people ignore that fact. It would seem a simple matter to meld companies together merge resources and staff and create better theater. One minor problem, egos. Everyone has their vision and they want to direct or star and this is the only way it can happen in their minds. There seems an overabundance of emotion and not enough business thought process going on. Everyone wants their voice to be heard well maybe we should all be quiet and as a community get some outside help to do an intensive seminar on the realitiies of theater and how we can accomplish our goals. That may mean we have to adjust our ideas about what we really want. Can we blend and co-create and work and play well with others to acheive our goals or do we plundge ahead with theme music playing in the background as another company goes under. This shadow does not mean to offend but we are all artists and that comes with a heavy dose of ego and desire it would be interesting to see if we could govern that enough to grow in a productive way.

Re: Crossroads’ problems may leave Paragon homeless again

Terry Dodd — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:21:28 -0000

My heart goes out to Paragon and Crossroads and Shadow and the Denver Civic. You hire the best people (both in the business end and in the artistic end) and get out of their way. And I totally agree with Mare, on environmental theatre. Ashton and i did look at the Little Hangar at Stapleton up near Montview Blvd. (which has Landmark status now I think) after the success of Stanton's Garage (in a garage). I plan to be at The Barth next summer and am loving it. But that doesn't negate the many closing theatre spaces. Years ago it was a place on Colfax called Bonfils.

Re: Crossroads’ problems may leave Paragon homeless again

Kurt Lewis — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:08:42 -0000

Next Step For Crossroads (originally submitted on facebook)
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Sat at 5:16pm | Edit Note | Delete
The residents of Five Points have taken the baton.

At the regularly scheduled Diverse Neighborhood Collective meeting today at Crossroads which included Carla Madison and representatives from Curtiss Park, Five Points, Whittier and San Rafeal neighborhoods a group was formed to work on transitioning Crossroads to a community based nonprofit and fund raising short term so the theater stays open through the transition. Jeff Campbell is the contact person for the group. His email is sevensoldier@gmail.com Volunteers who wish to participate in this community effort are welcome. Please contact Jeff.

Renemarie's one woman show Slut Energy Factor opens September 17th and is being directed by Donnie Betts. It runs two weeks. The premiere of Flicker a new horror movie happens September 4 and 5 at Crossroads. The premiere is part of a nationwide release. Paragon Theater does the Winterling beginning in October 2009. See www.paragontheatre.org

Re: Crossroads’ problems may leave Paragon homeless again

Ladi Crenshaw — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:31:44 -0000

Mr. Moore you know I had to say something,

You my friend are doing your job very well. First, Shadow didn't start with the intention of being a Black only company, but Black stories needed to be heard. And in case everyone forgot, the guy who ran the company, you know the one with the dread locks, he's Black. So, the reference of Shadow being a Black company is well.....true. I am proud of that. All Coloradoans should be Shadow was the only Black company in the REGION. The mayor should be dancing to that, its something Colorado should be proud of. I could go on about this as this subject is dear to my heart, but this isn't the point.

Crossroads. So glad you wrote this. Being one of the nomad companies who was one signature away from having my own building, unless you have been put in that position, YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND! Theater companies can no way be operated on a selfish level. If you are just an artist and you are the lead or the solo act.....you don't get it. If you have a venue but you don't run a theater company at the same time.....you don't get it. The solutions seem logical and easy, but you can't just say 2+2=4, I mean it's art. Kurt has a wonderful heart, but there were some things done that I must agree with Mr. Moore on and say it was a turn-off for the theater. I hope the new organization that is formed will be productive and continue Kurt's vision for the company. When you are good at what you are doing, you make i t look easy,. To run these companies takes more work than you will ever know if you have never done it. My soul is at peace and that's all I want to do.

Re: Crossroads’ problems may leave Paragon homeless again

Mare Trevathan — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:22:51 -0000

Brady's suggestion of a co-operated performance venue is a concept Jane Potts (the indefatigable Tier III liaison at SCFD) has championed for years. Two years ago or so there was a LOT of strategy talk around the notion in Denver's arts community.

While I love LOVE the concept theoretically, I find the issue of quality-control and branding (because, as John addressed, anything happening in the same venue gets co-mingled in audiences' minds) an insurmountable hurtle to audience development.

I may well be mistaken, though, and if anyone reading Brady's comment thinks "YAH, MAN!", they should contact Jane about pooling resources. janevv@prolynx.com

(I've a little twinkle of a dream to build something of the nature of BAM or Seattle's On The Boards-- a heavily-curated venue that present a wide range of performances.)

One more idea to shoehorn in here:

I'd love to see one of Denver's many homeless theatre companies embrace their nomadic state and craft a season of site-specific work (Terry Dodd's "Hot L Baltimore" at the Barth Hotel; John Ashton's "Picasso at the Lipan Agile" which was performed in a bar) that blows the dust off a script and the theatre-going experience in general.

I was living in Seattle in the mid-90s when Nikki Appino staged a show at an old military hangar, but collected her audiences downtown in a bus and carted them to "a secret location." It generated huge buzz and her lack of a theatre became an ASSET. (Incidentally, the hangar- really inconveniently located in Sandpoint- became a known and viable performance space as a direct result of Nikki's ingenuity.)

Re: Crossroads’ problems may leave Paragon homeless again

susan lyles — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 15:55:47 -0000

Weighing in from across the pond-enjoying a few days at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival-I assume John you are referring to And Toto too Theatre Company with your "all women label"-and our sporadic performances. I just want to clear up the sporadic tag you've given us and share why to this point we've done only 1 show a year. I chose to not put our house up to start a theatre company-first of all I like my house, and secondly I have two small children I would hate to see homeless because I chose to start a theatre company-which we all know has the cards stacked against it from the get go, especially one that does new works by women playwrights. We fund our shows from ticket sales and renting out my personal lighting equipment to another non profit in town, and from our small circle of donors at this point. Our marketing budget isn't large thats true- our audiences come in from word of mouth-but we do pay everyone involved in the production-except for me and my partner Darren Smith. It's our way of being fiscally responsible instead of jumping in without a net and over extending ourselves-and ending up in debt to our ears. Kurt-I really feel for you-I remember the first time I met you at a meeting with the aurora committee trying to pull more theatres over to that area-I hope that the theatre you've built survives.

Re: Crossroads’ problems may leave Paragon homeless again

Brady Darnell — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 13:24:18 -0000

"ANYTHING wrong with that." Darn auto-correct blew my punchline.

Re: Crossroads’ problems may leave Paragon homeless again

Brady Darnell — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 13:23:15 -0000

Oh, and John, I don't think it's that you refer to Shadow as "the black Shadow Theatre" that's troublesome, it's that you insist on following it with the phrase, "not that there's anyone wrong with that."
;)

Re: Crossroads’ problems may leave Paragon homeless again

Brady Darnell — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 13:19:31 -0000

I wrote this on Facebook, but then thought it might be worth sharing beyond just my FB friends. It's an idea, take it or leave it.

I was just musing on an idea that a potential benefactor (municipal or otherwise) of the Crossroads might want to consider.
As has been often pointed out, there are a large number of theatre companies in the area -- most of them gypsy. Are there enough to support a "time-shared" theatre facility?
Companies that only produce one or two shows a season would buy up a smaller chunk of time than companies that produce three or four shows, and some companies may want to buy rehearsal time in the space while others may only want their tech week and run. It's very much like renting it out, I know, but the difference is that the theatre "belongs" to the purchasing company for it's given amount of time.
Meaning that fictional company Egomania Players has bought the theatre for eight weeks. They can, if they can afford it, use the theatre for rehearsal for five weeks and run their show only, OR they can put on their own programming during the off weeks and weekday (readings, improv, cousin Merle's hip hop jug band, whatever), OR they can rent it out to a flamenco dance troupe, another company, corporate meetings, or something like that.
In a perfect world, many of these companies would own their own space year-round, but I just don't know that everyone's there yet. When they are, they can sell their share to somebody else, but, in the meantime, they have their own space for a part of the year. Some companies may only be able to afford the three weeks that include their tech week and performances. Some may only want one week. Those who want less could look into renting from one of the other companies.
It may not be an entirely viable solution, but I thought I'd put it out there.

Re: Crossroads’ problems may leave Paragon homeless again

John Moore — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 13:10:44 -0000

Hi Sheryl, Thanks for weighing in.
I don't think it is wrong to wish for Crossroads that it was better funded, better conceived, better programmed, better supported, with more of a financial infrastructure in place so from the start that it had a better chance of lasting longer than two years. In short, I think we both wanted the same things for Kurt and his theater.

Of course the demographics of Five Points are changing, with the most current figures showing about an even split between Hispanics, blacks and, third, whites. A monumental shift from just 20 years ago but most recent figures I saw still show about 1/6th of the relatively small black population of Denver living in Five Points. Regardless of the demographic shift, a Crossroads that really spoke to the stories of the black community would have been the only theater in Denver proper that did so (with Shadow's move to Aurora).

Speaking of, hey, tell me more about why the reference to Shadow as a black company bothers you. I have always championed Shadow as Colorado's only fully functioning black theater company from the start -- with pride, respect and an appreciation for my ongoing responsibility to champion any company that has the word "only" in front of it. We have only one black, one brown, one all-women, one experimental and one handicapped theater company. To me that gives them all a special level of importance in the community, and must be preserved and supported. We've recently lost the "only gay" company, and the only "all-women" company performs only sporadically, as does the the "only experimental" company. We can't lose the "only black" company. We just can't.

Does the moniker strike you as somehow too categorical or somehow condescending? (I have long pointed out that Shadow is a company for all of Colorado -- its subscription base has always been more white than black. But it does tell black stories, as it should).

Again, I refer to Shadow as our only black company as a reminder of what is at stake if we lose it.

So help me -- from your vantage point what about it bothers you? This is how I learn! Thanks -- it's good to hear from you Sheryl. John

Re: Crossroads’ problems may leave Paragon homeless again

Sheryl Renee — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:37:13 -0000

Hi John,
Most of what you say in your blog is probably true. It is always risky to start a business on nothing but hope and a prayer, but does that mean that it is foolish? This country was built and sustains itself on risk takers who's piece of history may be for a season, but is no less worthy.
You are misinformed when you speak of the "Black Community" in Five Points for one thing..Five Points is no longer a Black Community, and the line about "an area that seems to be doing just fine with or without Crossroads" is simply words to fill your page..there is little or no foot traffic in Five Points..poll the business'...
Coming from a musical family, I was the kid that always wanted to put on a show, and I am and will always be thankful to Kurt Lewis, because he gave my underfunded, but faith driven soul a chance to stage my shows. And for those who bought a ticket, and to the talent onstage it meant a great deal. He made the space available and affordable, to many dreamers and I see nothing wrong with efforts to save not only the thing he invested his life saving in, but the best accoustic space in Denver (in my opinion)
My hope is that someone will step up and save this space, but if they don't, guesss what, he will be just fine and will hopefully realize another dream.
Finally I so wish you would stop referring to the Shadow theatre as "Black" Shadow Theatre company, everytime you mention it. Let's just keep it real. The word in the forefront of a theater that produced great works, will always affect a certain population, just as there are those Coloradans who will never go to Five Points because of it's history as a "Black Community.