8-year-old donates $100 to Denver Actors Fund

By John Moore We can conservatively say that hundreds of people in the local theatre community and beyond have now contributed to the new Denver Actors Fund through donations, volunteering or other in-kind support. But I think today we can say we have our new youngest supporter of the fund. Nate Patrick Siebert, an 8-year-old… Continue reading 8-year-old donates $100 to Denver Actors Fund

Denver Actors Fund launches Action Teams, Web Site

The Denver Actors Fund, named Wednesday the recipient of a 2014 Westword Best of Denver Award, is today announcing several major initiatives. Most significantly, the DAF is officially activating its 2014 Action Teams. That’s an Army of Angels who will provide good-neighborly assistance to any qualifying member of  the local theatre community who seeks it.… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund launches Action Teams, Web Site

No shades. No shutter. But something wicked this way comes …

By John Moore The sunglasses are scattered like … confetti after the AFC Championship Game. The Canon has frozen its final curtain call. But something is coming. A new way of calling attention to local theatre productions and the artists who make them. That’s all for now. The Earth has music for those who listen.

Video podcast: Closing night at the Heritage Square Music Hall

The Heritage Square Music Hall performed for a final time on New Year’s Eve, bringing to an end a 25-year tradition of blue-collar, family-friendly entertainment. Our video podcast includes audience and cast interviews, as well as performance highlights. The cast includes T.J. Mullin, Alex Crawford, Rory Pierce, Annie Dwyer, Johnette Toye, Randy Johnson, Eric Weinstein,… Continue reading Video podcast: Closing night at the Heritage Square Music Hall

Exit interview: LIDA Project founder Brian Freeland

By John Moore For nearly 20 years, Brian Freeland has been a singular force in the local theater community. As founder of the LIDA Project collective, he has been the keeper of the flame for true experimental theatre in Denver. Last month, Freeland moved with his family to New York. Freeland says the LIDA Project… Continue reading Exit interview: LIDA Project founder Brian Freeland

Denver Actors Fund in Action: Becky Toma

Note: At the Denver Actors Fund, anonymity of aid recipients is presumed and fully protected, unless and until the aid recipient wants to have his or her story be told. Aid recipient No. 3 and No. 41: Becky Toma Updated Jan. 8, 2017: Who she is: For years, Becky has been a busy props designer… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Becky Toma

Video: The Shelly Bordas Story, Part 3: A Community Responds

On Sunday, CultureWest named Shelly Bordas Colorado’s 2013 Theatre Person of the Year. Here is the third and latest installment in veteran journalist John Moore’s ongoing video documentary series chronicling Bordas’ story since the Denver actor and mother was diagnosed – for a second time – with end-stage breast cancer that has now spread to… Continue reading Video: The Shelly Bordas Story, Part 3: A Community Responds

Here are your 2013 True West Award Winners: Spread out … or spread thin?

By John Moore Dec. 29, 2013 The Curious Theatre Company, a whopping seven-time winner of the prestigious “best year by a company” Ovation/True West Award, wasn’t even a finalist in that category this year. That’s largely because Denver’s most vital artery to the pulse of the New York theater got mired in a redundant pattern… Continue reading Here are your 2013 True West Award Winners: Spread out … or spread thin?

2013 True West Theater Person of the Year Shelly Bordas: “Love Rules Out”

Shelly Bordas as she looks today, after she stopped taking steroids and dropped 65 pounds.

Here is the new Part 3 of John Moore’s ongoing video documentary series on Shelly Bordas, By John Moore Dec. 29, 2013 There’s a ship that comes for Shelly Bordas each night in her dreams. But she’s not getting on board just yet. Bordas began her year with the modest goal of making her first… Continue reading 2013 True West Theater Person of the Year Shelly Bordas: “Love Rules Out”

2013 True West Award nominations: Town Hall leads balanced field with 14 nods

    By John Moore Dec. 22, 2013 A prolific and creatively surprising year in Colorado theater is reflected in the 2013 True West Award nominations released today. The True West Awards, which began as the Denver Post Ovation Awards in 2001, are the longest-running continuously administered awards program in Colorado theater. And for just the… Continue reading 2013 True West Award nominations: Town Hall leads balanced field with 14 nods

2013 True West Award nominations: List of eligible productions

This sight can mean only one thing: The 2011 True West Award nominations are just hours away …   By John Moore The 2013 True West Awards, which began as the Denver Post Ovation Awards in 2001,  are the continuation of the longest-running awards program in Colorado theater. The 2013 True West nominations have been… Continue reading 2013 True West Award nominations: List of eligible productions

Photos: My night at Starkey Theatrix’s ‘Home for the Holidays’

To see caption information on any photo above, or to see the gallery on a mobile phone, click here. (It will be on the lower-left corner.) Or just click “show info” on any photo. By John Moore Dec. 18, 2013 Welcome to my ongoing, 2013 labor-of-love photo series bringing you iconic snapshots from behind the… Continue reading Photos: My night at Starkey Theatrix’s ‘Home for the Holidays’

Denver Actors Fund opens online merch store: Posters, puzzles, shirts and more

You can order this poster online instantly, in a variety of sizes. Or you can buy it as a jigsaw puzzle. Note: If  you want a poster, we would prefer that you order a print directly from John Moore, or by using the PayPal link below. Simply put, we make more money for the Fund… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund opens online merch store: Posters, puzzles, shirts and more

Photos: My night at Equinox’s ‘Carrie, the Musical’

To see caption information on any photo above, or to see the gallery on a mobile phone, click here. (It will be on the lower-left corner.) Or just click “show info” on any photo. By John Moore Nov. 29, 2013 Welcome to my ongoing, 2013 labor-of-love photo series bringing you iconic snapshots from behind the… Continue reading Photos: My night at Equinox’s ‘Carrie, the Musical’

Photos: My night at the Denver Center Theatre Company’s ‘Jackie & Me’

To see caption information on any photo above, or to see the gallery on a mobile phone, click here. (It will be on the lower-left corner.) Or just click “show info” on any photo. By John Moore Nov. 25, 2013 Welcome to my ongoing, 2013 labor-of-love photo series bringing you iconic snapshots from behind the… Continue reading Photos: My night at the Denver Center Theatre Company’s ‘Jackie & Me’

Colorado Shakes 2014 will feature Henrys, Hamlet-hating and hooch

The Colorado Shakespeare Festival last staged “The Tempest” in 2007. By John Moore When you schedule your every summer around pretty much the same 400-year-old canon, you can understand why the Colorado Shakespeare Festival is pretty excited about a major development coming next summer at … the concession stand. The nation’s second-oldest Shakespeare fest will… Continue reading Colorado Shakes 2014 will feature Henrys, Hamlet-hating and hooch

Photos: My night at Evergeen Players’ ‘All My Sons’

To see caption information on any photo above, or to see the gallery on a mobile phone, click here. (It will be on the lower-left corner.) Or just click “show info” on any photo. By John Moore Nov. 2, 2013 Opening No. 128: Evergreen Players’ “All My Sons”: Arthur Miller wrote “All My Sons” as… Continue reading Photos: My night at Evergeen Players’ ‘All My Sons’

Photos: Creede Rep leaves town with party to announce 2014 plans

By John Moore To see caption information on any photo above, or to see the gallery on a mobile phone, click here. (It will be on the lower-left corner.) Or just click “show info” on any photo. By John Moore Nov. 1, 2013 The Creede Repertory Theatre marked the closing of its annual fall staging… Continue reading Photos: Creede Rep leaves town with party to announce 2014 plans

Photos: My night at Phamaly’s ‘Vox Phamilia: G.I.M.P. Nation’

To see caption information on any photo above, or to see the gallery on a mobile phone, click here. (It will be on the lower-left corner.) Or just click “show info” on any photo. By John Moore Oct. 30, 2013 Opening No. 126: Phamaly Theatre Company’s “Vox Phamalia: G.I.M.P. Nation”: “Vox” is an annual evening… Continue reading Photos: My night at Phamaly’s ‘Vox Phamilia: G.I.M.P. Nation’

Photos: My night at Off-Center’s ‘Wheel of Misfortune’

To see caption information on any photo above, or to see the gallery on a mobile phone, click here. (It will be on the lower-left corner.) Or just click “show info” on any photo. By John Moore Oct. 30, 2013 Opening No. 127: Off-Center @ The Jones’ “Wheel of Misfortune”: This new theatrical adventure from… Continue reading Photos: My night at Off-Center’s ‘Wheel of Misfortune’

Upstart Crow announces death of longtime company member Jim Fogelberg

Boulder’s Upstart Crow has announced the death of longtime actor, director and board member Jim Fogelberg. The company issued the following statement: “We lost Jim in a traffic accident on October 8. In his decades with The Upstart Crow, Jim played many roles, most recently as Caesar in ‘Caesar and Cleopatra.’ He has directed shows,… Continue reading Upstart Crow announces death of longtime company member Jim Fogelberg

“Warm Cookies of the Revolution” serves up sugar and civics

Andrew Newman is the king of the world: The “Star Wars”-themed Monopoly world. The vanquished do not look amused. I was. By John Moore “Warm Cookies of the Revolution” is a “civics health club” that meets once a month to exercise your civics muscles. Evan Weissman of the innovative Buntport Theater ensemble founded his cool… Continue reading “Warm Cookies of the Revolution” serves up sugar and civics

Breaking news: LIDA Project founder Brian Freeland moving to New York

Brian Freeland and wife Catherine Worster Freeland at the opening of the LIDA Project’s new home at the Laundry Lawrence in 2011. The play was called “Justin Bieber Meets Al Qaeda.”  By John Moore Brian Freeland, founder of the 18-year-old LIDA Project, has announced he is moving with his family to New York. Freeland’s wife,… Continue reading Breaking news: LIDA Project founder Brian Freeland moving to New York

Funds raised for the late Doug Rosen donated to Denver Actors Fund

By John Moore Sarah Roshan established a fund in 2009 to help Denver actor Doug Rosen battle cancer. The local community responded, so much so that Rosen never got the chance to take advantage of the funds raised before he passed away. Even after Roshan assigned about $2,700 of the $3,000 the Rosen campaign had… Continue reading Funds raised for the late Doug Rosen donated to Denver Actors Fund

Terry Rhoads, “Denver’s leading man,” dies at 61

By John Moore Terry Rhoads may have moved on from Denver years ago, but his impact on Colorado theater was enduring. Rhoads played the leading man at dozens of Country Dinner Playhouse shows. He was the undisputed star for much of producer Bill McHale’s heyday in the 1980s before moving on to a significant career… Continue reading Terry Rhoads, “Denver’s leading man,” dies at 61

In case you are wondering where the rest of my stuff is …

By John Moore. In case you are wondering where the rest of my stuff is … I got this job, you see. Maybe you heard about it — as a journalist for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. It’s kind of a dream job. And the best part is, the fine folks at the… Continue reading In case you are wondering where the rest of my stuff is …

Kidney update: Rollman’s gift saved nine lives

By John Moore Sept. 27, 2013 On Sept. 8, we told you in a Denver Post story all about how Buntport Theater’s Erin Rollman set off a life-saving chain by volunteering to give up one of her kidneys to a stranger. What we didn’t know then was just how many lives her sacrifice would eventually… Continue reading Kidney update: Rollman’s gift saved nine lives

Denver Center launches statewide high-school playwriting initiative

By John Moore Sept. 12, 2013 When Kent Thompson was the artistic director of the Alabama Shakepseare Festival, he saw what can happen when you put pens where young people’s minds are. By the fifth year of the young playwriting program he started in Alabama, he was receiving 1,200 submissions annually from around the state.… Continue reading Denver Center launches statewide high-school playwriting initiative

Buntport’s Erin Rollman: Kidney donation starts “a beautiful chain”

“I feel like I raised a gem,” says Erin Rollman’s mother, Georgianne. Photo by Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post. By John Moore Sept. 10, 2013 Last Sunday, I wrote my final freelance piece for The Denver Post, my home off and on for the past 24 years. It was about Denver actor Erin Rollman,… Continue reading Buntport’s Erin Rollman: Kidney donation starts “a beautiful chain”