Tag: ben dicke

Denver Actors Fund in Action: Traci Kern

Note: At the Denver Actors Fund, anonymity of aid recipients is presumed and fully protected, unless and until the recipient chooses to have his or her story told. Financial aid recipient No. 7: Longtime actor and 17-year vocal coach Traci J. Kern has appeared in many productions for many local theatre companies, including recently in… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Traci Kern

Photos: My night at the Arvada Center’s ‘A Christmas Carol’

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. 2, 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 Arvada Center’s ‘A Christmas Carol’

Video: Shout-outs to 2013 Henry Award nominees

By John Moore July 18, 2013 Members of the local theater community give their shout-outs to this year’s field of 2013 Colorado Theatre Guild Henry Award nominees. One comes all the way from Poland. The ceremony is July 22 at the Arvada Center. Video by John Moore for www.CultureWest.Org. Running time: 7 minutes. Shouters and… Continue reading Video: Shout-outs to 2013 Henry Award nominees

Photos: My night at Cherry Creek Theatre’s ‘Baby’

Because “Baby” is being staged in the Shaver-Ramsey Showroom — a fine carpet store — the entire set must be assembled, taken down stored in a parking-lot pod and assembled again — for every performance. By John Moore June 5, 2013 Welcome to my ongoing, 2013 labor-of-love photo series bringing you iconic snapshots from behind… Continue reading Photos: My night at Cherry Creek Theatre’s ‘Baby’

Video: Step Up to the Mic: Denver Actors Fun-draiser highlights

By John Moore June 3, 2013 Watch video highlights from CultureWest’s evening of karaoke silliness to raise seed money for the new Denver Actors Fund, a modest source of immediate, situational relief when members of the local theater community find themselves in sudden medical need. The host was Kent Randell. Performers on this video include… Continue reading Video: Step Up to the Mic: Denver Actors Fun-draiser highlights

Photos: My night at the Arvada Center’s ‘The Man of La Mancha’

William Michals, left, and Ben Dicke, who play Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, strike their pre-show poses.   By John Moore April 1, 2013 Welcome to my ongoing, 2013 labor-of-love photo series bringing you iconic snapshots from behind the scenes on opening nights in Colorado theater. All photos by John Moore for www.CultureWest.Org. Opening No.… Continue reading Photos: My night at the Arvada Center’s ‘The Man of La Mancha’

Video: Oskar Eustis on the American theater: ‘The worst of both worlds is happening’

Video by John Moore for CultureWest.Org.   By John Moore April 3, 2013 Public Theatre artistic director Oskar Eustis does not mince words when speaking about the state of the American theater. While in some ways it is healthier than it has ever been, especially in the areas of diversity and decentralization, he also says… Continue reading Video: Oskar Eustis on the American theater: ‘The worst of both worlds is happening’

Anatomy of a theater director: A daily Q&A with Colorado’s creative minds

  By John Moore May 3, 2013 My return to directing (“Always … Patsy Cline,” which closed April 27 at the PACE Center), had me revisiting a story idea I always wanted to do for The Denver Post, but never got around to: The anatomy of the theater director. So I am doing it now,… Continue reading Anatomy of a theater director: A daily Q&A with Colorado’s creative minds

Photos: My night at the Aurora Fox’s ‘Consider the Oyster’

A view of the opening-night party from behind the “Consider the Oyster” set, shot through the cut-out window of a Detroit skyscraper. Very cool set design by Shaun Albrechtson. By John Moore Feb. 19, 2013 Opening No. 30: “Consider the Oyster” is a gender-bending comic fantasy developed by Jeff Daniels’ Purple Rose Theatre Company in… Continue reading Photos: My night at the Aurora Fox’s ‘Consider the Oyster’

2013 theater photo series: It’s Opening Night in Colorado

By John Moore Jan. 1, 2014 Welcome to my 2013 labor-of-love photo series bringing you iconic snapshots from behind the scenes on opening nights in Colorado theater. This series includes one representative shot from 151 of the performances we saw 2013. The intent was to allow the reader a window into a part of the… Continue reading 2013 theater photo series: It’s Opening Night in Colorado

My 2012 journo year in review: Highlights from a year on the cheap, er, brink

By John Moore Jan. 1, 2013 A professional and personal look back at the year just past. (The unemployed year, that is):   Favorite writings: 1. Eden Lane: The first transgender journalist on mainstream TV opens up about her life and challenges (see bonus extract below) 2. Personal blog: My stoma: To Die and Live… Continue reading My 2012 journo year in review: Highlights from a year on the cheap, er, brink

Stephen Weitz: 2012 True West Theater Person of the Year

By John Moore Dec. 22, 2012 Perhaps the Weitzes should have a baby every year. Stephen Weitz, who founded the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company in 2006 with his wife, Rebecca Remaly, performed in five plays in 2012, directed three others and oversaw the Denver Center Theatre Company’s high-profile, community-wide staged reading of Dustin Lance Black’s… Continue reading Stephen Weitz: 2012 True West Theater Person of the Year

Here are your 2012 CultureWest.Org “True West” Award nominations

The 2012 True West "Theater Person of the Year" nominees.

    By John Moore Dec. 16, 2012 One of the hardest things about leaving The Denver Post was leaving behind the Ovation Awards, which for 12 years was my annual salute to what we perceived to be the best in Colorado theater for any given year. Then I thought, “Why not?” I can only… Continue reading Here are your 2012 CultureWest.Org “True West” Award nominations

Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 5: “Jackson Has It Going On”

Director Ben Dicke takes a moment in the Aurora Fox parking lot before taking to the stage in the delayed opening-night performance of "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" on Sept. Sept. 27, 2012. Photo by John Moore

  By John Moore Oct. 9, 2012 Part 5: Jackson Has It Going On Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director/starring actor.  Part 5, the final chapter, chronicles the triumphant rescheduled… Continue reading Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 5: “Jackson Has It Going On”

Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 4: “This Is Happening”

The day after Ben Dicke was released from the hospital, the cast met to discuss whether to postpone the run until January, or come back as soon as it was medically possible for Dicke. Photo by John Moore.

Part 4: This is Happening Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director/starring actor. Part 4 chronicles the crucial decision-making in the wake of the accident, and why and how this show… Continue reading Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 4: “This Is Happening”

Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 3: “Life Sucks”

Part 3: Life Sucks Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director, who also happens to be the starring actor. Part 3: “Life Sucks” (a quote from the show) follows Dicke to… Continue reading Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 3: “Life Sucks”

Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 2: “The Perfect Mission”

Part 2: "The Perfect Mission" follows the cast through the creative process to the even of opening night, one day before Ben Dicke was severely injured in a freak backstage accident/ Photo by John Moore

Part 2: The Perfect Mission Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director, who also happens to be the starring actor. Part 2: “The Perfect Mission” follows the cast through the creative… Continue reading Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 2: “The Perfect Mission”

Video : The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 1

On May 1, Ben Dicke ran for 24 hours on a treadmill on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver to solicit the donations that put his $10,000 "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" Kickstarter project over the top. Photo by John Moore.

Part 1: Before the Fall Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director, who also happens to be the starring actor. Running time: 9 minutes.   Here is a link to Part… Continue reading Video : The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 1

Video: “Bloody Bloody” announces new opening date: Sept. 27

Ben Dicke, out of the hospital: "We're moving forward," he says (even with hospital bracelet intact). Photo by John Moore.

By John Moore Sept. 11, 2012 “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” producer and star Ben Dicke, injured in a serious fall just before the opening performance was to begin on Sept. 7, has announced that the regional premiere of the emo-rock political history lesson will now open at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in the studio… Continue reading Video: “Bloody Bloody” announces new opening date: Sept. 27

“Bloody Bloody” star released from Aurora hospital

If you split your head open, break four ribs and puncture your lung, Ben Dicke figures ... you might as well get a marketing poster out of it. Photo by Joseph Bearss.

  By John Moore Sept. 9, 2012 Ben Dicke, the producer, director and star of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” whose fall down a trap door at the Aurora Fox Theatre forced a cancellation of the opening performance less than two hours before it was to begin, was released this morning from the University of Colorado… Continue reading “Bloody Bloody” star released from Aurora hospital