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

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

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

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 LIDA Project’s ‘Watershed’

To see caption information for any photo above, or to see the gallery if watching on a mobile phone, click here. (The information is posted on the lower-left corner of each photo.) Or just click the “show info” option on any photo. By John Moore July 9, 2013 Opening No. 92: LIDA Project’s “Watershed (Part… Continue reading Photos: My night at LIDA Project’s ‘Watershed’

Photos: Opening night at the Avenue Theater’s ‘Minimum Wage’

To see caption information for any photo above, or to see the gallery if watching on a mobile phone, click here. (The information is posted on the lower-left corner of each photo.) Or just click the “show info” option on any photo. By John Moore June 26, 2013 Opening No. 85: The Avenue Theater’s “Minimum… Continue reading Photos: Opening night at the Avenue Theater’s ‘Minimum Wage’

Photos: My night at LIDA Project’s ‘The Hairy Ape’

Lorenzo Sariñana prepares backstage to perform  “The Hairy Ape” along with a skeletally inclined narrator and five mannequins — all speaking in a different language than he does.   By John Moore May 19, 2013 Welcome to my ongoing, 2013 labor-of-love photo series bringing you iconic snapshots from behind the scenes on opening nights in… Continue reading Photos: My night at LIDA Project’s ‘The Hairy Ape’

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 LIDA Project’s ‘R.U.R./lol’

  By John Moore Feb. 19, 2013 Opening No. 29: Denver’s oldest and really only true experimental theater company is the LIDA Project. Its newest original work, “R.O.R./lol,” picks up where Czech playwright Karel Capek’s 1920 science-fiction play “Rossum’s Universal Robots” ends. That play is actually  where  the word “robot” was introduced into the lexicon. LIDA’s… Continue reading Photos: My night at LIDA Project’s ‘R.U.R./lol’

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

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

Former LIDA Project warehouse theater leveled

The former LIDA Project warehouse theater in the process of being taken down. Photo by Brian Freeland.

  By John Moore Nov. 30, 2012 Add the former LIDA Project warehouse theater to the growing list of former Denver theater spaces. Over the past three weeks, crews have meticulously dismantled the warehouse theater that housed Denver’s only experimental theater company from 2001-11. It was located next to the Mercury Cafe at 2180 Stout… Continue reading Former LIDA Project warehouse theater leveled