SUN, 9/7
Christopher Smith
Related Content
More About
Robin Jester likes urban tales -- real, meaty accounts of life. The Regis University graduate advisor, who moved to Denver two years ago from New York, first experienced the buzz of creating a salon when she was living in Manhattan. And she figured the concept of online city stories -- an idea that went global after starting in San Francisco a decade or so ago -- would find fertile soil a mile high.
Jester helped launch www.Denverstories.com, a Web site dedicated to non-fiction accounts of the local milieu, more than a year ago. Now she's decided it's time for some of the regulars to meet -- and read -- in person. And so the Denver Stories Kick Off will roll out at 6 p.m tonight at Buzz Fill 'er Up Cafe, 1229 East Sixth Avenue.
"We think it's a good way to get some of these people together," Jester says.
The free event will give the authors of such works as "Free Haircut ($20 Tip)" and "And Then There Was Kobe..." a chance to log face time with those who've logged on to read their works.
Eric Beteille, one of four scheduled readers, says he's looking forward to the opportunity, even though he doesn't know much about the format. He's likely to read part of his haircut opus, which he published (on his own dime) because he wanted to tell about the odd cultural experience of undergoing an American crew-cut styling at the hands of a Taiwanese female barber.
Jester may read, and other surprise guests could join in. But this isn't a venue for fame and fortune -- not yet, at least. The group, which is planning another non-cyber session in October, is joined by a common bond.
"It's pure art," says Jester. -- Ernie Tucker
Got Milk?
The Drawer Boy re-creates farm experiences
TUES 9/9
What would you do if some city slicker showed up on your farm and said he wanted to milk your cows as research for a play? Canadian playwright Michael Healey offers one possible scenario in his award-winning drama The Drawer Boy, opening tonight at the Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Boulevard. The play was inspired by a 1970s theater project called The Farm Show, in which actors were sent out to pasture and asked to bring their experiences back to the stage. In The Drawer Boy, Miles, a young actor from the city, disrupts the workaday lives of bachelor farmers Morgan and Angus. Though the farmers make fun of his ignorance of agriculture, Miles breathes new life into their existence when he asks the farmers to recall and analyze their past.
Jane Page directs the show, which runs through October 5. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and matinees are 1 p.m. Wednesdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; signed and audio-described shows are also planned. For tickets, $28 to $38, call 720-898-7200 or visit www.arvadacenter.org. -- Jonelle Wilkinson Seitz
