The Play’s the Thing

The best of local theater comes together for a four-day showcase.

Comments (0) By Amber Taufen Thursday, Jul 30 2009

This year’s Playwrights Showcase of the Western Region is going to be a little different from those of previous years — but the changes are all for the good. “Our biggest news is the new partnership with Curious Theatre,” notes Red Rocks Community College visual and performing arts department chair Pamela Jamruszka Mencher. “Curious’s mission is committed to the development and production of new works, which is the whole purpose of the showcase.”

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And rest assured, the emphasis on community has not been lost in this year’s version. “As far as I know, this is the only event that brings together the local theater community in such numbers to participate, to show their craft and their art,” Mencher says. “We have over 175 actors from the metro area. Then we have 29 local directors and, of course, 29 plays written by 27 playwrights.”

The showcase kicks off today with a welcome address at 9:30 a.m. at Curious, 1080 Acoma Street; ten plays are scheduled for performance today. There will also be workshops on everything from spontaneous playwriting to sources of inspiration, as well as a panel discussion. The boot-camp showcase will wrap things up on August 8. “It’s kind of like guerrilla theater,” says Mencher; the plays are all written, staged and directed in less than a week. For prices and information, call 303-914-6231 or visit www.rrcc.edu/playwrightshowcase.
Aug. 5-8, 2009