Wake Call

Times are tough all around, but no one wants to hear about another independent theater company biting the dust. And though we all know that folks in the arts are among the first to suffer when wallets are thin, it’s no less shocking to hear that Boulder’s brave little Theatre13...

By Susan Froyd

February 26, 2009

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Times are tough all around, but no one wants to hear about another independent theater company biting the dust. And though we all know that folks in the arts are among the first to suffer when wallets are thin, it’s no less shocking to hear that Boulder’s brave little Theatre13 troupe is calling it quits. Since its inception in 2005, the ensemble — a resident company at the Dairy Center for the Arts (and, previously, at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art) — hasn’t been afraid to present controversial or edgy work, as evidenced by such productions as last fall’s My Name Is Rachel Corrie, a stunning play inspired by the true story of a young peace activist killed by a bulldozer in 2003 in the Gaza Strip. The company’s willingness to take such creative risks doesn’t make it any easier to bid it farewell.

Fortunately, the members of Theatre13 are making it easier for us by injecting some fun into a somber proceeding: Tonight the troupe will host a free Theatre13 Funeral Mass and Fiesta for friends and fans, from 7 p.m. to midnight at the Naropa University Performing Arts Center, 2130 Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder. Promised to all who attend will be live music and eulogies, speeches, eats and a T13 memorabilia contest; bring clippings, ticket stubs, photos, posters and anything else T13-related that you might have around your house, or simply BYOB.
Sat., Feb. 28, 7 p.m.-midnight, 2009

Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

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