As co-curator of Off-Center@The Jones, Emily Tarquin has helped to usher in a fresh take on the traditional theater experience. Over the past two years, the fledging space has become an incubator for locally crafted one-woman shows, improv and history-laced interactive parties, like this fall's wildly successful Drag Machine -- which wouldn't have gotten off the ground without Tarquin's expertise. See also: - Best of Denver 2012: Best Cheap Entertainment - Off-Center@The Jones - Drag Machine makes history at the Jones - As Drag Machine's Shirley Delta Blow, actor Stuart Sanks tells drag's vibrant history
Westword: Tell us about a time that you got lucky. Emily Tarquin: I'll spare you the amazing story of the time I won $5 from a penny slot in Black Hawk, drank too much Jameson and hung my coat on what I thought was a coat rack but turned out to be a hand-sanitizer station. I guess the word "luck" makes me think of casinos or the lottery or the time someone returned my wallet from the back of a cab. But I was lucky in how I came to Denver.
I had been suffering a bout of unemployment for awhile when the theater I worked at outside of Boston unexpectedly closed. I had a regular summer gig up in Steamboat Springs -- that lasted a couple of months, but wasn't sure where to go from there. I was fortunate to meet a bunch of people from the Denver Center Theatre Company as part of the festival I worked on. One of those people was a huge advocate for me, after knowing me for about 5 minutes -- and that is Charlie Miller, the co-curator of Off-Center@The Jones.
He knew something I didn't (know) about what would come from us meeting... He helped me land a job here and has been one of my biggest supporters. We came together to craft Off-Center about a year after I started working with Denver Center Theatre Company, and it has been a dream partnership. At a time where I probably would've taken any job, I ended up with an amazingly awesome one.
Right place, right time for sure.
What's your resolution for 2013?
I don't really make New Year's Eve resolutions and certainly don't want something that I may or may not stick to locked down in print. But for the sake of the question, here goes - My resolution is to better balance things. I can get a little too caught up in things and work too much and lose sight of myself, relationships, and whatever else floats my boat. My dad always says you have to "make time."
As a teenager, I just grew so sick of that phrase and would always argue that you couldn't make time; there just wasn't enough hours in the day. I was (just) way too busy. But now that I'm actually busy and not just a rebellious teen, I know what he means. Making time for everything in my life and really knowing what's important -- that's my resolution.
What are you doing on New Year's Eve?
I'm sort of a traditionalist when it comes to holidays -- well, if I celebrate them. There are times where I've just skipped holidays or done something completely irrelevant -- I'd rather buy (someone) a gift on a random day then on Christmas. New Year's, I'll be looking for a glass of champagne, maybe a disco ball, a large group of friends to count down with, and a kiss at midnight. If I could get the whole world to stand outside in the snow and simultaneously sing "Auld Lang Syne," I'd do that, too.
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