No time for a 'Cat nap

STRAIGHT TALK WITH THE CATAMOUNTS, BAS BLEU THEATRE AND THINGAMAJIG

Backstage at Bas Bleu's 'Over the Tavern' in 2013. Photo by John Moore

Welcome back to "Straight Talk," our ongoing series with artistic leaders from the local theatre community about the unique challenges they face during this unprecedented time.

By John Moore, Senior Arts Journalist

THE CATAMOUNTS

Actor, director and theatre chef Amanda Berg Wilson co-founded The Catamounts in 2011 as “Theatre for the Adventurous Palate.”

From the start, Berg Wilson and her wild 'Cats have roamed the hills of Boulder pushing the boundaries of traditional theatre. “We make new and innovative professional performance by finding critically acclaimed, audacious scripts and imbuing them with our signature integration of music, movement, food and drink,” said Berg Wilson, the company co-founder and Artistic Director. The ‘Cats have presented theatre on a bus, on a farm, in a river and around your dinner table. Its sold-out FEED series, which incorporates fine dining into any given performance experience, had been scheduled to return April 24-26. Until the COVID19 shutdown hit – right as Berg Wilson also was planning her 10th anniversary season.

 “The Catamounts are a small, lithe company with only one employee – me – and very low overhead," Berg Wilson said, "so we feel confident that even without the ability to program the anniversary season we had initially imagined, we will be able to survive the year as an organization."

Separately, the COVID shutdown cost Berg Wilson one major dream project. She was to be a co-Assistant Director for the Denver’s Center’s warehouse immersive experiment “Theater of the Mind” with Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. Talk about “Once in a Lifetime.”

Fortunately, The Catamounts finished their most expensive undertaking to date – the gothic children’s horror “Shockheaded Peter” – a week before the shutdown. “So we're not reeling from too much lost revenue from this current season,” Berg Wilson said. Both the final FEED of the season and Camp Catamounts (theatre games, storytelling and songwriting for kids) are being re-imagined as either socially distanced or virtual events. “We're encouraged that our audience seems game for a bit of reinvention."

'We've been experimenting with producing theatre in all kinds of places for almost nine years, so we feel primed for this moment.' –  Amanda Berg Wilson

What is the way forward?

“We've been experimenting with producing theatre in all kinds of places for almost nine years, so we feel primed for this moment,” Berg Wilson said. “We already had been planning some original, smaller immersive works with fewer than 10 audience members for the fall. Now that seems like a fortuitous decision. Outside seems to be the safer place to be, so we're exploring how we can take those same pieces and produce some really innovative theatrical experiences for the fall. 

“We're planning to produce some really wild, fun stuff in a socially distanced way, but we won't do it if we don't feel confident that its totally safe. We are looking at seven different budgets and seven different plans right now.

“What we do know is that part of our mission says we're dedicated to the constant reinvention of artistic forms. If that's not a clarion call to figure out how to make theatre in this COVID moment, I don't know what is. So that's what we will do.”

The Catamounts are just a few hundred bucks away from reaching a $20,000 goal for its 10th anniversary season campaign. “All of that money will be used to help us continue to innovate in this moment,” Berg-Wilson said. “We feel hopeful and confident that we'll be able to employ some of the artists who are so ready to work right now, and all donations will ensure we can do that.”

DONATE TO THE CATAMOUNTS

Arvada Center favorite Lance Rasmussen starred in The Catamounts' 'Shockheaded Peter.' Photo by Michael Ensminger.


BAS BLEU THEATRE COMPANY

The Bas Bleu Theatre Company (French for “Blue Stockings”) was conceived over late-night martinis by Wendy Ishii and Eva Wright in 1992 as a salon theatre for bold, innovative and adventurous works in the teensiest-tiniest of storefront spaces in Fort Collins. The company expanded into the historic (and spacious) Giddings Building in 2004, and it now has the distinction of having possibly the greatest leg room of any Colorado theatre space – and no internal support beams to obstruct the view. It also has a unique, 10-year partnership with the city that compensates Bas Bleu for providing rent-free space to local artists and arts groups. Over the past 28 years, Bas Bleu has been home to more than 3,000 artists.

The shutdown has cost Bas Bleu two productions so far: “Way to Heaven” and "Blithe Spirit,” which was to open on Thursday. “I was particularly saddened to lose ‘Way to Heaven,’ which was to have coincided with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Theresienstadt,” Ishii said of the Nazi transit camp for Czech Jews.

“We had planned a number of community outreach programs that would have helped us wrestle with current issues of today as well as reflect on complex historical events of World War II,” added Ishii, who plans to reschedule both productions.

In the meantime, while Ishii continues working as a pro-bono Artistic Director, the entire staff and company of artists have been let go for the duration of the shutdown, except for Operations Manager Craig LoSasso. Friends and board members are stepping up are volunteers.

“We are taking advantage of this down-time to work on the infrastructure, organize the facility and plan for the future,” Ishii said. “We have ordered a Prolexus Sanitizer sprayer – the same kind used by some airline companies – and we are keeping up with the latest safety guidelines as they emerge.”

Ishii is also using this pause to gear up for the company’s long-planned Phase 2 Capital Campaign to complete exterior and interior renovations. “We are fortunate to own our own building, but our fixed costs are $7,000 a month during the shutdown,” she said.

Ishii has grown fond of the old Woody Allen quote: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.”

“Our plan – hah! – going forward is to invite our sister non-profit organizations to use our theatre for free once it is safe to do so,” Ishii said. “We will present skeletal productions with very limited scenic or design elements. That could be a hybrid of Readers’ Theatre, monologues or semi-staged works – whatever our imaginations can come up with."

Ishii is having discussions with Opera Fort Collins, OpenStage Theatre, Debut Theatre and individual Northern Colorado artists about collaborations.

To start, all events will be staged without an admission fee, and a 50-50 split of each night's donations with  the guest artists. Patrons will be encouraged to bring fruits or vegetables from their gardens to share with anyone in the audience or company of artists who might be struggling.

“More important to us than making money right now is to nourish our artists and to re-assure our community that we are all marching our way back to whole,” she said.

 “My own personal hope is that Larimer County will viscerally realize the emotional, psychological and economic importance of the arts and vote yes the next time they get the chance to authorize an SCFD for Northern Colorado,” Ishii said of the failed 2016 effort to establish a penny-per-$10 sales tax for the arts. “What a difference that would have made right now for all the struggling arts organizations in our community.”

Despite the overwhelming melancholy of the prolonged shutdown, Ishii can still appreciate the small blessings. “How nice not to be swatting Miller moths during performances!” she said.

DONATE TO BAS BLEU


'This is our first break after nearly 10 years of creating theatre at a relentless pace.' – Tim Moore

THINGAMAJIG THEATRE COMPANY

The 10-year-old Thingamajig Theatre Company is the resident professional theatre company at the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts, located 275 miles southwest of Denver on the road to Durango. With its summer repertory Broadway musicals and popular educational programs, the company is a major economic driver for Archuleta County.

In mid-March, co-founders Tim and Laura Moore made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 summer season, which was to include  “Bright Star,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Godspell 2012.”

“As for the upcoming fall season, we have not made any final decisions about programming, as both public sentiment for safety in mass gathering and health reports surrounding the transmission of corona virus continue to evolve,” Tim Moore said. “We are currently examining all options, including the development of unique, original content with playwrights we’ve established relationships with in previous seasons.

“In the meantime, spring cleaning has taken on a whole new meaning as we tackle every corner and department at the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts. This is our first break after nearly 10 years of creating theatre at a relentless pace.”

Moore is also creating a podcast as a way to stay connected with audiences and artists in a meaningful way. The company’s finances have stabilized in part because TBK Bank signed on for a season sponsorship even after the season was canceled.

To save on expenses, the company has put its telephone service on hold and is asking that all inquiries by made by email  at info@pagosacenter.org.       

“I was reminded just last week that Thingamajig’s first season was just a handful of shows,” Moore said. “We have grown so much since that time a decade ago. We will grow again, and we will innovate again. But, for a time, we will necessarily be a smaller organization – if you can get much smaller than we are right now. We remain focused on our mission, vision and values and are taking steps to ensure that we will come back in a way that allows us to grow and continue to serve the amazing community that has supported us from Day 1.”

DONATE TO THINGAMAJIG

Read more: Survey says most local theatregoers aren't coming back in the next few months

Monday: Straight Talk with artistic leaders from more Colorado theatre companies

Contact John Moore at culturewestjohn@gmail.com

MORE STRAIGHT TALK

• Straight Talk with Lake Dillon Theatre Company, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company and Northglenn Arts. READ IT HERE

• Straight Talk with the Fine Arts Center, Miners Alley Playhouse, Dangerous Theatre and Lone Tree Arts Center READ IT HERE

• Straight Talk with square product, Forge Light, Springs Ensemble Theatre and Coal Creek Theatre of Louisville READ IT HERE

• Straight Talk with the Denver Center, Jesters Dinner Theatre, Glenwood Vaudeville Revue and Germinal Stage-Denver READ IT HERE

• Straight Talk with Local Theater Company, Theatre 29, The Source and Equinox READ IT HERE

• Straight Talk with Su Teatro, Vintage, Breckenridge Backstage and Counterweight Theatre Lab READ IT HERE

• Straight Talk with Aurora Fox, BDT Stage, Cherry Creek Theatre and Misfits Theater READ IT HERE

• Straight Talk with Creede Rep, Town Hall, Candlelight and Theatre Company of Lafayette READ IT HERE

• Straight Talk with Phamaly, Buntport, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre. READ IT HERE

• Straight Talk with Rod Lansberry, Arvada Center Artistic Director of Plays. READ IT HERE

• Straight Talk with Lynne Collins, Arvada Center Artistic Director of Plays. READ IT HERE

• Straight Talk with Philip C. Sneed, Arvada Center President and CEO. READ IT HERE

• Survey: Most theatregoers aren't coming back anytime soon. READ IT HERE

• COVID-19's toll on Colorado theatre: 224 productions and counting. READ IT HERE

 

Home,Reignite the Arts,Donate Now,Donate Now,Corporate Giving,Art Circle,2024-2025 Theatre Season,Renew,Visit Us,View All Events,Roland Bernier: In Other Words,Word Play,Animal Farm,Big Band Royalty,Lola Montejo: After Another After,Floyd D. Tunson: Ascent,Anthony Garcia Sr: Pigment,A Tribute to the Boston Pops,The CJRO presents A Night of Sizzling Soul with Larry Braggs,Pink Martini featuring China Forbes,Carlou D,Pamela Webb: Hand + Hammer,Lauri Lynnxe Murphy: Seeing the Trees For the Forest,Pink Progression: Collaborations,Imprint: Print Educators of Colorado,528.0: Regional Juried Printmaking Exhibition,Wood.Works,Carley Warren: Three Pieces,Viral Influence: Art in the Time of Coronavirus,Brady Smith: (Don’t be embarrassed by) Your Trouble with Living,Melody Epperson: 100 Years + 1,Blurring The Line,Dawes,Melissa Etheridge,Narkita Gold: Black In Denver,Australian Pink Floyd,José González,Art of the State 2022,Into The Woods,Elle King,Madeleine Peyroux In Concert,One Sheet,The River Bride,The History of African American Music Part 3,Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,Colorado Abstract +10: A Survey,Gary Staab: Second Nature,Flora: Scientific Botanical Illustrations of Colorado Plants,Charlotte's Web,Art + Science,Jeffco Schools Foundation High School Art Exhibition,Wendy Kowynia: Following the Thread,Spring Pottery Sale,Teacher Appreciation Concert,Damn Yankees,Bueno: Mark Bueno,Mary Poppins,Denver Gay Men's Chorus: Divas, Icons and Justice Warriors,The Book Club Play,Guitar Stars and Friends,The Denver Brass: In Pursuit of Leisure,Swing, Swing, Swing: Benny and Beyond ,Spamalot,A Night at the Movies with the Colorado Symphony,Toad the Wet Sprocket and Cracker,Ramón Bonilla: The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for me.,Keb' Mo',Boz Scaggs,Lucero,The Ladies of Soul,Ben Folds,Drawn: From The Source,Day of African Culture,Cleo Parker Robinson Dance presents Living the Lush Life,Face Vocal Band,George Thorogood and the Destroyers,Indigo Girls,Big Draw Colorado,Collective Soul,A Tribute to Chick Corea with Eric Gunnison,Exhibition Unveiling,Honoring Dance Legends: Great teachers and choreographers of the 20th century,An Evening with Holocaust Survivor Sara Moses,Rockley Instrument Sale,The Laramie Project Talkbacks with Judy and Dennis Shepard,Allyship & Advocacy in Action: Supporting the LGBTQAI+ Community,Emilio Lobato: A Mi Manera A 40-Year Survey,Latitude 37° Art of Southern Colorado,Beautiful - The Carole King Musical,The Laramie Project,Colcha Embroidery of the San Luis Valley,Hazel Miller and the Collective: Christmas with Soul,Cinderella Dinner and a Show,Fine Art Market,Holiday Pottery Sale,Our Town,Big Band Royalty: Nothin’ But the Blues,Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella Sensory Friendly Performance,Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella ASL Interpreted Performances ,Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella,iZCALLi: La Posada feat. ArtistiCO Dance Company,Artist Proof: Print Process at Oehme Graphics,Exhibition Tour and Artist Talk with Sue Oehme,Sue Oehme Inclusions,Big Ink,53rd Annual Jeffco Schools Foundation High School Art Exhibition,Print Jam,Latin Sounds From Legendary Artists,A Year With Frog and Toad,Matt Christie: Between Then and Now,Robin Cole: Genesis,Arvada Center Spring Brunch,Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812,Noises Off,Dining Partners,Amplify,Theatre,Upcoming Shows,2024-2025 Theatre Season,Renew,Performances for Students,Auditions,Galleries,Current Exhibitions,Gallery Events,Upcoming Exhibitions,Art Sales,Art Submissions,Sculpture Field,History Museum,Archive,Education,View All Classes,Summer Camps,Full Day,Summer Camp Performances,FAQ,Spring Break Camps,Classes for Kids,Classes for Adults,Ceramics,Front Range Youth Symphony,Dance Classes,Links and Forms,Arts Day,Arts Day Outreach,Ageless Adults,Scholarships,Yesterado,Yesterado,Field Trips and Outreach,ECE Field Trips,K-5 Field Trips,Middle and High School Field Trips,Outreach Programs,Preschool Partnership Program,Music and Dance,Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra,Summer Concerts,Humanities,Private Event Rentals,Caterers,Vendors,Straight Talk Series ,Straight Talk with Philip Sneed,COVID’s toll on Colorado theatre: 224 productions and counting ,Straight Talk with Lynne Collins,Straight Talk with Rod Lansberry,Straight Talk with Phamaly, Buntport, Colorado Shakes and Rocky Mountain Rep,Straight Talk with Creede Rep, Town Hall, Candlelight and Theatre Company of Lafayette,Straight Talk with Aurora Fox, BDT Stage, Cherry Creek Theatre and Misfits,Straight Talk with Su Teatro, Vintage, Backstage and Counterweight,Straight Talk with Local Theater Company, Theater 29, The Source and Equinox,Straight Talk with the Denver Center, Jesters Dinner Theatre, Glenwood Vaudeville Revue and Germinal Stage-Denver,Actors' union issues safety guidelines for re-opening,Straight Talk with square product, Forge Light, Springs Ensemble Theatre and Coal Creek Theatre of Louisville,Straight Talk with the Fine Arts Center, Miners Alley Playhouse, Dangerous Theatre and Lone Tree Arts Center ,Straight Talk with Lake Dillon Theatre Company, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company and Northglenn Arts,Straight Talk with The Catamounts, Bas Bleu and Thingamajig,Straight Talk with Curious Theatre Company,Straight Talk with OpenStage, Firehouse and Adams Mystery Playhouse,Straight Talk with Platte Valley Players and Theatreworks,Straight Talk with Parker Arts, Stories on Stage and Thunder River ,Staight Talk 2 with Philip Sneed: This much is uncertain,Arvada Center News,Getting to Know The Big Tuna,Getting to Know: Keith Ewer and his Hammered Dulcimer,Understanding Farce in Theatre,Pivoting With,Pivoting with The Black Actors Guild,Pivoting with ... Emily Van Fleet and Nathan Jones,Pivoting With ... Tammy Franklin and the Curtain Playhouse,Pivoting With Nick Sugar and the Town Hall Arts Center,Pivoting With Helen Murray and the Aurora Fox,Pivoting with Edith Weiss and Christy Montour Larson,Pivoting With Scott RC Levy and the Fine Arts Center Theatre Company,Pivoting with Todd Debrecini for Halloween,Pivoting with Ashley Campbell,Pivoting with Meghan Anderson Doyle,Pivoting with Jenna Moll Reyes,Pivoting with Erik Fellenstein,Pivoting with Ray Bailey ,Pivoting with Tara Falk,Community News,Inside the Arvada Center,All About Printmaking Techniques,Humans of the Arvada Center: Meet Collin Parson ,Christina Noel-Adcock,"Bright Star" cast unveils video as message of hope,Humans of the Arvada Center: Meet Christine Moore,Humans of the Arvada Center: Steven Cogswell,Humans of the Arvada Center: Ashi K. Smythe,City of Arvada to install new sculpture in Hoskinson Park,Humans of the Arvada Center Jessie Page,Humans of the Arvada Center Cal Meakins,Humans of the Arvada Center: Adam Stolte,Supreme Court workplace ruling hits home for Lisa Leafgreen,'Time for talk is over': Arvada Center launch 'Amplify' series to raise black male voices,Humans of the Arvada Center Jon Olson ,Humans of the Arvada Center: Abygail Rosales,Revealing The Dialogue,Amplify Epiode 3 launches, series expanding to include black women,Photo Blog: Sweeney Todd Rehearsals,Humans of the Arvada Center: Gabriel Morales,Cleo Parker Robinson dances back in the box with Arvada Center,Amplify turns the mic over to local Black women ,Beth Malone bringing 'joy bomb' to Arvada Center oon September 4,Humans of the Arvada Center: Meet Emily King,Amplify Women Episode 2,Special Book Honors Special Dance Teacher,amplify-series-comes-to-powerful-conclusion,Take a stroll through 'Sculpture in the Field',Lessons from a summer of outdoor theatre in the time of COVID ,Humans of the Arvada Center: John Hamilton,Doreen Montalvo in Denver: Compassion and grit,Betty Hart's presidential promise: Build a bigger tent,Humans of the Arvada Center: Brenna Clendaniel and Sophia Koop,On being Black in Denver and all the colors that it brings,2020 True West Awards: Buntpivot ,2020 True West Awards: Lily Bradford,2020 True West Awards: The Scenesters,2020 True West Awards: Podcastic,2020 True West Awards: Phamaly takes 'Honk' to Japan,2020 True West Awards: Christine Moore,2020 True West Awards: Alive Inside,2020 True West Awards: Michael Ensminger,True West Awards: They Wrote the Book,True West Awards: Rent-A-Pals,True West Awards: Of Spacious Skies,True West Awards: Christopher Page-Sanders,2020 True West Awards: Suffer the little children,2020 True West Awards: Spirit of Giving,2020 True West Awards: Secret Gardeners,2020 True West Awards: Denis Berkfeldt,2020 True West Awards: Amplify,2020 True West Awards: Reclaiming One Star,2020 True West Awards: William Hahn and Jessica Robblee,2020 True West Awards: Lisa Wagner Erickson,20 for 20,Meet the Frasers,Lucy Roucis' final act is a gutpunch,Reunite the Arts Collin Parson,Jodie Steeves and Nancy Terry,Reunite the Arts Lisa Leafgreen,Remembering John Gratkins,Reunite the Arts: From our CEO,Danielle Johnson Q&A,Reunite the Arts Lynne Collins,The Show Must Go On,Diana and Mike Kinsey,Get to Know Kazu Oba,Meet Suzanna Champion,The Gear of Million Dollar Quartet,FRYS and the Symphony,Get to Know Carlou D,Stories From the Studio,Hispanic Heritage Month: Meet Lares Feliciano,21 for 21,An interview with Geoffrey Kent: The Liar,An interview with Jada Suzanne Dixon: Stick Fly,An interview with Jessica Robblee: Animal Farm,Fast Facts About Kinky Boots,Costume Department Boots Up,Rod A Lansberry Announces Retirement from Arvada Center,Lynne Collins Named Artistic Director of Arvada Center Theatre,Getting to Know José González,Getting to Know Joan Osborne and Madeleine Peyroux,The Many Sounds of Carlou D,Setting the mood: Into the Woods Set Designer Brian Mallgrave,Into the Woods Directors Note,The River Bride Director's Note,What is Magical Realism?,Hispanic Heritage Month: Meet Ana María Hernando,Meet Ceramics Artist Luanne Burke,From student to teacher: Hadley’s story,Tackling the Beast,Things to Know About Our Town,Creating the Look of Our Town: A Q and A with Set Designer Brian Mallgrave,Whatever Lola Wants - A Deep Dive into the Damn Yankees Signature Song,Selling Your Soul - A Pop Culture Favorite,The Book Club Play Reads,Metatheatre Elements in Our Town - When a Play Knows It's a Play,90s Throwback Vibe with Arvada Center 2023 Summer Concert Series,Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra at the Arvada Center,Opening Acts of the Arvada Center 2023 Summer Concert Series,Getting to know Baaba Maal,Big Draw Highlights,The Music of Keb' Mo,Getting to Know Lucero,The People at the Indigo Girls ,Listen to the hits of Carole King with this playlist,Carole King: The Writer Behind The Music,Songs inspired by Matthew Shepard,Summer Internship at The Arvada Center,Arvada Center journeys to Southern Colorado : A Photo Diary,Arvada Center and Colorado Chapter of Free Mom Hugs share the love,Costume Inspiration for Cinderella with Costume Designer Madison Booth,Getting to Know: iZCALLi and ArtistiCO,The Many Faces of Cinderella,Arvada Center awarded Social Impact Theatre Grant from Biller Family Foundation,The music that influenced the music of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,Volunteer,About Us,Ticketing Policies,Authorized Ticketing,Group Tickets,Ticket Discounts,Contact Us,Accessibility,Health and Safety,Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access,Careers,Tours,Adopt an Actor 2023,Adopt An Artwork,Temp,Land Acknowledgement,What To Expect at the Theatre,One Sheet Music,Gift Certificates,LGBT Resources,Privacy Policy,Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet Seat Map,Gala,Gala Sponsors,Errors,404,Natasha and Pierre Synopsis,Concessions,Summer Preorders