BDT Stage raises $5,173 for Denver Actors Fund

Photo by Glenn Ross.   BDT Stage’s special added performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” raised a total of $5,173.29 for the Denver Actors Fund, making it one of the two most successful evenings in the growing non-profit’s short history. Of that total, $1,660 comes directly from performers and musicians donating their show pay. Another… Continue reading BDT Stage raises $5,173 for Denver Actors Fund

Denver Actors Fund in Action: Traci Kern

Note: At the Denver Actors Fund, anonymity of aid recipients is presumed and fully protected, unless and until the recipient chooses to have his or her story told. Financial aid recipient No. 7: Longtime actor and 17-year vocal coach Traci J. Kern has appeared in many productions for many local theatre companies, including recently in… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Traci Kern

8-year-old donates $100 to Denver Actors Fund

By John Moore We can conservatively say that hundreds of people in the local theatre community and beyond have now contributed to the new Denver Actors Fund through donations, volunteering or other in-kind support. But I think today we can say we have our new youngest supporter of the fund. Nate Patrick Siebert, an 8-year-old… Continue reading 8-year-old donates $100 to Denver Actors Fund

Photos: My night at the Aurora Fox’s “Metamorphoses”

To see caption information for any photo above, or to see the gallery if watching on a mobile phone, click here. (The information is posted on the lower-left corner of each photo.) Or just click the “show info” option on any photo. By John Moore Sept. 3, 2013 Opening No. 106: Aurora Fox’s “Metamorphoses”: That… Continue reading Photos: My night at the Aurora Fox’s “Metamorphoses”

Photos: My night at the Aurora Fox’s ‘The Color Purple’

  By John Moore April 25, 2013 Welcome to my ongoing, 2013 labor-of-love photo series bringing you iconic snapshots from behind the scenes on opening nights in Colorado theater. All photos by John Moore for www.CultureWest.Org. Opening No. 57: The Aurora Fox’s “The Color Purple”: The musical stage adaptation of Alice Walker’s epistolary novel follows… Continue reading Photos: My night at the Aurora Fox’s ‘The Color Purple’

Photos: My night at Ignite Theatre’s snowy ‘Cabaret’

There’s a lot of touching in the Kit Kat Klub — and in the backstage area of the Aurora Fox — as actor Maggie Tisdale can attest. The Fox’s shop area has been converted into a temporary dressing room to accommodate the huge Ignite Theatre cast, which performs on the studio stage while another big… Continue reading Photos: My night at Ignite Theatre’s snowy ‘Cabaret’

Outtakes: My night at ‘Tell Martha Not to Moan’

  By John Moore, March 24, 2013 Opening No. 52: Athena Project Festival’s “Tell Martha Not to Moan”:  The play, by Clinnesha D. Sibley, looks at the changing world through an African-American home in Detroit 2007. As the presidential campaign plays out on the national stage and the 40th commemoration of the Detroit Riot is… Continue reading Outtakes: My night at ‘Tell Martha Not to Moan’

Photos: My night at the Aurora Fox’s ‘Consider the Oyster’

A view of the opening-night party from behind the “Consider the Oyster” set, shot through the cut-out window of a Detroit skyscraper. Very cool set design by Shaun Albrechtson. By John Moore Feb. 19, 2013 Opening No. 30: “Consider the Oyster” is a gender-bending comic fantasy developed by Jeff Daniels’ Purple Rose Theatre Company in… Continue reading Photos: My night at the Aurora Fox’s ‘Consider the Oyster’

2013 theater photo series: It’s Opening Night in Colorado

By John Moore Jan. 1, 2014 Welcome to my 2013 labor-of-love photo series bringing you iconic snapshots from behind the scenes on opening nights in Colorado theater. This series includes one representative shot from 151 of the performances we saw 2013. The intent was to allow the reader a window into a part of the… Continue reading 2013 theater photo series: It’s Opening Night in Colorado

Photos: My night with ‘The Seafarer’ at the Aurora Fox

Booze: Beer, whiskey, poteen, you name it — is everywhere to be found on the set of “The Seafarer.”   By John Moore Feb. 12, 2013 Here are bonus images from my brief visit backstage at Ashton Entertainment’s “The Seafarer” on Feb. 8 at the Aurora Fox. It was a long road bringing Conor McPherson’s… Continue reading Photos: My night with ‘The Seafarer’ at the Aurora Fox

Bonus photos: My night with Phamaly’s “The Foreigner”

Director Edith Weiss, who had to miss the opening performance of Phamaly’s “The Foreigner” on Jan. 19 because of illness, texted her final words of encouragement to her cast via actor Jeremy Palmer’s cell phone. Photo by John Moore.   By John Moore Jan. 20, 2013 Here are some bonus images from my night visiting… Continue reading Bonus photos: My night with Phamaly’s “The Foreigner”

Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 5: “Jackson Has It Going On”

Director Ben Dicke takes a moment in the Aurora Fox parking lot before taking to the stage in the delayed opening-night performance of "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" on Sept. Sept. 27, 2012. Photo by John Moore

  By John Moore Oct. 9, 2012 Part 5: Jackson Has It Going On Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director/starring actor.  Part 5, the final chapter, chronicles the triumphant rescheduled… Continue reading Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 5: “Jackson Has It Going On”

Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 4: “This Is Happening”

The day after Ben Dicke was released from the hospital, the cast met to discuss whether to postpone the run until January, or come back as soon as it was medically possible for Dicke. Photo by John Moore.

Part 4: This is Happening Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director/starring actor. Part 4 chronicles the crucial decision-making in the wake of the accident, and why and how this show… Continue reading Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 4: “This Is Happening”

Video: A rocking Curtain Call for Aurora Fox’s ‘Picasso’

Benjamin Cowhick and Jack Wefso in "Picasso at the Lapin Agile." Photo courtesy Aurora Fox.

Not every Curtain Call is as fun as this one for “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” presented by Ashton Entertainment at the Aurora Fox Theatre. Performers include Johnny Barber, Eric Mather, Benjamin Cowhick, Steef Sealy, Tupper Cullum, Jack Wefso, Kurt Brighton and Talia Liccardello. Info:  Through Oct. 14. Info: 303-739-1970 or aurorafoxartscenter.org. Video by John… Continue reading Video: A rocking Curtain Call for Aurora Fox’s ‘Picasso’

Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 3: “Life Sucks”

Part 3: Life Sucks Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director, who also happens to be the starring actor. Part 3: “Life Sucks” (a quote from the show) follows Dicke to… Continue reading Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 3: “Life Sucks”

Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 2: “The Perfect Mission”

Part 2: "The Perfect Mission" follows the cast through the creative process to the even of opening night, one day before Ben Dicke was severely injured in a freak backstage accident/ Photo by John Moore

Part 2: The Perfect Mission Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director, who also happens to be the starring actor. Part 2: “The Perfect Mission” follows the cast through the creative… Continue reading Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 2: “The Perfect Mission”

Video : The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 1

On May 1, Ben Dicke ran for 24 hours on a treadmill on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver to solicit the donations that put his $10,000 "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" Kickstarter project over the top. Photo by John Moore.

Part 1: Before the Fall Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director, who also happens to be the starring actor. Running time: 9 minutes.   Here is a link to Part… Continue reading Video : The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 1

Video: “Bloody Bloody” announces new opening date: Sept. 27

Ben Dicke, out of the hospital: "We're moving forward," he says (even with hospital bracelet intact). Photo by John Moore.

By John Moore Sept. 11, 2012 “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” producer and star Ben Dicke, injured in a serious fall just before the opening performance was to begin on Sept. 7, has announced that the regional premiere of the emo-rock political history lesson will now open at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in the studio… Continue reading Video: “Bloody Bloody” announces new opening date: Sept. 27

“Bloody Bloody” star released from Aurora hospital

If you split your head open, break four ribs and puncture your lung, Ben Dicke figures ... you might as well get a marketing poster out of it. Photo by Joseph Bearss.

  By John Moore Sept. 9, 2012 Ben Dicke, the producer, director and star of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” whose fall down a trap door at the Aurora Fox Theatre forced a cancellation of the opening performance less than two hours before it was to begin, was released this morning from the University of Colorado… Continue reading “Bloody Bloody” star released from Aurora hospital

Injury cancels “Bloody Bloody” opening night at Aurora Fox

Ben Dicke at University of Colorado Hospital tonight.

  By John Moore Sept. 7, 2012 Friday night’s opening performance of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” at the Aurora Fox was canceled because of a backstage accident that sent director, producer and star Benjamin Dicke to the nearby University of Colorado Hospital. Dicke fell about 8 feet down an open trap door at about 5… Continue reading Injury cancels “Bloody Bloody” opening night at Aurora Fox