About Stage Left

Stage Left Theatre Company is devoted to serving its audience, enriching and enlightening the lives of all who attend and participate.

To express the human condition through live theatre, the presentation of classical and modern drama, comedy, musicals and the development of new plays and experimental theatre.

To promote and foster the artistic welfare of the community through dramatic arts by encouraging and utilizing the abilities and talents of both professional and nonprofessional individuals.

To be devoted to the educational and literary enhancement of the community through volunteer services in all facets of the dramatic arts.

To promote the highest quality theatre possible.

1. To establish and maintain a company of players and artists.

2. To operate on a year round basis.

3. To present classical, modern and experimental and/or new scripts to be produced each season.

4. To be open to persons of all ages.

5. To cultivate an appreciation of the dramatic arts through community outreach and education.

Stage Left Theatre Company’s inaugural production in January 2003 was Michael Christofer’s Pulitzer Prize winning play The Shadow Box. In choosing this play to begin our season and our performance history, we wanted to accomplish two things: we wanted to show our community that quality theatre can be produced here in Salida, Colorado with the pool of talents and resources available to us, and we wanted to see if there was an audience here in our community who enjoys and appreciates good theatre, and who will support and participate in its production. We advertised and conducted open auditions, and found many talented and interested people to fill roles for this play and to help with future projects, both on the stage and behind the scenes. Our board members raised the necessary funds for the production by enlisting the sponsorship of local businesses in return for program advertising. Rehearsals were held at the high school twice a week for six weeks, and then the last three weeks of rehearsal were more time intensive. Three performances were given at the Salida Steamplant Theatre. The turnout was moderately good, and the audience reaction was tremendous and ongoing. We accomplished both our goals. In keeping with our commitment to the community, and our desire to be contributing members of that community, we donated 10% of ticket sales to our local hospice organization, The Angel of Shavano Hospice.

For our next production in April of 2003, Stage Left wanted to offer something completely different from our first show, but with the same high quality production values. We produced Once Upon a Wolf by Steph DeFeries, which is a delightful children’s show with a new spin on old fairy tales. We advertised and conducted auditions, and had such a great turnout that we expanded our casting ideas to accommodate more actors. Cast members ranged in age from 9 to 77, and rehearsals ran for six weeks at the high school. We took sections of this play into the elementary school and performed for each grade with a question and answer session afterwards. It is the intent of Stage Left to encourage the youth of our community to participate in theatre and gain a broader knowledge and appreciation of the dramatic arts. The students were very enthusiastic in their reception, and made us a lovely thank you book afterwards. Four performances were held at the high school, all of them matinees with moderately good attendance. Audience members of all ages loved the show, and were particularly complimentary on the sets and costumes. Stage Left donated 10% of ticket sales to Support Our Schools Salida, a local group that buys supplies and equipment for our community schools. In the future, we intend to earmark at least one of our performance slots each year for a youth-oriented production.

Also this spring, Stage Left sponsored an original one act playwriting contest. At the February 15 deadline, there were 12 submissions from around the state. Six original plays were selected by a committee of our board members for staged readings. Auditions were advertised and held to fill roles in the plays. In June 2003, after four weeks of limited rehearsal in private homes, there were two evenings of readings at the Salida Steamplant with the playwrights in attendance. Three plays were read each night, and following the performances, the actors and playwrights led audience discussions about the plays viewed that evening. Our intent in offering these readings was to expose the community to the process of developing an original play. Three of the six plays were chosen to be fully produced and performed in October 2003.

In late June, Stage Left Theatre Company performed scenes from Shakespeare at the Salida Steamplant Theatre as part of the local Artwalk Festival. Auditions were held and roles were filled by community members. After four weekends of rehearsal, we presented (free of charge) “Shakespeare on Love,” an hour of scenes with a variety of Shakespeare’s views on love. The attendance was excellent, as was audience reaction. Our intent was to make Shakespeare more accessible to all members of our community by providing short, well-acted scenes from a variety of the Bard’s plays, and tying them together with the theme of love. The audience was very enthusiastic, and loved the format that made Shakespeare so “manageable.” Next year, we intend to present “Shakespeare on Revenge” for Artwalk.

In September, Stage Left Theatre Company will produce a one-night only variety show called “Seasons of Love” as part of our community’s AIDS benefit activities. Auditions will be held July 26 and 27. We plan to present scenes, monologues, poetry readings, songs, dances and musical numbers, all dealing with love and loss and living with HIV. Stage left will donate 50% of proceeds from ticket sales to our local AIDS support organization.

After the Original One Act Play Festival in October, our next project will be a production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in December 2003. Board members are in the process of writing an adaptation of this Christmas classic that will accommodate a small theatre group with limited technical capabilities. We hope to be able to share this adaptation with other groups of similar scope. Auditions will be held in September, and performances are scheduled for December 6 & 7, 2003 at the Salida Steamplant Theatre. We intend to donate a portion of our proceeds to Holiday Park, a local outdoor Christmas display enjoyed by the entire community.

With each audition cycle, we find more and more interested and talented community members to participate in our productions. With each performance we generate larger and more appreciative audiences. Stage Left Theatre Company is addressing its mission, and community theatre is alive and well in Salida, Colorado.