Dear Friends,
Wondering what to do next weekend (April 22–24)? New to Boulder? Enjoy great theater, a dance party, and robust conversations about race, privilege, and a band called PHISH? Local Lab is back!
If you don’t know by now, Local Lab is Local Theater Company's annual new play festival filled with new work, visiting artists, stimulating conversation, and rousing parties. This spring, all shows are presented at the Dairy Arts Center, but the parties and ancillary events are scattered throughout Boulder. It’s an amazing weekend. As I reflect on ten years of Local Lab, two words come to mind: uniquely Colorado.
Developing new plays is not unique to Colorado. The way we do it at Local is.
We believe that audiences are smart. We believe that plays grow when artists take risks and tinker BEFORE going into full production with costumes, lights, sound, etc. Local Lab is our bare bones and most vulnerable phase of new play development. We’re excited to share the incubator with you.
To get the most out of Local Lab, bring a bandana and saddle up for a fun ride. Here are some tips:
1) Invest in an All-Access pass. You don’t need to come to all four shows but you will enjoy and understand the diversity of the work if you do. If you can’t attend a show, let us know and we’ll donate your seat.
2) Attend the parties! Get to know the artists and your fellow audience members. Build trust so that when you have a pithy comment, you will feel comfortable sharing it.
3) Speak up. We think you are smart. Share your feedback after the shows or write to us. We read everything. We listen.
4) Love postshow conversations? Hate them? Be honest with yourself. The postshow conversation is optional and we won’t be offended if you step out after the show.
5) Wear your nametag all weekend. You are going to meet lifelong friends at Local Lab. It happens every year.
6) Finally, eat the free food. There’s a reason we provide nosh; active listening is hard work. Think of yourself as a theater athlete and pace yourself.
A teaser for each day:
Friday—It’s Earth Day. Join the Lab artists for a sunrise hike at Chautauqua 8 am–9:30 am. ALL-ACCESS PASSHOLDERS are welcome.
At 5 pm, ALL-ACCESS PASSHOLDERS can join us for the pre-party at Walters & Hogsett Jewelers. Free food, wine, and mingling with your fellow theater lovers.
Then, hop aboard for "YOU ENJOY MYSELF” at 7 pm; the 90-minute play about a family with a history of following PHISH, the band. This sweet, heart-centered play is full of humor, music, and the rituals that bond (and separate) us. Get to bed early. Tomorrow is a long day....
Saturday—we begin at 2 pm with “THE LOTUS," our first collaboration the with CU Department of Theater and Dance! This inspiring new student play was written during the first few months of the pandemic by Esther Omegba.
Next is "GOODNIGHT COWBOY" at 6 pm, 70 minutes. Come for a dazzling, dizzying, and dance-filled one-woman show inspired by the Children’s book Goodnight Moon and cinema Westerns. Wanna learn more, read the American Theatre Magazine feature HERE. You don’t want to miss this. Stay for the afterparty, a free drink, more food, and an open dance floor at DV8—Boulder’s only queer bar. I’ll dance with you.
Sunday—
12–1:30 pm—ALL-ACCESS PASSHOLDERS, get ready to create. Yours truly, along with Local Lab 11 Co-Directors Nick Chase & Betty Hart will lead a theater-making workshop for nontheater-makers (okay, theater-makers will enjoy it, too).
"AFFINITY LUNCH MINUTES" at 2 pm; 90 minutes A fancy private school. Two teachers (a Black woman and a biracial man) in a school of hundreds of white students, all trying to do the right thing. Missing the point over and over again. This beautiful and compassionate play is the conversation we assume everyone is having (but realize we all feel alone in the conversation and are afraid we might get it wrong).
I look forward to meeting you next weekend. Again, be sure to wear your nametag so I know your name when we meet at the charcuterie board.
Warmly,
Pesha
