Introducing "Far Away, So Close"

 
A conversation regarding:

 written by James Gold

 They're not exactly a theatrical company.

Yet they use a stage and they showcase professional actors.

They don't do "plays," but they bring the drama.

There's nothing like them in the region-- they are "Stories on Stage," and The Dairy is proud that they are one of our resident organizations.

Stories on Stage is a unique organization that produces shows in which professional actors perform dramatic readings of top-notch works of literature, on stages from here to Denver. And on August 10th, their showcase entitled "Far Away, So Close" will be hitting the stage for a one-night only performance at The Dairy.

Recently, I sat down with Abbe Stutsman and Lisa McClellan, two of the ladies working hard behind the scenes for Stories on Stage, and talked about the upcoming show.

JG: Can you summarize "Far Away, So Close" for me?

AS: It's a showcase of three different stories performed by three different actors

JG: Is there a central theme that ties the stories together?

LM: They're basically about making emotional connections in life. One of them focuses on a town in Wyoming, and the writer talking about his upbringing.

AS: They're all about travelling and making connections with people and the past.

We then talked about Boulder and what the town is like as an audience.
Lisa, who had recently attended an audience development workshop at the Boulder Public Library, said that the lady leading the workshop had this to say of Boulder: "Boulder is a tough nut to crack."

And it is.
But there's also the dilemma of how to most effectively reach the appropriate demographics without being overly aggressive about it.

We know there are plenty of people in Boulder hungry for very different sorts of cultural experiences, and Stories on Stage offers just that.

JG: What goes into choosing the works of literature that you'll have performed in your shows?

AS: That's all about Anthony Powell, our Artistic Director. He reads tons of stories. And each of our shows tend to have a theme. For example, there was a show called "Because I said So" that focused on growing up-- both from a child's and parent's perspectives. There has also been one on gardening.

In addition to the showcases being themed, they typically showcase three to four stories in each show, each performed by a different actor, but also occasionally involving two actors performing the same story by voicing the different characters together.

In "Far Away, So Close," there are three stories being performed and they are as follows:

"Rawlins" by William Haywood Henderson, will be read by Timothy McCracken

"Earth is Boring" by Jennifer Itell, read by Anne Penner

and "Me: You" by Laurie Sleeper, read by Mare Trevathan.

Timothy McCracken

When I asked the ladies why people should come to this show, Abbe said "It's a chance to see great actors reading great stories by local authors."

 In fact, Abbe continued, "this year is our year of the Colorado Writer."

They're placing a huge emphasis on showcasing works from Colorado writers this year, and there's no better time than now to check out the unique literary/theatrical experience that Stories on Stage has to offer.

"Far Away, So Close" was organized via a collaboration between Lighthouse Writer's and Stories on Stage.

The date and time of performance is August 10th at 7:30pm.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased HERE.


And if you'd like a little taste of what Stories on Stage performances are like, click HERE to watch a short video.