Theater

Curiouser and Curiouser

by Alex Neth

In theatre, as in politics and breadmaking, there needs be a necessary middle ground. A place not too expensive or radical or burnt. But where? Where do we find this space to compromise? Quality drama without the Broadway ticket price is as elusive as a unified Europe, as the perfect pumpernickel. Does Denver's theatre-going public have a reason to believe in such a thing? According to Chip Walton, artistic director of the Curious Theatre Company at the Acoma Center, the answer is: yes indeed.

"We're a mid-size professional theatre," Walton said. "And we're pretty much the only one here. Denver's got a world-class first tier, which is great -- but unlike other cities, it doesn't have that mid-level. We don't want to be the Denver Center. But Denver is willing, ready and able to support a mid-size professional arts organization."

The CTC aims to be just that organization. Founded in 1997 by Walton and a group of directors and designers who had collaborated on another company's production of Angels in America , CTC has won numerous awards for its productions . among them Fences, Closer, How I Learned to Drive and Fuddy Meers and has earned growing critical recognition in the years since. After entering into a partnership with the Acoma Center in 2000, CTC now manages and occupies the center's performance space in the old Swedish Evangelical Free Church on 11th and Acoma.

"In my mind, it's an innovative approach," Walton said of the partnership. "We thought, 'what happens if we partner and work together?' I wear dual hats, as executive director of the Acoma Center and as producing art director of the CTC. They're two halves of the same whole."

Despite the successes that Walton and his compatriots at the CTC have enjoyed, their decision to use union actors and make a higher payroll commitment -- including professional-level royalties, which are anywhere from three to five times as much as their amateur equivalents -- has not made the climb from small company of directors to mid-size player in the Denver drama market an easy one.

"We're starting to develop a reputation," he said. "We're not going to sell thousands of tickets overnight. We have a dedicated segment that keeps coming back--some say,--it's not for us." If you want to see Oklahoma, you're not going to come here. It has been a struggle, with our committment to be pros and to pay everyone, but that's the life of a growing arts organization."

Grow they have. But, despite the elaborate nature of their upcoming production of Jose Rivera's Cloud Tectonics , which opens May 4, and even though they will be debuting a four-show season in October of this year for the first time, Walton holds fast to the notion that it is better to do something right than just to do it.

"I'd rather do two shows well rather than five not so well," he said. "But we're growing to the point where three shows isn't enough to keep our profile up. With three shows, there's too much downtime. We're going to four, and we'll stay there. I still subscribe to the theory that quality is better than quantity."

Audiences have come to expect quality from CTC, and the upcoming production should not disappoint. Cloud Tectonics is a play in the "magical realism" style of writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende, and the set design is something to behold--a floating bed, movable waterwalls and clocks that stop and start automatically are among the elements which make for both difficult set construction and memorable theatre.

"This play is part of Curious's commitment to doing at least one play every year centered in a culturally diverse community--this year it's Latino, next year we will be working with some gay themes. I don't know where else people would go to see something like it."

That desire to be inclusive extends to the Denver theatre community as a whole. "I have a commitment to using local actors," he said. "I'm always looking for great new actors. Actors come back here again and again and again, but not in an exclusive way. . . One of the things about not having a company of actors is that we are free to choose who's best for the role. Actors respect that. They only want the role if they are the best person for it. There's a wealth of talent in this city."

And the city is starting to respond. It can be seen in the growing audiences at the Center, which Walton believes have doubled over the last year. It can be seen even in the growth of the Golden Triangle neighborhood around the center, which is rapidly becoming a local haven for artists and their art.

"The future looks so bright," Walton said. "Look at our location, with the Art Museum expansion, you can catch this vibe--Cuba Cuba, the clubs on Broadway--where else in the city do you go for things like that? .

The work being done at the Acoma Center is the work that makes life more beautiful. How can we not applaud the little guy, especially when the little guy ceases to be little under his own power? At the heart of the CTC, as in all artistic endeavor, is the desire to create something real and meaningful.

"CTC really has a vision," Walton said. "We're not trying to be everything to everyone. We are doing provocative theatre that's well-produced and makes people think. A lot of the competition does it from time to time, we do it every time."

Here's to that. The middle ground has been reached, and judging by the result, it isn't such a bad place to be.

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