Tag Archive for: Rattlesnake Kate

How New Plays Get Made

When the world premiere of Rattlesnake Kate debuted at the Wolf Theatre in 2022, it garnered a lot of positive attention. The play featured not only a spirited story about Kate Slaughterback, a Colorado woman who famously killed 140 rattlesnakes one day in 1925, but showcased how a play or musical might get commissioned by […]

Graphic for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month at the DCPA

The month of May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Originally a weeklong commemoration to mark the completion of the transcontinental railroad (the majority of which was laid by Chinese immigrants) and the first Japanese immigration to the United States. By the early 1990s, the month of May was officially designated Asian/Pacific […]

The deconstruction process shows the bare bones of a theatre

Taking the First Step Toward Sustainable Theatre

Recurring climate catastrophes have made all the more plain the urgent need to reduce our carbon footprint in every way, from how we drive our cars to how we power our businesses to, yes, how we make and present live theatre. But as is the case with anything that requires a fundamental change in how […]

Rattlesnake Kate. Sketch of Kate Slaughterback in her signature flapper dress and cowboy hat with rattlesnake motif background

The Three Phases of Rattlesnake Kate

Strong. Ambitious. Fearless. Badass.  Those are just some of the words used to describe the Colorado Western woman, Kate McHale Slaughterback—famously known as “Rattlesnake Kate.” When Composer Neyla Pekarek ventured to the Greeley Museum while in school at the University of Northern Colorado, she did not expect to be captured by the story of how […]

Colorado New Play Summit image of two women laughing and acting out lines while reading

Progression of a Script

Since our inception in 1979, the DCPA Theatre Company has been committed to new works. In fact, our very first season included the world premiere of Passing Game by Steve Tesich. By our 1982/83 season we had held our first public reading of a work in development — A Beautiful World by David Jones. Our […]

Reviving a Legend: Rattlesnake Kate

By: John Moore Hard to believe, but it’s already been three years since Colorado New Play Summit audiences got a sneak peek at Rattlesnake Kate, which back then wasn’t much more than a promising twinkle in the eyes, ears and imagination of Neyla Pekarek. Simply put: “The Rattlesnake Kate world premiere musical that you will […]

Do Rattlesnakes Migrate?

When you hear the word “migration,” it’s likely you think of birds migrating toward warmer temperatures. Migration is usually an animal or insect’s response to a change in temperature, food supply, or amount of daylight. There are also two important factors that differentiate migration from other types of movement or travel: first, migrations are seasonal, […]