Q&A with 2026 Student Playwrighting Winners, Finalists

Six winners have been announced for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ 14th annual Middle School & High School Playwriting Competition, three in each age group. This year, the DCPA’s Education & Community Engagement team received 288 submissions from students across Colorado. The top three plays by each age group will be included in […]

All the World’s Our Stage

Impact of the Denver Center Theatre Company’s New Play Development In its inaugural season, the DCPA’s Theatre Company offered a five-play season including its first-ever world premiere, Passing Game by Steve Tesich. By season five, the Company’s commitment to new play development was formalized with a festival of public readings lasting 15 seasons. In 2005/06, […]

A Q&A You Can Sink Your Teeth Into

In between their on-stage antics in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts current cabaret comedy, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, cast members answered a fun-filled Q&A while fending off a feeding frenzy. If your version of Dracula had a dating profile, what would it say — and what’s his most toxic trait? Adriane Leigh Robinson (Lucy […]

Beyond the Script: Denver Public Library’s Guide to Meredith Willson’s The Music Man

Denver Public Library resources to enhance your experience at Meredith Willson’s The Music Man   READ  This Day Changes Everything by Edward Underhill Abby Akerman believes in the Universe. After all, her Midwest high school marching band is about to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. If that’s not proof […]

The Historical Setting of Godspeed

POST- CIVIL WAR In 1865 Texas, chaos prevailed. The Civil War ended on April 9 of that year, but the news spread sporadically and in much of the state, enslaved Black people didn’t learn they were free until June 19, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger proclaimed it upon landing in Galveston. Although Black people were […]

Set Design: Putting a Western in Motion

To create the 1865 Texas of Terence Anthony’s Godspeed, the design team had several challenges to confront. The first was how to create the journey at the heart of the play when the theatre was in the round.  “It was actually quite a big challenge in terms of the conceptual shift that everybody had to make, since the […]

Playwright Terence Anthony discusses Godspeed

Playwright Terence Anthony spoke with the DCPA when his play, Godspeed, was featured in the 2024 Colorado New Play Summit. Now, it comes to the stage in a fully produced world premiere running January 30-February 22, 2026 in the Kilstrom Theatre. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. View the original interview on […]

Puppetry: An Ancient Form of Storytelling

Puppetry is an ancient form of storytelling where a person, called a puppeteer, manipulates a figure resembling a human, animal, creature, or inanimate object. In Water for Elephants, playing Denver’s Buell Theatre Feb 11-22, 2026, puppets and puppeteers are used to enhance the storytelling. Take, for example, Silver Star, the prized horse and equestrian act […]

Activity: Vanishing Toothpick

The Broadway touring musical, Water for Elephants, brings the circus to life on stage, complete with animal acts, high flying trapeze, and slight of hand tricks sure to mesmerize audiences. Try the Vanishing Toothpick trick at home before or after the show. Materials: Toothpick Clear tape Mirror or camera (for practice) PREPARATION To begin, tear […]