Playwright Jake Brasch and director Shelley Butler are seated at a table during rehearsal for the reservoir

Hear from the Playwrights: 2023 Colorado New Play Summit

As one of the few spaces for new play development in the West, the Colorado New Play Summit serves as a beacon to both aspiring and established playwrights as they develop new work. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) has been committed to supporting new work since its inception in 1979. In the […]

Sandy Rustin smiles as she watches The Suffragette's Murder in rehearsal

2023 Colorado New Play Summit: A Celebration of the Written Word

In the beginning was the Word. In the beginning of every play — before the set, the costumes, the makeup — are the words that make the story, the story that ultimately becomes the play. Lovers of words and the stories they create converged February 25 at 26 at the DCPA’s Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex […]

A view over the water at Cherry Creek State Park

Denver’s Multi-Faceted Playwright Comes Home

It’s not every day, every year or even every decade that a Denver native is invited to participate in the DCPA Theatre Company’s Colorado New Play Summit. But this year is different. Welcome home, Jake Brasch! Each year, the literary team at the DCPA Theatre Company receives hundreds of new scripts that are seeking development […]

Five Fast Facts About the reservoir by Jake Brasch

the reservoir by Jake Brasch was selected by DCPA Theatre Company as one of four featured readings in its 2023 Colorado New Play Summit. Get to know this all-new play before it’s read in front of a Denver audience for the first time! HOMETOWN PLAYWRIGHT Playwright Jake Brasch, a Colorado native, had his humble beginnings […]

Headshot of Sandy Rustin

Five Fast Facts About The Suffragette’s Murder by Sandy Rustin

The Suffragette’s Murder by Sandy Rustin was selected by DCPA Theatre Company as one of four featured readings in its 2023 Colorado New Play Summit. Get to know this all-new play before it’s read in front of a Denver audience for the first time! GET A CLUE! Playwright Sandy Rustin penned an adaptation of the […]

headshot of Christina Pumariega

Five Fast Facts About Joan Dark by Christina Pumariega

Joan Dark by Christina Pumariega was selected by DCPA Theatre Company as one of four featured readings in its 2023 Colorado New Play Summit. Get to know this all-new play before it’s read in front of a Denver audience for the first time! PLAYWRITING AWARD NOMINATION Before ever receiving a fully staged production, Joan Dark […]

Headshot of Vincent Terrell Durham

Five Fast Facts About Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids by Vincent Terrell Durham

Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids by Vincent Terrell Durham was selected by DCPA Theatre Company as one of four featured readings in its 2023 Colorado New Play Summit. Get to know this all-new play before it’s read in front of a Denver audience for the first time!  EVOLUTION OF TROPES Playwright Vincent […]

Alyssa Bresnahan as Thetis in the 2000 Denver Center Theatre Company production of Tantalus. Photo by p. switzer

New Play Development at the DCPA: A flourishing endeavor since 1979

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts has a long history of cultivating new works. Since its inception in 1979, the DCPA has produced 147 world premieres, presented readings of 210 new works, and commissioned 47 playwrights. Even before the Colorado New Play Summit’s creation in 2006, the DCPA has been involved in the enrichment […]