Performance Art in the Rocky Mountains

While you might expect to find great theatre performances in cities like New York or London, you can also find them in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. The Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre has been in action for over four decades thanks to the initial efforts of David Thompson. In 1966, he joined forces with the Grand Lake Arts Council and launched The Troupe of American College Players. The theatre underwent a variety of changes over the years including a move from Grand Lake to Colorado Springs and back to Grand Lake, but it remained strong throughout the years. When Thompson died in 1993, two members of the theatre company took over and kept it going. In 1998 youth theatre programs began and the theatre is one of the most popular cultural destinations in the Rocky Mountains.

Three blocks from the theatre are the theatre cabins where the performing actors, musicians, and theatre staff live during their productions. Since 1999 these cabins have housed the members of the company in the Off-Broadway complex made up of one house and seven cabins. Each of the cabins is tended to by Grand Lake families who handle the cleaning, waxing, washing, and shining of everything in the cabin in preparation for the new arrivals at the start of a show run. These cabins serve as the homes of the companies for three months.

Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre seeks to bring the most well known and best loved shows to their stage. Recent performances have included Forever Plaid, Always... Patsy Cline, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, A Grand Night for Singing, Annie Get Your Gun, Singin' in the Rain, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Songs of John Denver, 42nd Street, Seussical, Footloose, Oklahoma, Big: The Musical, Brigadoon, Pirates of Penzance, and All Shook Up. There are both musical, dramatic, and comedic performances.

One of the most popular features of the theatre is the youth theatre group. This program is designed to help students who are interested in performing to hone their talents and skills, and experience the business. For those who are just getting started, it will expose them to theatre and hopefully spark a passion in them that will burn for years to come. The Teen Theatre Academy is for children ages 14 -18 and it is an intensive three week program that features lessons in music, dance, and dramatic performance. Students will get training in scene study, audition techniques, monologues, stage combat, vocals, and dance. It will also help kids prepare for high school and college theatre. At the end of the program there will be three Cabaret-style performances.

The Youth Theatre Workshop is for kids age 8 - 10 and is a two week workshop that introduces kids to the basics of theatre. They will be exposed to Broadway songs, lighting. There is some vocal, dance, and acting guidance given in the program. The Youth Theatre Production is for children age 11 - 13 is a three week program that allow children to produce and perform and full-length show. They will learn stage blocking, audition techniques, and the performance will be given three times to expose them to a live audience.

Whether you are a young person with a desire to pursue theatre or you are an adult who loves live performance entertainment, pay a visit to the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre.