Professional Theatre
for the Pikes Peak Region
OCTOBER 19 - NOVEMBER 11, 2012
The Play
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THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY
by Kristoffer Diaz
directed by Chip Walton (Co-produced with Curious Theatre Company)
This production contains strong language and may not be suitable for children or those offended by powerbombs or f-bombs.
Showboating, powerbombs, and drop kicks light up this media spectacle, both a pro wrestling match and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Really! This main event is unprecedented in theatre history, thrilling from first slam to final fall! Production sponsored by Nosh and Anheuser-Busch.
You might see a match where a wrestler gets shoved off the top rope, through a table, down to the concrete floor, directly on his head--and he still gets up to fight. Now that same wrestler, same match, he gets hit with a superkick--dude could be laid out for the rest of the night. In the physics of professional wrestling, as in life, the shot that knocks you out is the one you never see coming.
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
This production contains strong language and may not be suitable for children or those offended by powerbombs or f-bombs.
SHOW DATES & TIMES | October 19 - November 11, 2012
Wednesdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m
Sundays at 4:00 p.m.
TICKETS | Reservations are strongly advised
Reserved: $35
Children under 16: $15
UCCS Students: FREE
Groups of 10 or more: $25
No children under 5 years old
LOCATION | Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater
3955 Regent Circle, Colorado Springs, CO 80918
Click HERE for directions. THEATREWORKS is located on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Campus in University Hall (near the intersection of Union and Austin Bluffs).
FIRST FRIDAY TALKBACK
Friday, October 19
The director and actors will come back out on stage after the performance to talk about the production and answer YOUR questions!
FIRST SATURDAY GALA
Saturday, October 20
Free drinks and snacks for EVERYONE to celebrate opening weekend!
PROLOGUE LECTURE
Ed Ferrara and Vince Russo
Sunday, October 28 at 2:30 pm | Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater
Ed Ferrara and Vince Russo - Learn all about the world of pro wrestling with our super star guests. Former WWF/WCW/TNA writers Ferrara and Russo were the minds behind some of the biggest (and most infamous) moments in the history of the business. In the controversial world of pro wrestling, this is the Holy Grail.
ADDITIONAL TALKBACK DATES
Sunday, October 21
Wednesday, October 24
Saturday, November 3
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Cast
Mace . . . . . Michael Lopez*
Chad Deity . . . . . Patrick Byas
VP . . . . . Akshay Kapoor*
EKO . . . . . William Hahn*
The Bad Guy . . . . . Bruce Rogers
Wrestler . . . . . Ronin
Wrestler . . . . . Brian K. Nelson
Artistic Staff and Crew
Director . . . . . Chip Walton
Set Design . . . . . Charlie Packard
Costume Design . . . . . Ann Piano
Lighting Design . . . . . Shannon McKinney
Sound & Video Program Designer . . . . . Brian Freeland
Props Design . . . . . Chris Guarino
Video Content Design . . . . . Mitch Dickman
Stage Manager . . . . . Katie Preissner*
Do not expect theatre as you normally know it at THEATREWORKS. Instead, brace yourselves for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Yes it’s a play, and a very good one —a 2010 Pulitzer Prize Finalist. But Chad Deity is more than an invigorating drama—it’s a knock down, one of a kind, blood-pumping spectacle set in and around a professional wrestling ring. It’s also a smart body-slamming satire about American values perfectly designed for our election season.
For all its flash, its profanity (yes, there is plenty of this too), its good humor and wild spirits, Chad Deity has the additional bonus of being a thought provoking and engaging experience. Playwright Kristoffer Diaz uses the larger than life world of professional wrestling as a metaphor for the larger than life world of marketplace America. The play invites us to consider how values and culture are shaped by stereotypes created for our consumption, and how we rely on myths and images we know are phony, but which we perpetuate anyway.
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is not just your average night out in the theater. It’s a total immersion in free wheeling America. It’s a hand-clapping crowd-whooping good night out. And it’s a moving, thoughtful and entirely unique story of our immigrant experience. It’s all about us.
Meet Chip Walton. Chip is the artistic director of Curious Theatre Company in Denver and the director of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Read our interview with Chip to learn more about the play and his vision for the production.
What interests you about Chad Deity?
The first thing that comes to my mind is that this play represents the intersection of two of my favorite things in the world -- sports and theatre! And digging into that link a little deeper, what I love about this play is the spectacle, the audience interaction, and the experiential nature of it. What theatre and sporting events share -- and what separates them from film and television and the technology -- is that they are both an EVENT, and that immediacy and the engagement are things that those other medium still can't replicate. And, I also kinda like wrestling, too...plus, by the time you've finished this play, you also realize how important the things it has to say actually are, as well.
What questions does the play ask?
In a very subtle, almost underhanded way, this play forces us -- after (hopefully) having had a great time experiencing it -- to confront how powerfully cultural stereotypes dominate our popular entertainment. But again, it asks us this question in a wonderfully sly, subversive sort of way -- one that sticks with us more AFTER we leave the theatre, than while we're in the audience. And, I love how the play is slippery in that way.
Does it answer any of them?
I don't think it literally "answers" those questions -- but I do think that in the end, the playwright's voice on the subject is pretty clear.
What should audiences expect from this production?
This play is more of an event, than a typical play. For theatre-lovers, it will be unlike anything you¹ve ever seen before; and for wrestling fans, you¹ll get the opportunity to look "behind the scenes" of wrestling through a unique and provocative lens.
What is your all-time favorite play?
That's a really hard question -- but I think I'd probably say ANGELS IN AMERICA. (Both parts!)
Lastly, this is the first co-productions between Curious and THEATREWORKS, what do you think of it so far? Will it work? Good idea?
It's been really great so far -- both from the level of artistic collaboration, as well as organizational collaboration. I think we both feel like we wouldn't have been able to produce this play at the level we're doing, without pooling our resources together. And I am also very much looking forward to re-staging the play in a different physical space and configuration at THEATREWORKS -- we're having so much fun right now in rehearsals, I know how exciting it will be to get everyone back together in rehearsals for the transfer. I hope we'll do this again soon, on another show!
THEATREWORKS IS WHERE ACTORS, AUDIENCES, SCHOLARS, DIRECTORS AND DESIGNERS COME TOGETHER TO THINK ABOUT AND CREATE CLASSIC AND INNOVATIVE THEATRE.
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