THEATER ASPEN PRESENTS: LIFE IS A CABARET

March 7, 2008

Theatre Aspen’s Spring Gala “Life is a Cabaret” will take place on Saturday, March 14th from
6:30 -11:30pm at The Hotel Jerome. The lighting will be great, just in case all the world truly is a stage. Please come, enjoy food, great music and give a bit of a show!

The Vision
Theatre Aspen values live theatre as an entertaining and educational event created by professional artists especially for our audience. We believe theatre provides a unique opportunity for audiences and artists to share experiences that can be enjoyable, uplifting, thought provoking, and life changing. It is the goal of Theatre Aspen to create the highest level of professional theatre for the enjoyment and inspiration of our audience.

The History
The founder of Aspen Theatre in the Park, Kent Reed, came to Aspen in 1983 from Kansas City, Missouri, with a vision of creating a professional theatre company in Aspen. He faced many challenges, primarily finding the money to produce the shows, and searching for a place to stage the productions. Aspen Community Theatre loaned Mr. Reed $2,500.00, and the then barren basement of the historic Hotel Jerome became the home of Theatre Under the Jerome. In 1987 the Hotel Jerome began its restoration and Theatre Under the Jerome, once again found itself without a performance space. Due to the loss of the Jerome, the name of the theatre was changed to The Aspen Theatre Company. Mr. Reed continued to produce plays in one local venue, then another, until he finally went before the Aspen City Council requesting a small plot of land used as the snow dump by the Rio Grande Trail. It was during this time that the City of Aspen created the Aspen Art Park. What was once "just another field" was transformed into a beautiful and well-tended little oasis by the river. A second-hand circus tent was purchased and permission was obtained from the City to erect the tent on this site during the summer months. The Aspen Theatre Company began to take shape as the theatre we know today.

In 1989, Kent Reed left the Company and Aspen to pursue his own acting career. In 1992 the name was officially changed to Aspen Theatre in the Park. That same year, a fund raising campaign was undertaken to purchase a new, state-of-the-art performance tent. The Aspen School of Theatre Arts was created in 1998 to provide quality theatre education programs.

Now, Aspen Theatre in the Park has become Theatre Aspen and has turned the page to a new chapter in this long and prestigious history. The next few years will witness significant growth including the building of a new, permanent theatre and the development of a year-round professional theatre company.