BETC's Season 12 Lineup Features Big Names, Bold Women, Birds, and Blood

Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company's (BETC) Season 12 play titles were announced at a pre-show party on Saturday, February 4th. Local theater lovers joined the BETC Ensemble at the Dairy Arts Center for a sneak peek at the company's upcoming season, and the opening night, regional premiere performance of An Iliad.

"Next season will contain some of our most adventurous productions yet," said Producing Ensemble Director Stephen Weitz. "These ambitious plays by some of America's most important and influential writers will tackle themes of revolution, sisterhood, brotherhood, duty, faith, family, and even the afterlife."

Season 12 will include a world premiere of a script nurtured in BETC's Generations new play development program, three regional premieres, two holiday favorites, and an international collaborative initiative aimed at local students and the broader public.

Season 12 Lineup:

The Revolutionists, by Lauren Gunderson
Modern America really should have a talk with 18th Century France. In this irreverent, girl-powered comedy, four very real women live, die, and dare boldly in revolutionary Paris during the Reign of Terror. Liberté, égalité... sororité.

Guards at the Taj, by Rajiv Joseph
At morning's first light, the glorious Taj Mahal will be unveiled for the first time. But for the two hapless guards, sunrise will trigger a ghoulishly funny existential crisis that will shake their faith in God, the empire, and each other. Guards at the Taj is a black comedy about two average men swept up by the beauty, carnage and injustice surrounding one of the most famous wonders of the world.

The SantaLand Diaries, by David Sedaris (at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts)
Produced in partnership with the Off Center @ The Jones for the fourth consecutive season.

Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and then some!), by John K. Alvarez et al.
Last year's mash-up hit returns for more holiday hijinks.
The world premiere of Birds of North America, by Anna Moench

While birding in their backyard over the course of a decade, a father and daughter grapple with loss, both personal and universal. Sometimes they lean on each other to survive. Sometimes they wound each other even more deeply. This gorgeously written and insightful family drama is the most recent winner of BETC's nationally recognized Generations new play competition.

Going to a Place You've Already Been, by Bekah Brunstetter

Joe says no to the idea of heaven. His wife, Roberta, is beginning to wonder. Their granddaughter, Ellie, doesn't have time for the afterlife, but she just might believe in a new boyfriend. In this nuanced and deftly funny story, two generations wrestle with love and life well-lived.... and curiosity about what comes next.
In addition to a slate of thought-provoking shows, BETC's next season holds a noteworthy additional project.

BETC and the Dairy's Boedecker Theater will partner in early 2018 to present a transatlantic film/theatre project, P3M5 (The Plurality of Privacy Project in Five Minute Plays). The project combines productions of five-minute plays with companion films exploring the concept of privacy in the digital age. Fifteen companies from across the U.S. and Europe commissioned playwrights and filmmakers to create these original pairings. In the U.S., commissioning companies include Seattle Repertory Theatre, ALLIANCE THEATRE in Atlanta, Center Stage in Baltimore, the New York Theatre Workshop, and American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

A handful of additional companies, including BETC, were invited to participate in the P3M5 Project by the National New Play Network. BETC will be the only theatre company in Colorado taking part in this international dialogue.
In addition to public performances at the Dairy, BETC and the Boe will team up to tour P3M5 to area high schools. BETC teaching artists will use the plays and films to spark student discussions about privacy concerns among young people. The P3M5 Project is supported with funding from the Boedecker Foundation.

For more information: http://www.betc.org/2017-2018-season
For more information about P3M5: http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/kul/sup/p3m.html

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