Buntport Theater Company Announces 21st Season

Buntport Theater Company has announced their upcoming season along with some exciting changes as they prepare to open up their black box doors. Having just closed a 20th season that did not go as originally planned, Buntport is preparing to launch Season 21, complete with popular remounts, offnight programming, and their 50th full-length collaboratively created play. Buntport is also committed to removing as many barriers as possible for both the people making art in Denver's community and the people who want to enjoy it. To achieve this they will be instituting a pay-what-you-can system for all resident company performances in the coming season, and waiving the rental rate for use of their space by other creatives in the community in order to provide increased access for both audiences and collaborators.

Barring any future shutdowns, Buntport's 21st season will include:

• The debut of Cabaret De Profundis Or How To Sing While Ugly Crying, featuring local musician/composer Nathan Hall. Originally scheduled to open on March 13, 2020, the show had to be postponed due to the pandemic and will now premiere in October. Last January, Buntport released a high-quality filmed version that was re-written for the New Medium, and now the original stage production is finally getting its debut.

• The return to the stage of two Buntport favorites: Middle Aged People Sitting in Boxes and Tommy Lee Jones Goes to Opera Alone. Apparently it's a season of long titles as these older works come back for an encore.

• The debut of Buntport's 50th full-length original production. Although Buntport created two short outdoor performances during the pandemic, they are not tallied as full-length plays. Cabaret De Profundis marks the 49th and an as-of-yet-unknown production will be the 50th, debuting in April of 2022.

• In order to allow for other people to use the space more, Buntport will not return to doing Third Tuesdays every month, but will be doing off-night programming most months and will continue to host The Narrators and We Still Like You (both true storytelling shows) each month.

"Buntport fared comparatively very well during the pandemic. We continued as much outdoor, live programming as possible, and, like many companies, created virtual work as well. Thanks to ticket sales and generous support from both funding organizations and individual donors, we have so far weathered the effects of the pandemic," said company member Samantha Schmitz. "During down time, the five of us have spent a lot of time discussing how to best support the community upon opening, and we feel it is incredibly important to remove as many barriers as possible for both the people making art and the people who want to enjoy it."

In the spirit of providing increased access for both Colorado audiences and creatives, the following practices will be in place at Buntport for the 21st season:

•All Buntport Theater Company resident company performances will be name-your-own-price. Whether you come to the opening night of a play or a one-off performance on a week night, everything will be pay-what-you-can, including $0.

•The rental rate for the Buntport space will be waived. It is available free-of-charge for runs of shows, one-off performances, community meetings, and rehearsals. As always, rentals are dependent on availability and the Buntport schedule. Requests by and for populations that have been historically marginalized in this society will receive priority.

For more information on any of the above, please feel free to contact Buntport at either

stuff@buntport.com or 720-946-1388. Buntport.com

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