Generator Theater Company and University Of Denver Dept. Of Theatre Present SAINTS OF FAILURE

Theater maker and community-based artist Ryan Conarro will perform his interdisciplinary performance work Saints of Failure as a site-specific production inside the sanctuary of Denver's Historic Grant Avenue Church & Sacred Space (216 South Grant Street) April 16-17 and April 23-24 at 7:30pm.

Weaving storytelling and live makeup transformations, Conarro shares a series of stories and memories to explore deep questions about LGBTQ identity and the American Christian experience, and the frictions and absurdities that ensue when these identities collide. The piece is underscored with a rich soundscape of live organ accompaniment by Denver musician Martha Yordy, and vocal performance by Mark Middlebrooks. The organ music score is curated and composed by Yordy.

Conarro tackles questions of queer identity and faith through humorous and brutally honest anecdotes, while painting his body with images and materials created by makeup designer and performance coach Risha Rox (Random Acts of Flyness, 100 Years/100 Women, The Paris Project), an interdisciplinary artist working in the mediums of painting, performance installation and sculpture. The piece is directed by and developed with Ellie Heyman (Beardo, Longyarn) the director in residence at New York's Joe's Pub, who most recently collaborated with Tony Kushner on The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America, a NY Times "Best of 2020" Pick.

Saints of Failure is presented in partnership with PFLAG Denver and The Center on Colfax. These two LGBTQ+ service organizations will co-facilitate post-show community conversations on Saturday, April 17, and Friday, April 23.

"This piece is about getting honest and vulnerable, and inviting audiences to do the same," said Conarro. "It's full of surprises, both in its form and its stories, and I think this setting-the Historic Grant Avenue Church sanctuary, with Martha and Mark's music-offers the potential for a really reflective experience. We hope that community members will leave the show feeling inspired to dig into big questions with us and with each other."

"The performance of makeup in this piece isn't quite like anything you've seen before," said Rox. "The body paint represents both the layers of identity that we accumulate through life, and the creation of iconographic images that become a sort of new, personal pantheon of saints over the course of the storytelling."

Saints of Failure premiered in fall 2019 in Brooklyn, New York, at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, with support from the Brooklyn Arts Council. During the premiere, NBC OUT named Conarro a "2019 Queer Performer Spotlight." The piece toured to Juneau, Alaska in early 2020, at Holy Trinity Church. The project originally began as an immersive performance installation in residency at Goddard College's Interdisciplinary Arts Program, presented at the Fort Worden State Park Pitkin Gallery, in Port Townsend, WA. This was followed by a development residency at Gainesville Theatre Alliance in Gainesville, GA, and a performance and artist talk at Claflin University in Orangeburg, SC.

Additional collaborators for Saints of Failure include: Shannon McKinney (scenic and lighting design); Haydee Antuñano (original costume design) and Janice Benning-Lacek (Denver costume design); Steven McDonald (technical direction); and Newt Fantalis, Haley Hartmann, and Ashley Wagner (University of Denver student artistic interns). The production is presented by Generator Theater Company and University of Denver Department of Theatre, where Conarro is a Visiting Professor and a Creative Producer with the DU Prison Arts Initiative. The production is supported in part by the University of Denver's Center for Community Engagement to advance Scholarship and Learning (CCESL); DU Grand Challenges; the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation; and the Walter Rosenberry Fund.

Historic Grant Avenue Church will observe Covid-19 protocols for this event, including: limited audience capacity; physically distanced seating; HEPA filters in the space; and requiring audience members to remain masked throughout their time in the space.

Tickets are $16 General Admission. $12 for ages 65+ and for students. Tickets can be found at generatortheater.org. Performances are Friday, April 16 and Saturday, April 17 at 7:30pm; and Friday, April 23 and Saturday, April 24 at 7:30pm.

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