Off-Center Stages LIVED/RE-LIVED at the Jones, Now thru 3/21

Off-Center's LIVED/RE-LIVED, the live realization of true Denver stories in collaboration with The Narrators, will play The Jones tonight, March 7 and March 14 and 21. Doors open at 8pm and the show starts at 8:30pm

Have you ever wanted to see your life story turned into a movie? Well, this is the theatrical version of that wish. We've partnered with The Narrators to find true stories from Denver locals in response to the theme of Lived/Re-Lived. We then gave three of these stories to different creative teams to re-imagine and perform live in The Jones. This will involve aerial dance, music, video, puppets and whatever else is needed to fully realize these stories. The Narrators host a monthly storytelling night on the third Thursday of every month at Deer Pile.

LIVED/RE-LIVED will feature Set Design by Nicholas Renaud, Lighting Design by Lily Bradford, Video Design by Charlie Miller and Topher Blair, and Sound Design by Frank Haas. Robert Rutherford of The Narrators will emcee the show.

The creative teams and shows presented as part of LIVED/RELIVED are as follows:

TEAM PUPPET will feature storytelling by Jeff Campbell and direction by Michael Emmitt. The cast will feature Leslie Randle Chapman, Mehry Eslaminia, and Mark Shonsey.

Jeff almost died three times. The first was at the age of 21, working at 711 in Sacramento, CA. He refused to sell alcohol to people without Ids, and within a matter of minutes gunshots came through the window, hitting a customer in the back. He survived but got fired two weeks later. Second time was when he was crossing the street at Welton and Park Ave and a car hit him going about 35 miles per hour. He got a ticket for jaywalking. The final time was when he was driving back to San Francisco from LA and fell asleep at the wheel and drove off a cliff into a 70' ravine. The car flipped over twice and landed on its tires. The car was destroyed, but he made it out without a scratch.

TEAM AERIAL, in collaboration with Frequent Flyers® Aerial Dance, will feature storytelling by Kelly Shortandqueer, direction by Steven Cole Hughes, and choreography by Danielle Henricks. The cast will feature Danielle Hendricks, Leigh Miller, and Heather Nicolson.

Kelly transitioned from female to male and through that has navigated the world in a variety of ways. Kelly grew up being socialized as female and evolved to a place where he decided to transition. The way he was perceived by others shifted greatly when he began taking testosterone, giving him insight into things that had previously been invisible. He experienced another shift when he had top surgery earlier this year. After being out as transgender for nine years, he's still managing other people's expectations of gender - family, friends, coworkers, LGB community, other trans people, etc. His experience doesn't always line up with the standard trans narratives that are most accessible and he's had to carve out space for himself and build community that validates and sees him the way he sees himself.

TEAM MUSIC & VIDEO will feature storytelling by Timmi Lasley and direction by Samantha Long and Brad McKinzie. The cast will feature Michael Emmitt and Stuart Sanks.

One Christmas, Timmi's mother made her a bathroom caddy out of a used ice cream bucket. On it is a strange animal print filled with cartoon lions; it is a ridiculous thing to behold. Her mother has multiple personalities. She has had a great deal of therapy and is on a lot of medication, so it is well managed. But when Timmi was a kid, it was not. As an adult she finds herself reliving the events and facts of her childhood, making them make sense. Originally she made fun of the ice cream bucket caddy but now she looks at it as a thing of beauty.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling 303.893.4100 or visiting www.denverOFFcenter.org.

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