Salida Theater Project
Quality, sustainable, and inspirational theater for our community.
Salida Theater Project presents Dead Man's Cell Phone
A Church: Thursday May 2nd, Friday May 3rd, and Saturday May 4th at 7:00PM
Pay What You Can Night: Wednesday May 1st at 7:00pm (dress rehearsal)
DEAD MAN’s CELL PHONE:
Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play, 2007
An incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet café. A stranger at the next table who has had enough of it. And a dead man-with a lot of loose ends. So begins Dead Man’s Cell Phone. This is a laugh-out loud zany dark comedy that explores how we remember the dead – and how that memorialization changes us. It is the journey of a woman forced to confront her presumptions about morality, redemption, and isolation in a technologically obsessed society. Sharp and fresh: a beautiful piece of writing and theater that blends that mundane with the metaphysical.
Directed by Greta Hooston
Starring: Aggie Alvez, Justin Critelli, Devon Jencks, Joan Lobeck, Jan Justis and Bill Rogers
Meet the Love...really?? Directors
Greta Hooston
Greta Hooston is a recent graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder where she received her BFA in acting. She grew up in Salida, performing in the Salida High School Drama Club, and in local community theater. You may recognize her from her past roles in Salida’s own Shakespeare in the Park, or from Sventastix Production’s performance of Into The Woods earlier this year. She is excited to be both directing and acting in a piece for tonight’s performance of Love… Really? When she is not making theatre, she can be found playing with her pet cat, Peachy, completing crossword puzzles, or working at Sweeties Sandwich Shop.
Devon Kasper
Devon Kasper (Co-founding Artistic Director of Salida Theater Project, Janet in 2 Across) studied at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. She thought she would teach, but she auditioned instead at The Theater at Monmouth, an established summer repertory theater in Maine, was cast in all five shows that season, including Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and after that experience, she didn’t look back. She went on to earn her MFA in Acting at Brandeis University and then hit the small professional theater company circuit throughout New England and performed with companies such as Gloucester Stage Company, New Repertory Theatre, NORA Theatre Company, Stoneham Theater and The Publick Theatre. Some of her favorite roles include Viola in Twelfth Night, Cordelia in King Lear, Catherine in The Heiress, and Nora in A Doll’s House. Devon moved Salida, CO in 2010. She had the distinct pleasure of appearing in quite a few Stage Left Theater shows such as Dangerous Liaisons, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Boston Marriage. She also got busy directing Shakespeare in the Park and coaching the Salida High School Drama Team. And when COVID got us all down, Devon got up the nerve to perform in her first one-woman show, Bad Dates, skillfully directed by one her former Drama Team students, Michael Ricci. She is beyond thrilled to be starting this new theater company with Brade Bradshaw, who inspired her from their first meeting, and to be working again with the talented Justin Critelli and the incredible Mr. Allen Lane. Devon would like to thank her wonderful supportive husband, Harald, who always encourages her to follow her heart.
Allen Lane
Allen (Director) began his theater career on the dinner theater circuit in the Southeast. After several seasons there and a few Summers Stock productions he took off for New York in 1976. For the next 20 years he took any theater job he was offered. For eight seasons he sang roles with New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, three seasons with New England Lyric Opera and toured the U.S. and Europe with the national company of West Side Story. In the meantime he studied acting at HB studios, voice with James Carson and dance with Jerri Lines. Off-off Broadway provided lots of opportunities to hone his musical comedy skills, work with playwrights developing comedy scripts as well as performing with theater of the avant garde. His work with Summer stock companies and road tours combined both of his favorite activities – acting and sightseeing. He retired to Salida in 2011 where he had performed with Walden Chamber Music Society and Calliope! and coached and taught acting. But the directing bug struck (probably due to the fact that directors don’t have to memorize the lines) and he worked with Stage Left Theater, Calliope!, Salida Circus, and Riverside Shakespeare, just to name drop. His work with Salida Theater Project presented an exciting opportunity to help bring repertory theater back to Salida.
Greg West
Greg West is very excited to be doing his first production with Salida Theatre Project. It’s extra special because his scene part-ner is a student from his acting workshops. Currently he is also working on two solo performance pieces, Taking Tea With the Ripper and Divinely Alone. Both plays are written by Denver play-wright Mike Broemmel. Mike also wrote I’m Harvey Milk which was directed by Greg.
Community Theater That Excites Us
SALIDA THEATER PROJECT came about after many conversations over coffee since the summer of 2020.
Brade Bradshaw, a professional actor/director from Chicago, was visiting his parents, who live in South Fork, and something came to mind while strolling through the streets of Salida, “Where is the theater?” There wasn’t any. But it seemed to Brade this was a perfect town for theater.
That’s when Brade hooked up with Devon, former SHS High School Drama coach and Director of Shakespeare in the Park, and they had their first cup of coffee together at Bunny and Clyde’s.
Since Stage Left Theatre Company dissolving in 2016, then the pandemic, which kept many of us from attending large indoor events, the stars have finally aligned.
Thanks to a kick in the pants & master organizational skills from Founding Board Member Leslie Matthews, the light-hearted infectious energy from professional actor Brade Bradshaw, and the established, trusted skills of Devon Kasper (and a shared vision amongst us), we are excited to present to you Salida’s newest theater company, which we hope will be around a long time.
Salida Theater project is dedicated to the following core values: Community, relevance, accessibility, quality, sustainability, and inclusivity.
We will strive to collaborate with artists based locally and beyond to foster a safe artistic platform for growth, conversation, and innovation. Bringing quality, sustainable, and inspirational professional theatre to our community that celebrates the humanity in us all, through intentionally curated seasons, engaging educational programing, and hand-on community engagement.
For now, we plan to bring our community theater that excites us and go project to project. We won’t necessarily bring you a play the same time each year, nor will the show be in the same space each time.
Our long-term goal is to pique the interest of a benefactor out there, or raise the money over time, to have a home and unite community and professional artists alike in a true repertory theater environment. But until then, we hope you come out to support our projects, whether you audition, volunteer or donate!
We will see you at the Theater!