Theater
Biedermann and the Firebugs (2021)
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2021 Theater Season
Westcliffe Center
for the Performing Arts
The Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts opened its 2021 summer season of live theater on July 1 with The Shadow of the Hummingbird, by South African playwright Athol Fugard, most famous in this country for his plays Blood Knot and Master Harold and the Boys. The Shadow of the Hummingbird is a one-act two-person play featuring an elderly writer (“Oupa,” loosely based on Fugard himself) who is visited by his grandson (“Boba”). The WCPA production was a family affair in every sense of the word, featuring veteran WCPA actor and audience favorite Thomas “Frosty” Frostman and his own grandson, Max.
Biedermann and the Firebugs is a dark comedy originally written in 1953 as a radio play by Swiss playwright Max Frisch, who dubbed it a “Learning Play without a lesson.” The play, scheduled for October 8-10 and 15-17, takes place in a nameless town beset by arsonists. The central character, businessman Gottlieb Biedermann, flanked by a chorus of firefighters, his wife Babette, and maid Anna, finds himself more and more flummoxed as the two “peddlers” he admits into his household show every sign of being the arsonists in question. Part allegory, part farce, Firebugs remains as timely and timeless today as when it was first written.
WCPA receives $10,000 Grant from Colorado Creative Industries
The Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts is extremely grateful to have been awarded a generous grant of $10,000 through the Colorado Arts Relief Fund from the Creative Industries Division of the Office of Economic Development. This grant will help us to keep going during 2020 as well prepare to reopen sometime in 2021 when it is safe to do so.
The WCPA 2020-2021
Ten-Minute-Play Competition
The Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts (WCPA) announces the winners of its 2020 Ten-Minute-Play Competition, the organization’s eighteenth play competition. The WCPA Play Competition is dedicated to showcasing new works by playwrights and is sponsored by the nonprofit Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts in Westcliffe, Colorado.
The winning plays in the 2020 Ten-Minute Play competition will be produced in 2021. We had 50 entries in 2020, 13 semi-finalists, which we winnowed down to six finalists:
Calvin in the Library, Gerald Williams, Vancouver, BC, Canada
The Stoolie, Seth Freeman, Pacific Palisades, CA
Little Carbon Footprint, Donald Ralph Lampton, Lexington, KY
Movie Reel, Jack Rushton, Newbury, MA
Madera Canyon, Kathleen Cahill, Salt Lake City, UT
It is an Ancient Mariner, Steven Doloff, New York, NY
Sponsorships and Donations
The Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts depends on donations, sponsorships, and other forms of support from individuals, foundations, and businesses. Put your name or your company’s name up in lights, get noticed by our 3,000 audiences each year. To find out about available sponsorships for shows, events, and more, please contact us. If you wish to become a sponsor now, please click on the Sponsor button below and fill out the Sponsorship Form.
Movies
2021 Coming Attractions
at the Jones Theater
Adults, $9; Kids 12 & under, $6;
Seniors, $8; $1 discount Sunday Matinees
2021 Jones Theater Attendance and Tickets
Attendance for performances in the Jones Theater will be limited to 50 seats to enable the audience to spread out in the theater. Also, we encourage everyone to wear masks until seated; during the performance, those who have been fully vaccinated need not wear them but nonetheless are encouraged to do so. Masks will be available at the theater.
Only 50 tickets will be available, first-come first-served. Tickets will be sold through the box office, which will be open at set times. Or you can call the WCPA office, reserve tickets, and come by to pay for them. For further information or to reserve your tickets, please call 719-783-3004 or email wcpa@jonestheater.com.
Ticket prices are the same for both Jones Theater and Shakespeare in the Sangres performances: Adults, $20; students (18 and under), and Veterans, $15; kids (12 and under), $5.
Please visit the Support Us page to learn about the many important ways in which the community, individuals, and organizations support the Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts and the Jones Theater.
The 2021 Season
At the Historic Jones Theater
and Park Amphitheater
Events | Plays | Youth Activities
July-August
The Shadow of the Hummingbird
by Athol Fugard
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, July 1-3, 7 p.m.
Sunday matinee, July 4, 2 p.m.
Much Ado About Nothing
By William Shakespeare
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, July 29–August 14, 6 p.m.
Creativity Camp
A summer class for children ages 7 to 12. TBD
September
Youth Theater!
TBD
*Wyatt Earp: A Life on the Frontier
Friday and Saturday, September 4 and 5, 7:30 p.m.
2020 Winning Ten-Minute-Play Performances
TBD For details about WCPA play competition, please visit our Call Board.
October
Biedermann and the Firebugs
October 8-10 and 15-17; Friday, Saturday, 7 p.m.; Sunday matinees, 2 p.m.
In Concert Presents: Rastrelli Cello Quartet
Sunday, October 24, 2:00 p.m.
Shakespeare
Much Ado About Nothing (2021)
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2021 Shakespeare in the Sangres
Westcliffe Center
for the Performing Arts
Imagine an evening of Shakespeare in an outdoor amphitheater, watching the sun set over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains as you enjoy a family picnic on the lawn followed by a superb performance. Come early, bring your chairs, blankets, and picnic. Put these performances on your 2021 calendar for July now!
Much Ado about Nothing – Benedick and Beatrice spar with a society set up to reward corrupt men and crush innocent women. However, even more notably, they spar with each other, and have served as the theatrical and literary model of “witty lovers” for hundreds of years, inspiring other writers from William Congreve to Jane Austen.
The production is scheduled for Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 6 p.m., July 29-August 14, at the usual location, the Silver West Feed Store Park.
Performance and Ticket Information
Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts
and the Historic Jones Theater
General Info: 719.783.3004
Ticket Info: 719.783.3004
Email
WCPA/Jones Theater Address
119 Main St. • PO Box 790
Westcliffe, CO 81252
WCPA Theater Ticket Outlets
Candy’s Coffee Shop • 719.783.9516
106 So. 2nd Street • Westcliffe, CO
Arterburn Fine Arts • 719.783.2099
409 Main Street • Westcliffe, CO
Call for Shakespeare Volunteers
Each season WCPA /Jones theater welcomes new actors, musicians, and costumers for our Shakespeare in the Sangres productions. There are always a number of small and sometimes larger roles to fill, especially for men. If you have always wanted to try your hand at acting in Shakespeare this is your chance. We also have a large costume shop but we always need volunteers to help choose, make or remake costumes for our productions. If this sounds like an interesting opportunity for you to get involved in these exciting productions, please email your availability, willingness, and experience, and we will be in touch. Who knows you might become one of our newest stars!
NOTICE: Online ticket sales for 2021 are temporarily unavailable.
2021 Event Tickets
Our original online ticket sales provider, Diamond Ticketing, went out of business owing to Covid-19. The company has been purchased by AdventureTix, which will provide ticketing services. As soon as the transition to the new provider is completed, online ticketing will resume. Meanwhile, please contact the WCPA office at 719-783-3004 or by email (wcpa@jonestheater.com) for ticket information and sales.
Become a WCPA Volunteer!
Have you ever been curious about what goes on backstage at our community theater, but you don’t act, dance or sing? Well guess what? Just as much fun goes on backstage and before and during the performance!
As a not-for-profit theater, we depend on the donated time and talents of our community to staff our organization. To learn about some of the jobs that keep a theater like the Jones in business, please visit our Support page. You may find some activities that interest you.