If you’ve never been to Colorado, let me enlighten you about something: there are mountains here. I know. Weird, right? I don’t mean knolls or mounds or hills. I’m talking about massive, devastating, god-dwarfing earth-walls that take the pee out of you the first time you see them, and pretty much every time after that, actually. In those stunningly gorgeous mountains, healthy people hike and climb and run and… murder wildlife. Then at night, when they’ve had enough of the outdoors, a few of them join some indoor-people to watch live theatre.

Mountain theatres present community and professional theatre – world and regional premieres, new works, and classics all up and down the Front Range and Western Slope. They face the same challenges and experience the same rewards as those in flat areas and bigger cities, of course. But what makes the mountain theatres unique? I chatted with three Colorado theatre artists who helped me answer that question.

Chris Alleman is the Artistic Director of Lake Dillon Theatre Company. The company produces musicals and straight plays all year round, and is right up the road from the lake itself.

“Tourists, patrons, and even theatre professionals have this (mis)conception that anything happening outside a metro area must be subpar, amateurish, and of low quality,” Alleman said. “The wonderful thing is when you see you’ve changed their minds with the product you’ve created. Colorado is producing wonderful theatre outside the Denver Metro area… We are fortunate enough to get to create art in one of the most beautiful areas in the country. A quick break to step outside the theatre can be a very calming moment as you take in the incredible vistas that surround you. It is peaceful and zen like. But then again, we do have that damned snow six months out of the year.”

Ah, yeah. The snow. Summit County – home to Lake Dillon Theatre Company as well as Breckenridge Backstage Theatre – gets an average of around 135 inches of snow per year (the average US city gets about 25). Makes it more difficult to actually get to the theatres, so that’s one unique challenge. But all that snow does bring skiers, boarders, snow-shoers, and tourists, hungry for evening entertainment. So, you know, that makes it all worth it.

Christy Montour Larson is an Artistic Company Member at Curious Theatre Company and one of Colorado’s most respected and talented directors. She has collaborated with some of the state’s best, including the Denver Center and Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company. For the last two seasons, Larson directed at Creede Repertory Theatre.

For nearly 50 seasons, CRT has brought fun and provocative and professional theatre to the town of Creede, 265 miles south and over 3500 feet above Denver.

“Living next to the Rocky Mountains in Denver has a profound effect on me, but there is nothing like being up in the Rockies,” Larson said. “The scenery, the air, the hiking, the good people, the slower pace. It is grace personified… Sure, it takes awhile to get used to. The year round population is 410. So as soon as 90 company members arrive in mid May, the population increases by 25%! The grocery store closes at 6pm and is not open on Sunday, there is no TV reception without satellite. No radio. Be mindful of bear. But CRT does a wonderful job organizing company hikes, water rafting, cook-outs. And boy, are they great at celebrating.”

Bob Moore may be the leading expert – he started in the mountain theatre scene in 1978, and did over 35 productions at Breckenridge’s Backstage Theatre as an actor, director, scenic designer, set builder, was also on the Board of Directors, and served as managing director for a couple of years.

“I also began acting at the Lake Dillon Theatre in the mid 90’s and since that time have performed in over a dozen shows with them,” Moore said. “Other than the mountain vistas and outdoor scenery, there is no difference in performing in the mountains verses elsewhere. A quality theatre piece is the same regardless of where it is produced. The mountain environment fills my soul. That’s why I live where I do. I’m a native of Colorado, and the mountains, I guess, are in my blood.”

So maybe the big difference here is the Rocky Mountains’ unique beauty – definitely not to be missed. When you do come to visit Colorado, sure, go see a lot of live theatre. But don’t limit yourself to Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs. Drive up into the mountains where you can see brilliant shows at Lake Dillon, Breckenridge Backstage, Creede Rep, Thunder River (Carbondale), Theatre Aspen, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre (Grand Lake), Miners Alley Playhouse (Golden), Evergreen Players, Telluride Theatre, and Crested Butte Mountain Theatre. Just to mention a handful.

jhartwell@dramatistsguild.com