FAC Theatre Company 2007–2008 Season

Pictured: Amy Brooks as Kate, Sloan Brooke Lyons as Laurie, Tina Ivlev as Nora, and Marco Robinson as Eugene

“I played Blanche in both Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound. We did it a year or two apart at FAC with the same cast. It was a wonderful experience to play the same part at different times in life; to see how each character grew and changed.  In Brighton Beach, Blanche was a recent widow completely dependent on my sister; in Broadway Bound, she was remarried and wealthy. The dynamics had changed. Best part of the journey was sharing it was my Theater-sister, Amy Brooks. We have played sisters in many plays, and it is always a joy.” – Jane Fromme, Blanche

Pictured: Acting Company

“Taking very famous, 2D paintings and converting them to 3D stage designs, was an enormous design challenge. People, objects and animals needed to come and go from Georges Seurat’s works as his character “painted” them. Even more difficult, most of our audiences new of and had seen images of the original works… so there was no ability to “alter” the final design creations. To achieve this, I designed the scenic elements to lower in from above, track horizontally, and even rise up through the stage floor (which was built on an angle so the audience could see it). Overall, I felt it was very effective and with a little suspension of disbelief, one could imagine experiencing the real-life image in 1885.” – Christopher L. Sheley, Scenic Designer

Pictured: Lynn Jacobs as Claire, Colin Fitzgerald as Kenny, Leah Chandler-Mills as Gertie, and Dylan Mosley as Richard

“I actually auditioned for Fuddy Meers back in Chicago and loved the play right away. I didn’t get cast and thought, ‘Well, that’s that’. Soon after, though, I moved out here. As soon as I saw the FAC was doing it, I knew what my objective was going to be. Lucky for me I got cast, and it was an absolute blast. The Limping Man was just a horrible, horrible person, and so much fun to play. Plus, I got to be friends with all of the cast members, and work with all of them again in subsequent projects. It was a pretty risky show for the FAC to tackle at the time, and I’m so glad they took on that challenge.” – Steve Emily, Limping Man  

Pictured: (left to right) Jack Walker as Chip, Eryn Carman as Mrs. Potts, Natalie Jensen as Belle, Brantley Scott Haines as Beast, Scott Rathbun as Cogsworth, Nick Madson as Lumiere

“One of my favorite experiences on stage as an actor at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center was Beauty and the Beast in 2008. There are several things that I remember very fondly – the special effects (the Beast’s transformation at the end was so cool to watch from the wings), the scale of the set (the castle was ENORMOUS), and the fast-paced, intricate, incredibly fun choreography (there was many a cracked knuckle to be nursed as a result of the ‘clanking mug’ section during the GASTON number). But the thing I’m certain every person who worked on that show remembers so viscerally to this day was the remarkable sense of family that developed among the cast and crew. It was truly one of the most enjoyable productions I have ever been a part of.” – Samuel Gleason, Lefou

Pictured: the Company of You Can’t Take It With You

“Youth Rep was my first acting experience outside the realm of high school or church theatre. I was cast as Tony Kirby in 2008’s Youth Rep production of You Can’t Take It With You (and I credit every deadpan expression in my repertoire to this casting decision, entirely). Nestled right between my high school graduation and my first year attending college, the six-week intensive education I received was valuable and irreplaceable. From working with the highly qualified, highly skilled educators and ‘doers’ in the Springs’ vast theatre community during the day to rehearsing our separate shows each night to ultimately performing on the Fine Arts Center’s main stage, it was my first time truly immersed in the world of being a theatre actor, and gaining an understanding that passion for a craft does not inherently equal excellence in the craft, and these weeks would, for me, be the first (unsure, yet ultimately rewarding) steps in pursuing that excellence. Twelve years later, having performed on community, regional, and nationally touring stages, I’m thankful for those first steps, and I don’t know if I would’ve taken them without the care, specificity, and belief that the teachers at Youth Rep gave over the course of that summer.” – Dana Kjeldsen, Tony Kirby 

Pictured: the Company of Working

“I have so many amazing memories from the production of Working. It was the first experience I ever had with tackling characters completely opposite of where I was in life at the time. The entire Youth Rep ensemble was tasked with channeling these adult stories, built through a lifetime of experiences, as teenagers. It was also the first time (of which, hilariously, turned out to become many times) that I was cast in roles that were originally written for men. I remember looking at the script as a teenager and thinking ‘how am I going to tackle this? I’m not a 40+ year old male fire fighter?!’ But the classes we took during the Youth Rep program, led by some amazing theatre professionals throughout Colorado, helped me to find the importance of telling these people’s stories. After the show, my parents kept asking me why I never told them about the girl who was the fire fighter; ‘is she new?’ my mom asked. Turns out, they didn’t recognize me.” – Alex Cambell, Youth Rep Student