The Future is Now Colorado New Play Festival by AwA THE WAILING OF a mother as she realizes her attempt to protect her daughter cost her daughter’s life. The story of an underdog finally recognized for his accomplishments. Isolation and the exploration of whether or not humans need community. Questioning why we parent the way we do. Stories bring us together through laughter, curiosity and sometimes even tears. Stories share the human condition from perspectives people may not have considered before. Every year the Colorado New Play Festival (CNPF) brings plays in development from across the country to Steamboat Springs to explore what connects us as human beings. Haven’t heard of the CNPF? The organization has been flying under the radar for 25 years, but things are changing. With national recognition from the New York Times as one of the top North American theater festivals, Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur Genius Award winning playwrights and Emmy and Tony nominated actors among their ranks, CNPF is making community outreach their number one priority. CNPF is an annual, week-long festival home-grown in Steamboat Springs. Initially located at Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts Camp as the New Works Festival, CNPF became an independent nonprofit in 2019 with a mission of advancing the art and craft of storytelling as an essential element of the human condition. They currently do this through three programs: the Colorado New Play Festival, Refugee Voices and the Youth Playwright Slam. The main festival takes place in June each year when CNPF partners with theatre companies to identify works that have promise but are not quite ready for production. Over the course of a week, actors, directors and playwrights rehearse and rewrite new works before a first reading on stage. Over 70% of works that come to the festival go on to production across the United States. In October 2022, Refugee Voices, in partnership with the International Rescue Committee, brought Syrian refugees and their children to Steamboat for a long weekend. The mothers joined storytelling circles to record their personal stories of 70
Winter 2022
struggle, survival and triumph. Their children had the opportunity to explore Steamboat Springs, take art classes and spend time in nature. The year 2022 also brought about the inaugual Youth Playwright Slam in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Northwest Colorado. A professional writer mentored aspiring young writers
EXCERPT FROM THE FUTURE by Hailey (15 years old) I feel as though there are thousands of wriggling worms inside me as I step off the train in front of the Future building. It stands as a skyscraper in front of me, a constant reminder that our future is never in our own hands. With its many windows and white marble walls, the building looks like a fancy office building, and like an office building, this is where everything changes. I take a deep breath and make for the tall stairs leading up to the dark, metal doors. As I pull them open with a groan, the first thing I see is a dark wall at the back of the large foyer. It is metal like the doors and has a bright white message stamped in the center. Your future begins now!
Art with Altitude