T H E WA T C H
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WATCH Q&A
Mountain Confidential Letting the people speak
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elluride Theatre’s artistic director, Sasha Sullivan, premieres her original holiday production, “Playing Santa” at the Sheridan Opera House this week. Here, the high-spirited actor-writer-director-stripper (she invented the raucous annual fundraiser, Burlesque) plays only herself. Childhood ambition: To be a unicorn. I really wanted to be a unicorn! [laughs] Failing that, the President of the United States. I am in Telluride because: I came for a summer and never left. And I love the community. Landscape: A dark theater with a blank stage: walking into the theater and seeing all the possibilities. Greatest Joy: My husband making me laugh — he cracks me up. My other joy is supporting the people in our company to be successful onstage. Indulgence: A manicure, pedicure and a massage. Frustration: Having to follow directions to put things together. I feel like I don’t have that spatial thing when it comes to numbers and directions — it isn’t me. Other frustrations are not listening, and being late. My greatest frustration of all is people not being truthful or kind. Meal: Dinner at the Sheridan Chop House with my husband. We’d share a filet mignon, and I’d have a terrific martini. Season: Fall. I’m a huge lover of a change of seasons, and here in autumn it can seem like part spring, part summer and part winter at the same time. Best of all in Telluride are the colors. Alarm clock: None. I work late and wake up to the sounds of Mother Nature. I let myself
VREELAND from page 14
Showtime is this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. “Point and Shoot” won Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival; it recounts a 35,000-mile motorcycle trip filmmaker Matthew Van Dyke made across North Africa and the Middle East. It plays Sunday at 7:30 p.m. “Copenhagen” (Friday, December 26) tells the story of an unusual friendship between a Danish girl named Effy and an American tourist twice her age. It marks Mark Raso’s “discomfiting yet riveting” debut as a filmmaker, according to Times critic David DeWitt, who calls him “a talent to watch.” “Low Down” is based on AmyJo Albany’s book about growing up with a father who played bebop piano with jazz greats Lester Young and Charlie Parker
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Sasha in her milieu. [Courtesy photo] awaken naturally. Wildest Dream: To be a published author and sell my work to a publishing house, and to make Telluride Theatre a nationally recognized company whose work is a destination for theater goers. Musical Artist: Harry Belafonte. His singing makes me totally happy, and his album “At Carnegie Hall” is the BEST. I named my Boston Terrier ‘Sylvie’ [the second song on the album]. My grandfather was a huge fan of Belafonte and Sergio Mendes; I grew up listening to this kind of music. Favorite Play: I have two: Jean Genet’s “The Maid,” because it’s beautifully written and I love the role playing in it — the idea of dreaming an entirely new life. And the musical “Hair,” which I’ve been listening to since I was a kid. (Sullivan staged the musical to acclaim last year.) I love its message about peace, protests and coming together as a tribe. Book: Colors Insulting to Nature, by Cintra Wilson. I laugh so hard reading it, it makes me pee in my pants. The whole thing is raunchy and wrong. I love it. but whose career — like so many musicians from that era — was cut short by an addiction to heroin. The movie was directed by Jeff Priess, who understands his musical subjects: he also filmed the Chet Baker documentary, “Let’s Get Lost” (Baker, too, was in thrall to Smack). Elle Fanning stars as Amy-Jo. (Saturday, December 27, 7:30 p.m.) Finally, “Into the Woods,” director Rob Marshall’s take on the Stephen Sondheim musical starring Meryl Streep as the Witch — and an intriguing supporting cast that includes Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick (as Cinderella) and Johnny Depp — plays one night only, on Sunday, December 28 at 7:30 p.m. Those are only the highlights of what’s on at the Palm. For a complete rundown, visit telluridepalm. com. Finally, two programming notes: “Citizenfour,” which was to play the Palm this evening, has been replaced by “Lag-
Place in Nature: Two. Lavallette, on the New Jersey shore; I grew up going there. And here. I live Down Valley. Driving the spur and seeing that view of Ajax takes my breath away every time. Retreat: A Japanese spa in Santa Fe called 10,000 Waves. It’s easy to get to Santa Fe, and this place is magical and amazing: hot tubs, saunas and a meditation room. It’s very relaxing and quiet — my heaven on earth. I bring a book and just sit still for days. Creative Idol: I have three: Jim Henson, for the openness and beauty he brought to puppetry (so inspiring to me), German choreographer Pina Bausch for the amazing range of emotions she expressed through the human body, which is what I love and study, and Mel Brooks, for the best comedy in the world. He had a company he worked with; Busch and Henson also had that. An acting company creates family — a team — and through it, your work gets better and easier. You can go much deeper. You can call each other on things: “That’s where you were — now we’re going to take it to the next level.”
gies,” a comedy about youngAmerican adulthood starring British actress Keira Knightley. It plays at 6 p.m. And a headsup: pianist George Winston plays the Palm Tuesday, December 28. His music is ideally suited to this month; for me, the holidays aren’t complete until I spin the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack to “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and Winston’s indelible “December,” an album All Music Guide critic William Ruhlmann called a solo work “of unparalleled — and undeniable — beauty.” “How can music be simultaneously stirring and soothing, relaxed yet exalted?” Ruhlmann wondered. “Millions have found the answer here, and an industry has spent decades trying to duplicate it.” Winston’s holiday concert at the Wright Opera House has been sold out for weeks, but tickets remain at the Palm. The artist will donate a portion of the evening’s proceeds to Angel Baskets.
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Help those in need this holiday season. - 2014 -
Angel Baskets provides food, clothes, toys and necessities to over 200 qualified families.
Here’s How You Can Help: BUY A GIFT from
HELP WRAP GIFTS
DONATE FOOD
DONATE at any Telluride Sports location
the Gift Request list before Monday, Dec. 15
for fines at the Telluride Library, Dec. 1-Dec. 14
TOYS FOR TICKETS at the Marshal’s Office, Nov. 24-Dec. 20
and prepare gift boxes, Dec. 1-18
and have it matched by 50%, Nov. 27-Jan. 9
CASHSAVER COUPONS
at Clark’s Market, Dec. 7-20
GEORGE WINSTON CONCERT
Dec. 30 at the Palm Theater, 7:30 p.m. Proceeds from his CD sales will be donated to Angel Baskets.
DONATE to us via our website, mail or at our headquarters
For more information, call 708-0647 or visit online.
www.TellurideAngelBaskets.org
– HOLIDAY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION –
101 E. Colorado
(below American Natl. Bank)
Hours: Mon.-Fri., 9am–5pm; Sat. & Sun. 12/13-14, 10am–2pm