On the road in Creede: Emily Van Fleet and Noelia Antweiler talk 'all in a day's work'

In a bonus episode recorded on location in Creede, OnStage Colorado sits down with the Creede Repertory Theatre's artistic director and a first-time ensemble member to talk localized theatre, repertory acting and more.

Chapter summary

• 00:01 — Intro: a bonus episode recorded on location in Creede for CRT's 61st summer season
• 01:18 — Meeting Emily Van Fleet and Noelia Antweiler (and Noelia's on-the-way baby)
• 04:09 — How the season's theme, All in a Day's Work, ties together Working, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Moriarty and Fully Committed
• 08:26 — Noelia on playing Schwartzy in Spelling Bee and Irene Adler, Mrs. Hudson and Cartwright in Moriarty
• 11:36 — Casting adults as authentic kids, not caricatures
• 16:10 — Emily on her second season, doubling as managing director, and her dad Philip Sneed's parallel career at the Arvada Center
• 18:35 — How CRT casts nationally: EPAs, 800 video submissions and a monthslong callback process
• 19:45 — Why Noelia wanted to work at Creede for years
• 20:51 — The reward — and the trap — of repertory acting
• 22:26 — Life on Main Street during a Creede summer
• 24:13 — Beyond the mainstage: Boomtown Improv, the Kid Show program and the bilingual Young Audience Outreach Tour
• 27:12 — The Headwaters New Play program
• 28:17 — An update on the Creede USA documentary
• 29:22 — What's next for Noelia: motherhood, then Liberation at BETC
• 31:01 — Where to eat, hike and explore around Creede
• 34:58 — Alex and Toni's takeaways on all four shows
• 37:51 — First impressions of the town itself
• 43:05 — Wrap-up and what's ahead for the podcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hey, hello, and welcome to a bonus episode of the Onstage Colorado Podcast for July 21st. Uh, I'm Alex Miller.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

And I'm Tony Tresca, and today we've got an interview that we did on location in Creed, Colorado, as a part of our coverage of the Creed Repertory Theater Summer Stock season. Alex and I made the five-hour trek down to Creed from the Denver metro area this past weekend, and we saw all four main stage shows as a part of the season, and we recorded the following interview with Creed Reps artistic director, Emily Van Fliet, and company member Noelia Antweiler.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Yeah, yeah, it's been a while since we've taken the show on the road, uh, but it was kind of fun to do this interview in person. Uh Creed's 61st season started in June and runs all the way into September. So there's still plenty of time to get down there to see some shows in a really beautiful part of Colorado.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

I think it actually even started a little earlier, like the early end of May and all the way through September. So it is quite a long season, one of the longer summer stock seasons in Colorado. But enough yapping. Let's get to that interview now with Emily and Noelia.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

All right. We are here with Emily Van Fleet, artistic director at Creed Repertory Theater, and special guest Noelia Antweiler and little Henry. We can talk about that a little later. But uh yeah, it's his first his first performance, perhaps. Yes, it is. It is. Yes. So Noelia is pregnant. So um that's that's the news. You would definitely see that if you were here. So thanks for coming on the Onstage Colorado podcast.

SPEAKER_03 1:46

Thank you for having us. Yes, we're so excited.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Yeah, so we are here. It's about halfway through the summer repertory season. It's my first time out here in Creed, Colorado. I it's been just lovely. Walking, we went on a walk up Main Street this morning to kind of take in the views and look at the local businesses and whatnot. Uh for you guys, what have been the highlights of the summer season so far?

SPEAKER_03 2:12

Well, for me, I just adore these shows. Um, I think they speak so much to where we are right now as a society, but also uh in Creed and with the 150th anniversary of Colorado Statehood, we have some shows that really honor that and honor everyday Americans. And I I could not wish for a better company of performers and production folks and front-of-house folks. We have so many people um here in Creed that work here seasonally, and they're all just delightful humans and really talented and and and and great folks to to work with. So um I'm very pleased by all of that.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Um on my end, I'm just happy to be here. It is so beautiful. Um, I have been to Creed before, but this is my first time working here, and I'm just loving the company. Everyone is so kind. The town is so unbelievably kind and generous. Within two weeks, they knew my coffee order at the local coffee shop. They knew that I liked salmon on my salad at the restaurant. I mean, everyone is so unbelievably friendly um in the town and in the company. Um, so it's just kind of been a dream come true to spend a summer here um getting to make great work while also being um in this gorgeous place, um so near the hiking trails and all the natural stuff.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

We noticed that on our walk this morning, everybody we passed stopped to say hello or good morning, just and it's everybody here is so friendly in such a good mood and high spirits, which makes it does seem like it would be a good place to work for the summer.

SPEAKER_03 3:43

Yes. Yes, instead of like city traffic, you know, uh it it it you know affecting your commute, it's actually like just friendly people on the street that want to get to know you and chat with you about the plays. And it's it's really lovely. Everyone who is here and who works here becomes family instantly.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

And very little vehicular traffic. It's really fun to walk around a town that's not just bursting with cars and stuff. So well, let's talk a little bit about the season. So the theme this season is All in a Day is work. So we saw uh working uh the musical last night. So that that that one definitely fits into the theme. Uh, how did you arrive at that uh that theme and and and how do the three other shows fit into that?

SPEAKER_03 4:27

Well, I think we were when we were planning the season, we were looking for titles or at least a title that would honor Colorado's 150th anniversary and also the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in a way that felt really authentic and that every single human could get behind. Um and that was a really hard challenge, um, just sort of given how divisive things are right now. And um, our education director, Jenny Harbour, had been pitching the musical working to uh various artistic directors throughout her time with us, and she uh brought it up to me, and it felt like a really great fit for exactly that to honor this year. And w what's great about this production is we've we've licensed the localized version of the play, which means that um a lot of the monologues in the show can be swapped out um and replaced with monologues based on interviews from people in your local community, so you can really honor the people in your community that keep it moving forward every single day. And because the Creed community is so tight and so um integrated and relies so heavily on each other to carry forward, we felt it was really special to be able to honor our community in that way. Um, and and therefore sort of honoring all Americans who in their own ways, you know, participate in in this society in a meaningful way. So that speaks to working. Um, the other shows, I think, in in their various ways speak to um everyday people trying to get by and doing the good work, you know? Um, Spelling Bee is all about awkward middle schoolers and educators trying to navigate some really difficult emotions and some some awkward developmental stages in a really high-stakes environment. Um, it speaks a lot to American meritocracy and and the pressures that American society puts on all of us to be winners. Um for uh Sherlock Holmes, of course, all in a day's work is a direct quote. Um, but that too is is just the the work of helping people and and and helping people um, you know, uh uh fulfilling a mission and and um and and and honoring the work. I mean, I think Sherlock Holmes is all about the work. Um he isn't who he is without the work, and Watson being committed to Holmes in that way. Um and uh and fully committed, I think, completely embodies this theme because it's one man doing all doing a work of a hundred people.

SPEAKER_04 7:12

Right.

SPEAKER_03 7:13

Um literally, and in a meta theatrical way, one actor plays 40 odd characters um throughout the course of one performance. So um that's kind of how all the shows sort of fit into that bigger theme. But working certainly is the anchor piece in that.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

Yeah, and with working, it was really interesting to see some really evocative creed stories integrated into this piece, which I've seen several times before, not always the localized versions, like the minor story or the fourth-grade teacher sharing about her seven-person class that she was teaching here, or the local firefighter. Those are the kind of things that you just wouldn't get in another production of working and felt very true to this main street and the people who occupy the space here year-round.

SPEAKER_03 7:58

That's right. And and all of the words from the local interviewees are used in the script. We don't rewrite anything at all. It's it's their words, it's their voice. And another great thing about the localized script is that even the pieces that are scripted that are meant to stay from the original production are flexible. You know, there's a there's a piece with a retiree, and that's scripted. Um, it's not based on a local interview, but there are references to local restaurants in it because they this this version allows you to do that and really customize it for your region, your town.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

So for you, Noelia, can you talk a little bit about the two shows that you're in, Spelling Bee and Moriarty? Who are you playing? What have these experiences been like?

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Um, in Spelling Bee, I play Logan Schwartz and Grubinier is her name. She is my absolute favorite. She has a lateral lisp, um, which just adds to the, you know, intensity of the show. Um, she is an incredibly stressed-out third grader. She's the youngest competitor. Um, and she's facing um her, she has two dads who um are very, very, very pressuring of her and have um high expectations. Um, so it's such a blast to play this kid who is just neurotic and stressed and just the stress is seeping out of every pore in her. Um, and it's an absolute blast. I mean, what I love about spelling bee is that each kid is neurotic and awkward and weird and wonderful. And each of them is is celebrated and also poked fun at just a little in the way that we all recognize the awkwardness that is middle school and later elementary school. So that's Spelling Bee. And then Moriarty, I have the wonderful task of getting to play a couple of different characters, mainly Irene Adler, um, who's kind of the woman that Sherlock Holmes always um loved and loves. Um, but additionally, some pretty fun other ones. I get to play Mrs. Hudson, um, who of course is a Sherlock Holmes staple, and then Call Wright, who's like a little street uh chain, and um he's always my favorite. I was able to play a version of Cartwright in Baskerville last year. I was about to say, I recognize this act. Yes, yes. Cartwright is um forever my favorite. He's just um a disgusting 14-year-old boy, and he's picking at his butt, and he's obsessed with changing bodies, and he's uh just a delight. Um, but then Irene Adler is the main one, and um she's just fierce and fun, and I love that she gets to go head to head with Sherlock and really challenge him and almost kind of bullies him in a way. Like, don't I'm not gonna let you get away with this, um, which I love. It's such a nice um way to play, and especially with Graham who's playing Sherlock. It's it's such a nice um, we get to go head to head um throughout the show and and develop this wonderful love through kind of mutual respect. And it's kind of it's almost the enemies to lovers pipeline, but not quite because they're attracted to each other from the beginning. But it's just um, yeah, it's it's wonderful. Um I love putting on multiple different hats in a show. It's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_03 11:12

One thing I love about Ken Ludwig adaptations is that he uh writes his women in such an empowering way, you know, that that is is often a twist from the original um work that it was inspired by. And I think Irene is a great example of that. She's just so strong, and in so many ways, she's kind of leading the charge and and doing the unseen work of uh of solving this mystery and and getting getting to the heart of it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

So for spelling bee, you know, it's uh often it's it's uh adults cast as as children. Um have you have you done a role like that before? Um and and what's it like playing a kid?

SPEAKER_02 13:01

I don't think I have played a kid before. I mean, I've played cartwright before, but like playing an actual child, um no, I haven't. And it's a blast. We were so lucky. Um our um company manager, Bethany, has two young daughters, and one of them came to rehearsal, and she is eight, and my character is eight, and getting to watch this little kid just kind of like, and she's the best kid. She's so bright and so warm, and then getting to watch her just fidget and get like what she would laugh at, observe what you're laughing at, what you're not laughing at. Um, additionally, I um was a nanny for many years and went back to New York City right before this contract started and was with the kids that I used to nanny who are now in this age, and just, oh, that makes you laugh. Oh, that doesn't make you laugh anymore. Oh, you're anxious about this. Oh, that really matters to you. Oh, that doesn't matter to you. You know, all these little things. It's just so kids are so wonderfully um intense about what they want and what they need. And um most times they're still too young to have the social graces to really edit themselves in the way that adults do. And so it's just so nice to to kind of go off to instinct and go off, well, this is what I'm supposed to do, but this is what I really feel that's bursting out of my chest. I don't know. What do you think about kiddos?

SPEAKER_03 14:19

And uh, you know, there were a lot of conversations in casting about how to um find adults who can authentically play young people. And I think there's a lot of um, there are a lot of productions out there, or the impetus might be to um comment on the awkwardness or uh or clown it up a little bit. And you know, from a from an adult lens, kind of play these characters um in a in a way that's meant to be judged or or funny in that way. And and w one of the things that I that I really emphasized in casting to the to our actors who were auditioning was we're looking for authenticity. We're not looking for you to try to be young. Um we're you know, Al Alec Steinhorn, our incredible music director, was looking for a very specific straight tone in the way folks um uh approach the music. And um, and one thing about Noelia that I just adore um as a performer, she's just so vulnerable and she's so able to access emotions so easily, and they're just right there and and she's so present. And that was really, really powerful in her audition for uh for Schwartzy because there are some really vulnerable moments. And um and w we didn't shy away from those. I think part of what makes these kids so lovable is their authenticity and their vulnerability, and and you're able to laugh at them and love them at the same time, laugh with them and also um and also feel for them and cry with them. Um, and every single one of our performers in this show really brings that um and and it deepens the experience, I think, so much.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

What was the documentary you had us watch? What was the name of it? Oh my gosh. The Emily had us watch this incredible documentary at the beginning of the rehearsal process.

SPEAKER_01 16:13

Because Emily is directing Spelling B.

SPEAKER_02 16:17

I don't think we've said that on mic, but just for our listeners, so Emily, our director, also artistic director, um, had us watch this amazing documentary about the scripts National Spelling Bee. I think in 2001 it was made-ish.

SPEAKER_03 16:29

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Um, and it was so fun to watch this documentary that follows kind of these 10 kids and and to say, that's my kid, or oh, I that kid is in the cast, or that kid is not in the cast, but I know that kid. Um yeah, it's a really high-pressure situation for these just little guys.

SPEAKER_03 16:45

It's called Spellbound, and it was released in 2002, and and it it was so great. Our our dramaturg uh found it and uh and and turned me on to it, and I just it it there were so many of these students that I that I think were inspired, were at least our spelling bee students were inspired by this film. Um and it was, yeah, I I'm so grateful for that. And it was a really excellent glimpse into um the high pressure situation of the Scripts National Spelling Bee and these very young people navigating so many challenges.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

So for Emily, this is your second season at Creed. Uh, what's been your experience like so far? I I know you're also currently acting as managing director at the moment. How's that going?

SPEAKER_03 17:37

It's good. You know, I I when I joined uh the staff as artistic director in 2004, that's exactly what I stepped into is the role of artistic director. So leading the the sort of programming and the artistic vision and casting and and choosing shows and all of that. And then about a year in, I also took on the managing hat, which is a lot of spreadsheets and operations and things. And uh, you know, I didn't come in with a ton of uh skills or education in that area, but um, but I've educated myself a great deal, in part just through the work, but also I've been um I've been pursuing a graduate certificate in in arts management. And, you know, my uh my dad, Philip Sneed, ended up doing the same thing, sort of like taking on the numbers piece and the operations piece and uh Philip Sneed, who just retired from the Arvada Center. Yes, he just retired from the Arvada Center as president and CEO, and I've looked up to him since I was a child. Um, and I I think that some of that love of the the puzzle of the numbers and how everything works together rubbed off on me somehow or was passed down because I've actually really enjoyed that piece too. Um and I get to exercise very different parts of my brain. You know, one minute I'm um puzzling with the numbers and noodling on some things, and then the next minute I'm in a music rehearsal and um and I it's challenging in a way that I I didn't expect, and I'm constantly surprised and delighted by it all.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

Definitely gives you an opportunity to use both sides of the brain.

SPEAKER_03 19:17

Yes, indeed.

SPEAKER_01 19:19

Um so do you live here full time?

SPEAKER_03 19:21

I do. Yes. Um I own a home here now. My five-year-old uh is in school here in Creed at the Early Learning Center. And uh yeah, and we we planted roots and we build uh fires in the winter to stay warm and it's nice and quiet. And yeah, I I live here now. I still make it up to Denver pretty frequently because we have family and tons of friends there. But um, but yeah, I'm based in Creed now.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

But it's an absolutely full-time year-long job, you know, uh planning it. And so I wanted to ask a little bit about what's the process of uh finding actors uh, you know, and the rehearsals, uh I mean auditions, uh and and you you uh you cast nationally, right?

SPEAKER_03 20:06

That's right. Um we start season planning around this time. Uh so right now we're thinking about titles, and then once we get all that solidified and our season is announced around October, November, um we will have EPAs in a couple of different cities. Uh last year we went to Denver and Chicago. We also um we also uh accept video submissions. So we receive, I think last year was 800 videos. Um so we screen all of them in December. Uh and yeah, all of our auditions, like initial round uh happens before the end of the year. And then starting in January, we start um soliciting callback videos from folks. Um and hopefully we have everything kind of buttoned up by March for folks to arrive in May to start rehearsals.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

And so for you, Noelia, what attracted you to auditioning for Creed?

SPEAKER_02 21:06

I have wanted to work here for quite a while, actually. Um I really love this theater. And, you know, word travels fast amongst the acting community if a place is a good place to work or a not so grace great place to work. And this has continually been on the list of like, oh my gosh, if you get the chance, you have to work at Creed. Um it's just uh it's it's a really, really special place. Um and now that I'm here, I can say that with my whole heart. It is a very, very special place to work. Um and so um, yeah, I reached out to Emily and I said I'd love to audition. And luckily she knew my work, so she was very kind and said, we don't need you to do a pre-screen. You could we'll just call you back, which was lovely because I personally hate doing monologue, just a monologue of a song. So that was a really nice step to jump over. Um and then yeah, they called me back for the track that I'm in. They gave me um some scenes and some uh songs and did it, sent a video, and then got an offer at some point after that. And that was that. It's yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

So you've done repertory work at like the Colorado Shakespeare Festival before. As an actor, how what is the difference like? How do you prepare for taking on like here, multiple roles that you switch between versus when you're just in a one-off show playing one focused on one character?

SPEAKER_02 22:23

Um, being in repertory is my favorite thing as an actor. It is the most rewarding, it's the most giving. You are working multiple parts of your actor brain, which is just a delightful gift. I mean, we all want to be the fullest version of whatever we have passions about. And um, so doing repertory is is very, very exciting. A lot of times people will say, like, well, how do you keep them straight? How do you keep the roles straight? And really it's not it, it I akin it to can you watch two TV shows and keep the plots in your head at the same time? Can you read two books at the same time? Yes, multiple people do this. And so once you're in the room, the the the circumstances, the world that you've built just just happen. And it also um it the work is never boring, but sometimes when you're doing a long run. It can there's a trap in it becoming rote or it becoming just this is routine, this is what we do. And doing repertory and having to switch continuously never lets it be that. Um especially actually spelling me in particular, um, because we have some audience volunteers, there's this surprise element that just makes the show so vastly different every night, which is a wonderful, wonderful gift to those of us who are living and breathing on stage.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

So to oh uh to the both of you, do you guys get out much in Creed during the summer season? What's life like on the main street?

SPEAKER_03 23:49

I think we would have very different answers to that, maybe question. I do my best to get out in the summer, but I spend a lot of time at my desk and in various theater spaces. Um, and and it's all wonderful and I love everything about it. I'm also meeting with a lot of patrons and donors and people that are super fans of CRT that are only here in the summer. Um, so I do my best to take those people out of uh my office and onto the street. Um so I've gotten to try a couple of great restaurants, there's some new places in town, um, there's some great shops and things, but I never get out as much as I want to in the summer. And that is the prime time because everything's open, open and bumping.

SPEAKER_02 24:33

Noelia, um, I have been my main thing that I've been doing is hiking. I'm hiking like three to four times a week. Um, it's a huge passion of mine anyway, and so getting to be out and hike so much is wonderful. Um, now when the shows, when we were rehearsing, I didn't get out so much because it was about learning lines and music and prepping and everything. But now that everything is open, um, yeah, I mean, obviously I'm pregnant, so I'm not going out with the with the 20-year-olds. Um, but I did hear them singing karaoke from my window last night, which brought me joy.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

I heard a really What were they singing?

SPEAKER_02 25:05

Uh I heard a version of zombie and my heart will go on. It was pretty great. Um, but I I don't know, I'm a very social person. I love to be out and about. Um, so whether that's hiking or whether that's going for a coffee or a meal, um, I also like to eat. So, you know, being out, eating, drinking, not alcoholic beverages.

SPEAKER_00 25:27

Uh Emily, um, so we talked about the four main shows. Can you talk about some of the other programs that go on here in Creek?

SPEAKER_03 25:33

Yes. Um, this is our 20th year of our Boomtown Improv Comedy Show, um, which is a form, it's a long form uh improv show that um our former artistic director Jessica Jackson started. And um it is on Sundays at 7 p.m. It's musical improv. Um so our music director Alec uh provides all of the musical stylings, and um Clark Jones is in that as well, and and a lot of our musical theater friends, um Julian and Maya. So there's a lot of fun music, um, a lot of great energy this year, some returning boomtown uh veterans and then some new folks. It's always a really popular uh show amongst our local audiences because in the past it's either been late at night or on a Sunday night when a lot of the local businesses are closed. So it has become a really big favorite among our local community and our visiting patrons. Um we have incredible education programming here at CRT. Um, this is our 24th year of our kids' show program, and they're actually going into tech next week, and it's a fully supported CRT production, but with students, and a lot of them are local students, um, and it it provides uh theatrical programming and education um for folks who who it especially in Creed who just don't get to have that kind of opportunity as much. Um and this year they're doing a uh puppet show uh with uh they're part we're partnering with Dragon Seal Puppet Troop, and the folks at Dragon Seal are helping the students devise, create, and build their original puppet shows. So that will be next week, July 24th, 25th, and 26th. Um we have our Young Audience Outreach Tour, which is a new musical every year. It's bilingual, um, English and Spanish, and it tours across the Southwest in the fall. So that will start rehearsals in a few weeks. And um, this year it's called Dale, Dale, Dale about a boy um who's celebrating his birthday and he's getting a pinata, and that pinata comes to life, and it's about facing your fears because a pinata doesn't really understand what his purpose is. Um and it's really cute. Um, and it and it travels to a lot of rural areas, a lot of areas that um uh you know, sort of underserved communities that don't uh get theater programming. So um that's a really exciting program. Uh we finished uh at camps in June. Um gosh, we've we have so much going on. It's it's hard to keep track of everything, but I think that kind of covers most of what we've got going on. In some years we'll have special events and concerts and various things, but um, that's kind of I think that's the gist of what we've got going on this year.

SPEAKER_00 28:27

What about the New Play Festival?

SPEAKER_03 28:29

Yeah, so um our Headwaters New Play uh program encompasses a lot of new work that we do throughout the season. So oftentimes that's kids' show. Um it's the Young Audience Outreach Tour, which is a new play. Um last year we commissioned a piece by the Dragon Seal Puppet Troupe uh who uh created an all-ages puppet show. It was actually the it was a play with um live actors and storytellers that with three different puppet shows within that framework, um, which was really incredible. We had a reading of that last year. Um, you know, we've we've migrated our Headwaters program from a submission-based program to a commission. And um, and so the the process of finding a commission is ongoing. And um, this year we don't have a commission for reading, but we are premiering our Young Audience Outreach Tour at the Headwaters weekend. So um we're always committed to new play development in all its various forms.

SPEAKER_01 29:31

You may not know the answer to this, but one of the last times I saw you in the metro area was at Creed USA, this documentary screening of that an excellent film that kind of takes people inside this town. Um, do you have any information on when that's gonna be released to a more wide audience? I would love more people to be able to see it.

SPEAKER_00 29:52

I want to see it.

SPEAKER_03 29:53

Yeah, I have no idea. Okay. I wish I could tell you, it's definitely made the festival circuit. It continues to be uh screened at festivals. Um I know the the film producers are are working towards distribution, particularly in schools, um, because I think that they would really like to see it um, you know, uh uh screened for for young people and educators, um, particularly because some of the subject matter relates to the Creed School. Um but uh but beyond that, uh you know, I I don't really know. But I I I know a lot of folks are are asking, and and we we just we aren't sure. Our fingers are crossed, but we we don't know yet.

SPEAKER_00 30:33

We'll definitely publicize it when it comes out. So um, Noellia, one of the questions I usually ask actors at the end of these interviews is what's next? But you're due, uh your baby's due in November, so that kind of throws a wrinkle in things. So what what's uh what's next? Well, actually I do know what's next, which is pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_02 30:51

Um I well, um okay, yeah. So this is my last project before Baby comes, which is great. And then I'm taking a couple months off, but then I will be back um at Betsy in March doing liberation. Oh, which I'm very, very excited about. Um that show uh I saw it on Broadway and it was amazing. And uh I I just I'm so delighted to get to do that Pulitzer Prize winning show.

SPEAKER_04 31:13

All right.

SPEAKER_03 31:13

Um fun fact about liberation. Um, a CRT alum, Charlie Thurston, was in the Broadway production of that. Yeah. Yeah. He uh was an actor in our company years and years ago. He and his wife, Becky Gibble, met here, got married here. Um, and and he uh was a uh also he's an excellent playwright. He writes a ton of plays for Trinity Rep now, but he uh wrote the play for us, I can't remember what year it was, called The History Room, 2016, I think, starring Christy Brandt.

unknown 31:46

Very cool.

SPEAKER_03 31:47

I know it's a small world, and there are CRT alums all over the place. They're everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 31:52

Yeah, very true. I mean, just randomly, this guy who I did a show with in New York like 10 years ago was a company member here back in the 60s. And so he was just up here. I mean, he played my dad in the show 10 years ago, this wonderful guy, John Ingle, and he randomly was here because he was like, Oh, you're here, I have friends, whatever. And so just see, I was like, oh my gosh, you know, it it's just it's really incredible.

SPEAKER_01 32:15

Um, network extends far and wide. Yeah. So for folks like us who have traveled here to Creed, what are some of the key things that you would recommend in addition to obviously going to see Creed rep uh around town that folks have to see as a part of their experience here at Creed?

SPEAKER_03 32:37

Hiking for sure.

SPEAKER_02 32:39

Hiking for sure.

SPEAKER_03 32:40

Um there are a couple things uh that I adore. The there's the the and it's kind of new, or at least new to me, it's this rail biking adventure um that is you you it starts in South Fork, which is a town just like 23 miles from here, and you get on an old on this rail bike on the old railroad that used to go between South Fork and Creed, and you pedal your way up the canyon, and it's gorgeous. Um, I drive that canyon drive like all the time, thousands of times, and this is like a completely different view. Um, we did I did it with my with my family earlier this year. Um, that's super fun. Um, and there and there is uh like a ride the rails kind of uh partnership with uh CRT where you can do a ride and then come see a show. Um the also uh the Creed Hotel and Restaurant, which is right next door to us, has excellent cuisine. Um I adore it. I adore it so much. And um, they're a great place to go before the show, um, grab a nice dinner and then go next door and see the show.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

They look like they had great outdoor seating too, with a really cool sculpture out there. They do.

SPEAKER_02 33:50

Yeah, yeah. Um, I would also add, um, if you have a vehicle that can handle it, you need like higher clearance, but driving Bachelor Loop is really, really gorgeous. Um, it's just, yeah, a really, really nice drive. Obviously, the hiking is fantastic. Um, and I think the mining museum is really fun.

SPEAKER_03 34:07

Yeah, I just think it's really the Underground Mining Museum is is really, really fun. And it's also our community center. So they've been um sponsoring a lot of our productions this year, but working in Boomtown um because of the local connection and and they're great partners. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

Yeah, we poked our heads in there this morning. Yeah, it's built into the side of a mountain. It's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_03 34:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 34:29

And also, this is not, I'm not a fly fisher, but if you are a fly fisher, the fly fishing here is amazing.

SPEAKER_03 34:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:36

It's gotta be one of the only places that the coffee shop in town is all you can also get fly fishing equipment.

SPEAKER_03 34:42

Yes, coffee on the fly. We love coffee on the fly. And I just to say there were, you know, Creed Repertory Theater is a is a very well-established arts organization in Creed, but there are other arts organizations that are so incredible and bring so much culture and vibrancy to this town. Um, Creed Musical Arts Collective, the Creed Arts Center, um uh Steve Quiller, if you've ever been into Steve's gallery, it's just gorgeous, gorgeous work. He's a world-renowned uh watercolorist, and his daughter Allie Quiller um is leading programming for the Creed Arts Center and offering a ton of courses for adults and kids. And it's just it's really special to be in a town this small and this remote and have this much arts programming uh available. It's just it's a real, real blessing.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

That's great. All right. Well, Emily Van Fleet, Noella Antoyos, thanks so much for being on the Onstage Colorado podcast. Noella, you're a repeat visitor. Thank you for having me. Yeah, but uh Emily, great to see you as well. And uh this is I think this is the first, I don't know, remote pod we've done.

SPEAKER_01 35:52

The first pod on the road and something we've been talking about for like months now because we've been talking about doing this since the new place on that when I saw you, Emily, there. We've chatted about doing this and now it's a reality. Here it is.

SPEAKER_03 36:03

We're honored to be the first road pod. Heck yes.

SPEAKER_00 36:08

All right, well, break legs out there, and uh, we look forward to seeing the rest of the shows. Thanks. Enjoy.

SPEAKER_01 36:13

Well, that was just an absolute treat to get to chat with Emily and Noelia in our Airbnb in Colorado. Yeah, absolutely. So, what did you think, Alex, of the 61st Creed summer season overall?

SPEAKER_00 36:29

Um, well, uh, you know, we saw four shows. We didn't stick around for the Boomtown Improv show on Sunday night, um, but we saw um Moriarty and uh Fully Committed, 25th Annual Putnam County County Spelling Bee, and working in the musical. And I'd say that, you know, we we really enjoyed Spelling Bee and Fully Committed were both really, really fun, funny shows. And of course they start out with, you know, I mean, they just have great scripts. But I think we've we felt like Moriarty wasn't maybe Ken Lud Ludwig's greatest script, um, although, you know, done perfectly.

SPEAKER_01 37:06

Certainly not even his I would I would say not even his best mystery script, like Murder on the Orient Express is adaptation of that, or even Baskerville, another Sherlock mystery, are stronger, funnier um mysteries. But yeah, this one I think like you were I think you were about to say it's this one succeeds, it's odd being kind of a very fun summer entertainment.

SPEAKER_00 37:30

Yeah. And then we were a little mixed on working. Um it had a lot of really cool elements. Uh it didn't it didn't hit me um as well as I think you uh you you did, and my my son Andy, who was also there, was was not a huge fan, but uh it it really did have a lot of cool things in it, particularly the the the local elements of the creed community that were built into the show.

SPEAKER_01 37:51

Yeah, Emily talked a little bit about that localized adaptation in our interview, and it really was that was probably the coolest part about this production was just hearing those stories from the Creed workers. However, the musical itself, like you're saying, leaves a lot to be desired. It is just about 95 minutes of narrative kind of going through, uh just stories mixed with some songs. Um, and it's not the most compelling dramatic arc, but the stories that they're telling, and I think the appreciation that it's attempting to foster for the local communities, the local community members and service workers who live and work in Creed, I think is really important, and I understand why it's a part of this season.

SPEAKER_00 38:32

Yeah, and one of the cool things about seeing uh a couple of shows in repertory is that you'll see one actor in one show and think, oh, I don't know, you know, uh how well that that person did there, and then you see them on another show, like, oh, that's definitely a better role and a better show. And they, you know, uh really you can really see the stark differences.

SPEAKER_01 38:51

Absolutely, yeah. It was also just fun since Creed is such a small town, you would be walking around like on your way to and from the restaurants and the communities, and you would be bumping into the actors who you had just seen on stage earlier that day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

So speaking of Creed, what was your overall take as your first trip down there, Tony? How did you like it? And what were your takeaways?

SPEAKER_01 39:14

It was in a very rural location, it's but absolutely scenic nestled in these beautiful, like very edgy, spiky kind of cliffs up at the top. What was the word you used to describe it? A box canyon. Yeah. Oh uh no, the the the formation at the top. You you had you had such a lovely word when we were there. Craggy, craggling, craggling, yes. Yes uh looking clips, and everybody in Creed, as I think we said in the interview, really was just so nice. Uh, it took a little longer to get around town just because like as you're walking, you really do have to kind of stop and say hello to everybody. It was funny to see a lot of the Creed locals, they just would camp out on their porches and sit there all day. So you'd pass by the same people sitting out there, and uh I mean, we did a little porch sitting ourselves, and uh I would say that was one of the highlights. It's a very fun spot to do some people watching.

SPEAKER_00 40:11

Yeah. Yeah, it was uh you know, we were fortunate that we had an Airbnb right on Main Street there, so we did some of that as well. And of course there's lots of hiking and uh if you're into fishing and and uh there's also a lot of motorsports going around, which you know, in my view, they're a little obnoxious, but uh you know that's that's part of the scene in a lot of mountain towns, you know, there's jeeps and these OHVs and all that stuff going on.

SPEAKER_01 40:34

Yeah, I think one of the things that did kind of surprise me was just how it really they're limited the options were. There really are only a couple of things in town. I wasn't quite prepared for how small Creed was. There is like one coffee shop that is also they sell fishing equipment in the coffee on the floor. Coffee on the fly, that's right. Um, and they've got just a couple of local restaurants in town, uh, and some pretty cute little shops, but it really is just that one little main st uh street and just about two or three blocks that are really populated with businesses. And apparently, uh, from talking with some fo uh some company members who had been in with Creed for over fifty years, this is a lot more populated than it's ever been before in its history. Like this is the this is busy Creed. This is Boomen, exactly. Uh, we were talking with uh Kathy was her name. Kathy I don't remember her last name, I believe was her name. She had been a company member for over fifty years, and I asked her just how much of the town had changed, and she was like, it doesn't even look anything like it was when the theater was first getting started here. It really has all grown up around here, and but even still, I just was I guess I should have been prepared. It's a town of just a little under 300 people, so really not big at all, and uh the main street reflects that.

SPEAKER_00 41:57

Yep. Yeah, that's the permanent residence. There's certainly a lot more there in in the summertime, and and uh it's a it's a hopping little hopping little place. Uh I think we we kind of had mixed experience with the restaurants. We were definitely disappointed in some of the local IPAs. Uh I guess Tony and I are both IPA fans. Uh so if you get a chance, maybe maybe get something that's in a can than the local draft. But I don't know. Could could be your thing if uh if you like weird tasting IPAs.

SPEAKER_01 42:23

Definitely. One thing I do want to shout out about uh about Creed that I really enjoyed was they had popcorn sold at every performance. Freshly popped popcorn that you could bring in as a popcorn aficionado, uh, and just huge lover of eating things while uh eating salty things while I watch a show. I really enjoyed being able to have that energy. And it tasted delicious.

SPEAKER_00 42:46

Uh-huh. And I think you said it was only four dollars, right?

SPEAKER_01 42:49

It was only four dollars, and it was a very generous portion. That's for the small. They also had a massive large option. I was like, I think that's too much for me. I'll take that four dollar small one.

SPEAKER_00 42:59

So uh the other thing uh is great if you're coming down from uh you know the Denver area like we did, is it's just a beautiful drive, uh mostly on 285, and uh you get to see a lot of a lot of 14ers uh um along the way and a lot of other really nice uh nice parts of Colorado, uh a lot of old rail lines along there, um along the river by Creed and South Fork. Uh and they've got uh you know there's more activity happening on those, like they have some sort of bicycle that you can ride that connects to the rail track or something that they were someone's telling us about.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

Yeah, Emily mentioned that in the interview, talking about that cart riding, the pedal cars that you could do around the canyon. That's definitely on my bucket list. I'd like to do that when uh when I come back to see more shows at Creed. Because I definitely would say I would overall recommend the experience. There's it's a really scenic location to check out some theater. The everybody all the locals are very happy to see to have folks. It's not like some tourist towns where they're like, Gurrr, get out of here, you dirty summer folk. Um it they're very welcoming and accommodating and happy to see people populating the streets. Uh the theater, like, it's a little bit broader, I would say, in terms of their sensibility. They're programming for a general audience, but the shows they're doing and their the level they're producing, particularly at uh what's that, 9,000 feet? They kept saying theater at 9,000 feet, it's quite impressive.

SPEAKER_04 44:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:25

Alright, well, um, we will be back next month in August for our regularly, regular monthly show. But uh we since we were down at Kree, we thought it'd be a fun thing to do to uh talk to Emily and and Noelia while we were down there, so uh that uh worked out well.

SPEAKER_01 44:42

Yeah, absolutely. In the meantime, we are gonna be out at a lot of different theaters seeing a bunch of different stuff. If you want to keep up with what we're doing before our next podcast episode, I'd recommend you head over to onstagecolorado.com where you can check out all of our latest reviews and news that we've got there. But until then, we will see you at the show.