Actors Working: Othello Rehearsal Videos

I’ve often said that actors tend to laugh as much, if not more, when they’re rehearsing a tragedy. Maybe it’s because they have to keep it light in order to keep it fresh, to save the real emotion for the audience. Maybe it’s to keep from being weighed down by the terrible sadness inherent in the human condition. It might just be because those heavy, fraught moments can seem more than a little ridiculous under the fluorescent light of the rehearsal hall.

Even so, between the moments of horrific hilarity there exists great beauty and truth, glimpses of the embryonic characters that will (we hope) come to their full growth by opening night, when those baby steps we’ve been taking reach their full stride.

Here are some of our actors in process – exquisite Amy, luminescent Leah, straightforward George, earnest Bruce, upright John, hardworking Micah; there are laughing fits and revolting sound effects (Dylan found an app for his phone that makes particularly good ones) and, occasionally, some lovely moments.

The show opens at the end of May. Until then, our actors will be hard at work, carving out the performances they eventually intend to offer to you. Enjoy.

- ACM

Spoiler Alert: In case you haven't had a chance to read or see Othello in the last 400 years, these videos give away some pretty important plot points.

Give the Gift of Theatre this Holiday Season

Give the gift of theatre this holiday season with Star Bar Gift Certificates! You can give a show or a whole season - just let us know the name of your recipient and where you want us to mail it. If you'd like, we can leave it blank and mail it to you instead.

Admission for one: $15, $12 for seniors and students

Season ticket membership: $65

Half-season (two-show) membership: $35

(Find out more about what membership entails here.)

The holidays are a perfect time to donate to our Empty Seat Fund, as well. It helps us offer Pay-what-you-can performances, which helps keep the arts available to everyone. We believe the arts have tremendous power to heal, unite, inspire and encourage.

What Pay-what-you-can means to us:

We take the 'community' in 'community theatre' seriously; the arts are meant for everyone. Artistic endeavor reminds us of our humanity, of perseverance, of triumph, of our connection and obligation to our fellow man and the world at large. They help us to examine our own experience and to empathize with others. Art has the power to ignite sparks in our souls and to change our collective consciousness. Culture creates community - and community creates culture.

You can help us keep theatre available to everybody; even the smallest donation to the Empty Seat Fund makes a big difference.

You can purchase your gift certificates or donate to the Empty Seat Fund here.

Godot - Notes from the Directors

Alysabeth Clements Mosley
Star Bar:

We seriously considered making Godot's publicity tagline 'Yep. We're really doing it.' People talk about Godot, referring to it as if it were an old friend they haven't seen in a while, but when I started asking around, the number of folks who had actually had the opportunity to see it performed was startlingly small. Really? One of the definitive masterpieces of modern theatre? It seemed like a perfect fit for Star Bar.

Of course, the play is deceptively simple - easy to stage and costume, and artistically a bit like tofu, able to absorb the flavor of whatever it's cooked with. In reality, though, Beckett's humble, droll and maddeningly circular dialogue holds ringing truths about the human condition, spoken as if they're meant to do nothing but pass the time in idle discourse. Hey, actors: no pressure!

We had several directors in mind, none of whom were able to commit for a variety of reasons. It seemed a terrible shame to lose access to all that wit and creativity, so when Joe Forbeck mentioned that he and the late Tony Babin had solved a similar problem for Upstart years ago by inviting a series of guest-directors to sit in on a show for short periods of time, adding their own particular ingredients to the marinade, it seemed like that might be just weird enough to work. So, Cory and Brian each gave us a week, and we think it's turned out famously.

I'm pretty sure we all struggle for a sense of relevance; often when we think we've found it we discover we were mistaken. Sometimes it's all we can do just to get through the day, much less contemplate or pursue our larger purpose - if there is such a thing. We find meaning where we can, face difficulties as they arise, make connections when we are able and harbor hope until all is lost... sometimes longer.

And sometimes there's a nice carrot.

Cory Moosman
WYNOT Radio Theatre:

I had the chance, just under ten years ago, to play Estragon in a production of Waiting for Godot. It's one of those shows - especially if you're an actor - that you sooner or later desire to do: "sample the madness" of Samuel Beckett. Most plays have some defined "thing" in their DNA; some element that dictates what the play is at its core. I would argue the thing that makes Godot brilliant is it doesn't conform to this rule. Godot is such a beautifully open canvas to explore। So open in fact the idea of several directors attacking the same show with one cast was intriguing and I wanted to be a part of it. I'm glad I was.

Brian Mann
Theatre 'd Art:

When I was approached to help direct Godot I was excited and unsure. Excited as I would have an opportunity to help direct a play that I have always loved and admired. Unsure because I had no idea what I was about to walk into. Walking into a play after two-thirds of the rehearsals have already been completed can be tricky. How were the actors shaping their characters? What would the stage look like? What had the other directors before me done? Of course, all of these questions don't necessarily mean much at all when dealing with a play like Waiting for Godot. This is a play that is about nothing and everything simultaneously and, at least in its world, it doesn't matter what happened before, only the now and the perceived future matters. I wanted to come and see what I could do, what I could bring to this play to help it and feed it and make it grow into the strange brooding animal it ought to be. This is a play about anguish, loss, pain... and silliness and living and going on in spite of the threat of, well, nothing happening. It's about pauses, about the space between the words when our minds take over and our fears can take hold. That was my goal: to see to it that these moments were built and preserved. I don't know how well this was accomplished but I tried anyway and I'm very pleased to have been a part of this process and this show.

Waiting for Godot, November 5 - 20

Samuel Beckett's
WaitingforGodot
November 5 - 20

Pass the time with Didi and Gogo in the original show about nothing; they cover everything from footwear to flatulence in this uproarious, dolorous reflection on the ridiculous dignity of the human condition, the elusive nature of meaning and the oft-excruciating ennui of existence. Beckett’s quintessential work exquisitely articulates the desolate hilarity of the quest for relevance in a cryptic universe. Will Godot ever come – and even if he does, will it matter?

tickets@starbarplayers.org
Buy tickets online

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, by Terrence McNally
February 4 - 20, 2010

Terrence McNally explores the question of romance in this frank, quirky post-coital first-date interlude between two wary, weary veterans of the heart. They’ve already slept together; now they face the daunting prospect of intimacy. ''You just don't decide to fall in love with people out of the blue,'' says Frankie, but Johnny, a fast-talking short-order cook and diehard romantic, tenaciously disagrees. Star Bar luminary David E. Mason and stellar newcomer Kara Whitney heat up the stage this Valentine’s Day.

Please be advised that this production contains brief nudity, sophisticated adult situations and adult conversation.

Production will be directed by Alysabeth Clements Mosley. More information at www.starbarplayers.org.


Kara Whitney (Frankie, 'Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune', February 2010)

A Colorado Springs native, Kara recently moved back to town after living in Los Angeles and Seattle for over 15 years. She is thrilled to be making her Colorado theater debut with Star Bar in this amazing and challenging role. Some of Kara’s past work and favorite characters include: Artie in Eleemosynary, Lainie in Two Rooms, Emma in The God of Hell, Ellen, Packer and Kramer in Vinegar Tom and Oenone in Phaedra. She thanks her family and friends for their love and support and promises her adorable pug, Snack, lots of treats for putting up with those long rehearsal nights alone on the couch.


David E. Mason (Johnny, 'Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune', February 2010)

David's last appearance on stage was three years ago in the SBP production of Night and Her Stars. Previously, David has appeared in many SBP shows over a twenty year span. Most notable roles include Jack Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest, Louis Keseberg in Devour the Snow, Detective Blore in Ten Little Indians, multiple roles in Later Life and John Merrick in The Elephant Man.

David has also directed for the PPCC summer theatre program, designed lighting and was co-producer and appeared in the CAST/Smokebrush production of Twelve Angry Men.