The Performing Arts Project
Promoting and Supporting the Performing Arts in Colorado
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
PAP announces headliner for New Horizons Festival
Saturday, January 27, 2024
Performing Arts Project announces new sponsor
Viewmark staff near Fairplay Colorado |
Viewmark® was one of the first web design agencies in the country and has a long history of providing state of the art software and project management for many of Colorado's largest firms including Hewlett Packard, Baby Einstein (now Disney) and Frontier Airlines. "We are confident that our commitment to the Performing Arts Project will make Denver a better place to live", said a Viewmark spokesperson.
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Eigg Musical wins "Best Musical" from Broadway World Denver
It's not everyday a new Musical comes out of nowhere and is selected as the best music theatre show of the year. It's hard for a small theatre troupe to compete with the public media outlets and the larger venues in the area, but that's really part of the magic of theater. Every year Broadway World provides the Denver theatre community with an online portal to get the people's vote for the year's best theatrical productions around town. This year is the 20th anniversary of the event and "Eigg the Musical" was nominated in nine categories and snapped up four of the 2023 awards, more than any other show. Eigg wins included "Best Musical", "Best New Musical", "Best Director of a Musical" and "Best Supporting Performer in a Musical." BroadwayWorld requires the performances premiere between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023. Audiences members and their friends can then vote and make their selections on an online portal for the best in each category through December 31, 2023. Winners were announced on January 9th, 2024.
2023 BroadwayWorld Denver Awards |
“I’m ecstatic for the cast & crew and the show too,” said April Alsup, producer and composer of the work. “The amount of time and effort that goes into a production like this is unreal. To see those efforts acknowledged in a regional and statewide way is really fabulous. The people voting validate that the work we’re doing is high caliber and at an elite level. It acknowledges the hard work that the leadership team has put into developing the show and the performances of the actors.” BroadwayWorld is an international organization that’s broken down in different regions across America, Canada, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. “This is a peoples' choice award and it's really the only theatre award like it in our area, so it’s a big deal. Kelly McAllister and Antigone Biddle did such a great job and deserve to be recognized for their individual roles, but everyone in the cast was fantastic and it was a team effort for sure." Alsup said.
Cast & Crew of Eigg Musical |
Situated in Scotland's Inner Hebrides, the Isle of Eigg has a fascinating history of sovereignty. Not long ago, the inhabitants of Eigg faced a different type of invader; a celebrity Laird looking to create his Gaelic island utopia. The transfer to community ownership hatched on Eigg is arguably the most captivating example of Scottish land reform. "The shows at Vintage theatre were packed and it's always nice to have your theatre friends support and vote for you." Alsup said.
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
Denver based musical about the Isle of Eigg takes Scotland by storm
Perhaps the most captivating music theatre work to ever come from Denver Colorado, Eigg the Musical took Scotland by storm this Summer at the Edinburgh Fringe. The festival is the world's largest performing arts festival and features performances from theatre companies from around the world. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Edinburgh every August and this year's festival was bigger than ever.
With so much competition from other shows and venues, it's hard to get any sort of traction in Edinburgh, but by luck Eigg the Musical was selected as one of only 20 shows to kickoff this year's festival at an hour long press gala attended by all the major media outlets in Scotland. The event would provide the momentum needed to propel the show through the rest of the festival, but the story doesn't stop here.
The actors performances delighted the public and the locals quickly adopted the story as their own. The show sold out nearly every night and Eigg the Musical became an overnight sensation at the 2023 Edinburgh fringe festival. The critics agreed and the show was labeled a five star performance and given a unanimous thumbs up by the Scottish media. Learn more about this wonderful show at eigg.show
"This show has great potential to be something big. It tells an important story and is expertly performed. It is an ultimate show of the power of community, telling an important story of Scotland's history. Could this be Scotland’s next Sunshine on Leith?"
* Abi Whitefield - The Scots Reviewer - August 10, 2023
"Eigg the Musical: Before we even talk about how great this show is, I just have to mention that the cast is full of wonderful people. So down to earth and so talented! The show itself is AMAZING. The music is awesome, the story is lovely, and it’s chock full of humor, love, and strength. If you want to see a wonderful musical based on a true story, this is the one!"
* Dan Lentell - Get Your Coats On - EdFestivals 2023
"The Hebridean story of the Eigg community and hopes of creating a Gaelic utopia are brilliantly told and wonderfully performed. Well worth the ticket."
Posted in Edinburgh Inquirer - August 14, 2023
NOTE: Broadway World selected Eigg the Musical as a top ten show you really don't want to miss at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival... Thank you Broadway World!
PERFORMANCE VIDEOS:
Here's the opening scene of Eigg the Musical from a 360 degree camera hanging from the chandelier stage right in Riddles court. It seemed only fitting, the venue is over 500 years old and once held a coronation party for James VI. Check out the ceiling!
Here's the complete performance of Eigg the Musical in Edinburgh Scotland on August 10th, 2023. It's a small thrust stage venue, but it really allowed the actors to engage with the audience during the show. Thank you Scotland for all your support!
Thursday, September 14, 2023
The theatrical research behind Eigg the Musical
Drinking Scotch and exploring the Isle of Eigg in 2019 |
Good friends at Eigg the Musical in Edinburgh |
Monday, August 21, 2023
Developing the musical score for Eigg the Musical
The Eigg show has been a wondrous musical journey. Early on, I knew we needed to supplement the score with traditional Scottish music and after visiting the island I decided on the instrumentation of the music ensemble (accordion, violin and keyboard). My goal would be to compose and perform the work with the ensemble, I like to call it method composing. I had never played an accordion before, but it felt so natural. Well, I searched the internet and found Sandy Brechin, a Ceilidh accordion maestro from Edinburgh. He knew all about the story of Eigg and of many others too, he'd even performed on the island and knew some of the locals. So over the next year we used the marvels of technology to connect with each other and he helped a lot with my playing.
Sandy Brechin and April Alsup using Skye |
Sandy Brechin with Eigg Ensemble (April, Mark and Cieran) |
Saturday, June 3, 2023
Integrating poster(s) into your music theatre show
Posters for "Eigg the Musical" performances in Edinburgh Scotland