<\/p>\n
The latest chapter in the history of American theater is being written right now in Silverton.<\/p>\n
The Silverton Theatre Mine is a nonprofit organization that is hosting its first full festival of new plays through Saturday. Founded last year after a tentative launch sponsored by Silverton\u2019s A Theatre Group, TSTM co-founders Daniel Sullivan, Judy Graham and Matthew Vire convened and christened a new name. In July 2017, the group obtained a nonprofit status. The mission is to develop and enhance collaborative theater arts in the region.<\/p>\n
TSTM\u2019s June event is officially titled: \u201cWatershed Abrazos: The Silverton Theatre Mine\u2019s 2018 Mollie Mook-Fiddler New Plays Festival.\u201d Mook-Fiddler, a beloved friend and colleague, died of cancer late in 2016, only a few weeks before her 43rd birthday.<\/p>\n
After completing her bachelor\u2019s degree in theater from the University of Colorado Denver and a master\u2019s from the University of Iowa, Mook-Fiddler pursued an acting career in New York City. She also taught a children\u2019s theater course at Columbia University, but returned to Colorado, where her passion for youth theater, new plays and community involvement blossomed. Locals may remember her stellar work at Durango High School directing Sarah Ruhl\u2019s \u201cEuridice\u201d in 2011, many productions at San Juan College and a long-standing commitment to Marianne Fearn\u2019s A Theatre Group in Silverton. When Fearn died in 2008, Mook-Fiddler took over as artistic director.<\/p>\n
\u201cMollie became a fixture in Silverton,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cAnd because of her, many of us who met Mollie in graduate school found our way to Silverton.\u201d<\/p>\n
Co-founder and now artistic director of TSTM, Sullivan said Mook-Fiddler\u2019s dedication to collaborative theater inspired him and two colleagues to launch TSTM.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, Matthew Vire, Judy Graham and I hiked to one of Mollie\u2019s favorite places: a waterfall up South Mineral Creek,\u201d he said. \u201cWe talked about doing something more substantial than a scholarship in Mollie\u2019s name. We decided to honor her by starting our own company \u2013 here in Silverton, here in the compelling beauty of this particular mountain town.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trio worked fast. By July 15, they obtained not-for-profit status, established a board, connected with playwrights, actors and directors who knew Mook-Fiddler and had some connection to Silverton. Sullivan spearheads the organization. Vire, an actor who met Mook-Fiddler while in graduate school in Iowa, is secretary of TSTM, and Graham, a visual artist who lives in Silverton, is treasurer. Board members come from around the country and include well-known Durangoan Leigh Meigs, a legal mediator, clinical social worker and budding playwright. It was Meigs\u2019 play \u201cWaterfall,\u201d presented in 2017, that triggered the theme of this year\u2019s festival.<\/p>\n
Ten playwrights have been invited to present scripts. Sarah Syverson, co-founder of the popular Cortez-based storytelling program Raven Narratives, has been awarded a residency. Connections have been established with the Durango Arts Center, Fort Lewis College and San Juan College. DAC Applause Music Director Lauren Berkman will direct TSTM\u2019s Youth Playwriting program. Two of the DAC\u2019s recent 10-minute play festival will present in Silverton.<\/p>\n
The general schedule features three or four plays per day, beginning in the afternoon. The newly revamped lower-level theater at the Grand Imperial Hotel seats 70 people, and tickets will be sold at the door. Single admission has been set at $10 per play, and a festival pass is available for $35.<\/p>\n
Mook-Fiddler\u2019s legendary effervescence and passion for what drama could do for a community clearly continued the legacy of Fearn. Now, TSTM launches a new chapter in Silverton\u2019s remarkable cultural history.<\/p>\n
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.<\/em><\/p>\n WHAT: Honoring a colleague with creative collaboration<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5961,5843],"tags":[327,910],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-99371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-entertainment","category-living","tag-silverton","tag-theatre"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99371"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=99371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}If you go<\/h4>\n
\n \u201cWatershed Abrazos: The Silverton Theatre Mine\u2019s 2018 Mollie Mook-Fiddler New Play Festival.\u201d
\n WHERE:<\/strong>
\n Grand Imperial Hotel Theater, 1219 Greene St., Silverton.
\n WHEN:<\/strong>
\n 2:30, 6:60, and 8 p.m. June 7-9.
\n TICKETS:<\/strong>
\n $10 at the door each performance, $35 festival pass, all readings access.
\n MORE INFORMATION:<\/strong>
\n For information and daily schedule, visit
\n www.thetheatremine.org<\/a>
\n .<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"