Acts and Answered: David Ballew and Steven Tangedal

September 23, 11:12 AMDenver Theater ExaminerDeb Flomberg

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David Ballew and Steven Tangedal of Theatre Group

This week, instead of the traditional Acts and Answered, I had a chance to speak with two very creative and talented men with Theatre Group. Theatre Group (formerly Theatre on Broadway) is the longest running Gay Theatre Company in the world, now in their 37th season. They have done so many amazing productions, and they draw such incredible talent from all over the state.

David Ballew is known for roles in Cabaret, Jeffrey (one of my favorite shows,) The Last Session, and so many more. Next, He is appearing in Some Men, directed by Steven Tangedal.  Steven is also no stranger to the Theatre Group stage, having been a member of Theatre Group since 1979 and a part of over 200 productions there. We are so lucky to have Theatre Group as part of our Theatre Community in Denver.  I wanted to find out just a little bit about the mission behind the company, their outlook on the theatre they present, and of course some of my favorite Acts and Answered questions.
 

Q:  Theatre Group has been around for something like 30 years - and is  the only theatre company currently doing "gay plays" - how do you feel about that?  Is there room for more gay theatre in Denver or does Theatre Group fill that need for the gay community?
DB: I love the fact that we are the only theatre in town that performs gay plays. It gives a niche that no one else in the community has. I feel we definitely fill a need in this community that the gay/lesbians would not get elsewhere. I do believe that there is always room for more gay theatre, but I also think there are other companies out there who will not perform gay theatre in the community. Not only does it not fit their artistic vision, but I also think that is something that does not fit their audience base.
 

Theatre Group

Q: How has the audience changed, if at all, at TOB, over the last 10 years?
DB: Although our audience base has remained primarily gay/lesbian, it has been amazing to see how diversified have audiences have become. With gay culture being more widely accepted and recognized we now are fortunate enough to see more and more heterosexuals taking part in our productions.

ST: We have stayed committed to our loyal followers in the GLBT community and they continue to be our most loyal patrons. Many more outside that community have become more comfortable with attending our productions making it a more mainstream audience. The more we can make a more global audience comfortable with our productions, the more we have become an open society.
 

Some Men written by Terrence McNally

Q: What is your favorite theatre to visit as a patron and why?
DB: I LOVE visiting the Buntport Theatre. They are so original and creative in everything that they do. If you haven't seen them, I highly recommend paying those guys a visit. You will not regret it!

ST: I enjoy attending any theatre that dares to be different – that dares to produce titles that are new to a market, or if it’s not new to a market that they strive to add a new and different voice to the piece that hasn’t been seen. In a market that continues to repeat the same titles over and over again we are not teaching our patrons to explore something different.

Q: How can we get more people excited about live, local theatre?
DB: I think getting more people knowledgeable about it is one of the main things that we can do. Learning who our audience is a huge factor in that. If we can get to that base audience then you can generally get your word of mouth out. I also think that if more of the general public knew about the wonderful Colorado Theatre Guild then we, as a community, could definitely reach audiences that none of us have even tapped into.

Opens September 25th

Q: Tell me about your role in Some Men. What has been the most difficult aspect of it for you?
DB: I actually play several roles in Some Men. Each scene in the show is a different time period of gay life through the last century. The biggest challenge with a show like this is to make each one of these characters as different as you possibly can while still making them believable and someone that you can relate to in some way. The characters that are written in this show are not your typical stereotypes that you think of when you think of gay characters. For me as an actor, that is refreshing. Showing what many of our gay brothers went through and communicating that to an audience in a very honest and real way.

Have you seen a show with Theatre Group? Are you familiar with David or Steven's work? Leave a comment and let us know your opinion!