Our Vision
To advance the overall level of theatre arts in Colorado.
Our Mission
To provide student and professional theatre artists with training rooted in graduate-level curriculum, taught by theatre professionals; and to integrate this training into the development of new intermedia performance work that engages audiences in the social and human issues of our time.
OUR NEW FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN
Make 2023 the year you contribute to a bigger vision of theatre—Visionbox Studio
Our vision at Visionbox is to develop the work of visionary artists. Though artists are born, they are then made great. We aren't only training actors and artists, but also advocating for them. If we don't have structures, mentors to guide them, we will lose the art form. Visionbox Studio's mission is to raise the overall level of performing arts in Colorado by providing student and professional actors with training rooted in graduate-level curriculum, taught by theater professionals; and to integrate this training into the development of new intermedia performance work that engages audiences in the social and human issues of our time.
Every day we ask what the role of an artist is in today's society, the challenges we face in the age of technology, global crisis, and disconnection . . . and one of the solutions we have found is community through communal experiences. Theatre is deeply communal—a shared experience the audience and artists journey through, bringing us all together as we investigate the deepest questions of our humanity. More than ever, we need community. More than ever, artists need a safe place to sharpen their craft so they can better tell stories of the human experience and assist in healing as a culture. The value we put on artists is indicative of the culture surrounding the art. Visionbox Studio is a Not For Profit Organization and is completely dependent on Donors' generosity. Every show you attend and every dollar you donate is a gesture of support for our mission—you are investing in our community and helping to keep us alive. Please consider supporting our mission today and we welcome you into our circle of artists and storytelling lovers. Please support these artists and consider donating today—we have more stories to tell.
WHAT IS A PEER-TO-PEER CAMPAIGN?
Maximize Your Support of Our Vision
A peer-to-peer campaign is a fundraising approach where individuals or supporters of a cause (that's you!) are empowered to create their own fundraising pages or campaigns on behalf of a nonprofit organization or cause they support (that's us!).
What does this mean to you? By creating your own fundraising page, you can encourage others to give to our cause and maximize the support of our mission.
A Note From Our Artistic Director
I am very proud and excited to announce classes and works in progress for Season 12. Visionbox Studio was founded in December 2010 initially as a project of the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center, later becoming an independent 501(c)3 in 2013. Visionbox was founded in response to the eventual closing of the National Theatre Conservatory, the only MFA in Acting in the state of Colorado. This closing left a hole in our theatre arts culture that we hoped to fill.
I have been very fortunate, not only in my professional theatre career prior to coming to Colorado but mostly in my education. I had the extraordinary opportunity to attend the Yale School of Drama during the August Wilson era in the Directing program. But what I most remember, and what has most impacted my life as an artist and teacher was the acting classes taught by Earle Gister. His approach to text analysis, acting, and directing through the study of Chekhov, Ibsen, and Strindberg has deeply influenced the past almost 40 years of my professional life. As I continue to teach what I was taught, the study of acting technique has been the foundation for our development of new plays and playwrights.
As we enter 2022/2023, we will continue our actor training and hope to attract and support theatre artists of all ages, levels, and backgrounds. Our students and professionals come from all walks of life and all stages of their artistic development. We welcome high school students applying to colleges, college graduates interested in Graduate schools, professional actors working in professional theatres in our community, and even people returning to the theatre after other lives.
Also in Season 12, we intend to focus much more on the development of new work that explores important social and human issues in our lives today. Theatre has long been a vehicle for social change and healing in society. We need live theatre more than ever before. As we face the challenges of our current social, human, and political climate, and especially as we look to the next generation, we have a moral responsibility as artists to help make life better.
We hope you will join us this season as artists, students, professionals, and audiences. Here are some of the new plays and projects we intend to develop and produce in Season 12:
The Othello Project - (by Visionbox). An adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello looking at domestic violence in the military and contemporary society. This was our founding production in 2011, and we intend to bring it back with a fresh look at these issues today.
American Addict - (by Visionbox) A newly devised piece in development. We are interviewing addicts in recovery and will tell their stories through performances by our Ensemble. We will bring a deeper understanding of the physical and psychological disease of addiction to our community while eliminating the stigma and shame most addicts experience.
W2ML - (by Bobby Cronin) A multimedia concert/theatre hybrid rock piece. Bobby Cronin is a multi-disciplinary, multi-award-winning New York composer, lyricist, book writer, music producer, arranger, director, and educator.
Just Another Day - (By Dan Lauria) Examines a few days in the life of a man and woman suffering from dementia. Written and performed by Dan Lauria, well known New York, and Hollywood actor. (Jack Arnold in The Wonder Years)
Seeking Charlie Russell - (By Bill Pullman) A one-man show about the life and times of western painter Charlie Russell that also explores the role of an artist in today's society.
Portrait - (By Daniel Gerroll) with Patricia Kalember. This is a one-woman piece about the life and work of Elizabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun, an extraordinary female artist in Napoleon’s court. The play tells of the people who entered her life from the very famous to the most personal, her beautiful daughter.
The Visionbox Cabaret Theatre (formerly Cocktail Theatre) will continue throughout Season 12 with performances of short new and published works by local and nationally recognized playwrights.
Jennifer McCray Rincon
UP NEXT
Shakespeare Scene Study & Solo Projects
Dates: March 20th-April 20th
Monday - Thursday 6-9 pm
Students select at least two classes per week
7108 E Lowry Blvd Denver 80230
Performances: June 16th and17th
in the greek theatre in Civic Center Park
We offer 5 week scene study classes for actors of all ages, levels and backgrounds that culminate in a performance. While the focus of the class is on acting technique, each sequence can also be taken as a playwright or director with assignments and work tailored to these disciplines. We also offer ongoing audition classes on Saturday mornings and a Directors Lab on Saturday afternoons.
As an extension of the training program, Visionbox Studio Theatre has produced workshops of new performance work by nationally and internationally acclaimed writers, directors, designers and actors. These public performances of new work featuring multi-media design have included The Othello Project by Visionbox, Commedia, a new play by British Actor Daniel Gerroll, The Wild Hunt by Bill Pullman, A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas with Broadway Actor Bill Youmans and most recently a world premiere of Seeking Charlie Russell written and performed by Bill Pullman. Visionbox is a Tier III project of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) and part of the McNichols Civic Center Building Cultural Partnership Program.
ABOUT JENNIFER
Jennifer McCray Rincon
Founding Artistic Director
Jennifer McCray Rincón received her BA in Theatre Studies from Yale University and an MFA in Directing from the Yale School of Drama. She was recipient of an NEA Directing Fellowship at Playwright’s Horizons in NYC and a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship in Bogota, Colombia. After many years in New York, Ms. Rincón came to Denver as the Head of Acting at the National Theatre Conservatory, where she remained from 1991 through 2008. At the DCPA Ms. Rincón taught acting in the 3-year MFA Acting program and directed over 100 productions including Equus, Othello, The Laramie Project, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, The 365 Project, Monte Carlo, and Expedition 6 by Bill Pullman. Locally, Ms. Rincon has directed for El Centro Su Teatro, Shadow Theatre, The Historic Old Elitches Theatre, and was Founding Artistic Director of the Lizard Head Theatre Company in Telluride.
Since founding Visionbox Studio Theatre in 2010 Jennifer McCray Rincon has taught acting to Denver student and professional actors in five week sequences culminating in performance. She has also developed and directed a number of workshops and productions for Visionbox including: The Wild Hunt by Bill Pullman, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley, Lydie Breeze by John Guare, After the Fall by Arthur Miller, 2xTENN by Tennessee Williams, A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas with William Youmans, The Othello Project, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, My Two Sisters, an adaptation of Chekhov's Three Sisters, and Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams.
OUR SPONSORS
The SCFD allows arts,cultural and scientific organizations to follow their missions. It provides funding to hundreds of organizations every year. Visionbox Studio Theatre is a Tier 3 organization funded in part by SCFD grants.
Visionbox is a proud member of the McNichols Civic Center Building Cultural Partner Program. We perform our Visionbox360 Festival of New Works in this extraordinary venue. We will also be developing new classes and projects thanks to this partnership.
Colorado Creative Industries believes in the power of creativity to inspire human connections, create social change and support economic vibrancy throughout Colorado. We believe in the practice of creation, the artists and entrepreneurs who contribute to our rich culture and the benefits of our creative economy.
We support and encourage the innovators, creators, change-makers and dreamers who improve our quality of life and make Colorado creative. We focus on strengthening the vitality of visual, performing and literary arts through promotion, resources and funding opportunities. We believe in bold innovation and the invaluable contributions the arts bring to this beautiful state.
Visionbox Studio Theatre is 501(c)3 non-profit and all donations are fully tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.