The Denver Post this week launched four major new innovations to enhance its online theater coverage, several of which are believed to be unprecedented by any major daily newspaper, and all of which can be accessed by going to www.denverpost.com/theater or by
They are, at a glance:
*Slide show of currently running productions: The Post’s theater page hosts a rotating slideshow that always contains at least one production photo or iconic image representing every currently running theater production anywhere in the state. At any given time there may be more than 50 shows running concurrently, and this slide show gives readers a quick look at all their theater options at any given time.
*Read new-play script excerpts: The Post now posts short samples from actual selected new-play scripts currently being performed somewhere in Colorado. This gives readers unfamiliar with new works the chance to read up to six pages from the actual text. With playwright Jason Grote’s permission, this feature has been launched with the first few pages of his “1001,” running at the Denver Center Theatre Company through Saturday. This feature will rotate as new plays come around.
Audition listings: *In response to reader concern over the fate of audition notices and stage listings, which have been recently reduced or eliminated by other media outlets, The Post not only will continue to publish both in full every Friday, but it has added a link directly to its theater home page to make accessing upcoming audition notices easier and more convenient for readers than ever before.
Fresh content daily: *The Post also committed to updating its online theater page daily, even on days when no new theater stories have actually appeared in the published paper. On some days these might be wire stories with local interest (such as a review of the pre-Broadway production of “Legally Blonde” in San Francisco, a new musical written by Denver’s Heather Hach); general-interest stories provided to the paper (such as a report on the New York troupe called The Civilians, who came to Colorado Springs recently to research an upcoming documentary play on evangelism); internet-only reviews (such as a recent evaluation of “Legends”), or breaking news (such as Curious announcing it will host the long-awaited world premiere sequel to Robert Dubac’s “The Male Intellect”).
These innovations come on the heels of two other popular Post initiatives launched last year – a weekly podcast called “Running Lines” and a comprehensive MySpace page that promotes Colorado theater:
*”Running Lines” This podcast is a Denver Post online audio exclusive offering a short weekly conversation between theater critic John Moore and members of the local and national theater community. Most weeks, Moore interviews an actor or director involved with an upcoming play. This week, he went backstage at the recent Colorado New Play Summit, offering interviews from a variety of participants including Bruce Sevy, Evangeline Ordaz, Michele Lowe, Jason Grote and Steven Dietz. The site includes one-click access to the current podcast, and one-click access to a complete archive of all previous podcasts dating back to the launch of “Running Lines” last spring.
*The Denver Post on MySpace: The Denver Post’s MySpace theater page, which can be found by going to www.myspace.com/runninglines or by , offers a vast resource for the Colorado theater community. The page brings together hundreds of Colorado theater followers by offering them breaking headlines, reviews, updates on Colorado theater alums, an issue-oriented blog that encourages two-way dialogue, casting news, the slide show and a comprehensive list of every currently running production — complete with addresses, phone numbers and hyperlinks that take readers directly to any individual theater’s home page.
In addition, the MySpace page offers a weekly photo quiz, which shows readers an archived photo from a past production and lets readers try to guess its identity. There is also an expansive “Memory Lane” slide show, which offers archived photos from one rotating, featured company. This month, the featured company is OpenStage & Company, which includes 65 slides of shows the Fort Collins company has staged over the past 34 years.
The MySpace page also offers a reliable, permanent home for disseminating information on the ongoing “365 Days/365 Plays” theater festival, the largest of its kind in history. This space is updated weekly, telling readers which company is next to perform in the Colorado cycle, and when and where all upcoming performances will be held.
Readers are encouraged to comment on these initiatives, and offer any suggestions for improvements, by writing to theater critic John Moore at jmoore@denverpost.com.
