Actors pump themselves up before every performance. But when Thaddeus Phillips says, “We’ll be doing a bunch of pumping before this show starts,” he means something else entirely.
He’s talking about using “wezas” — portable foot pumps that can generate 12 volts of clean energy anywhere. Wezas, often donated to African villages with no electricity, are often used here to charge cellphones and car batteries.
Phillips is an acclaimed solo artist who is returning to his hometown to debut “Microworld(s),” an eco-friendly play he calls the first to be powered entirely “off the grid.”
Audiences are encouraged to take part by arriving early and giving the two wezas in the Buntport Theater lobby a few good pumps.
For Phillips, a Denver East grad based in Philadelphia, looking at new ways of saving energy led to new ways of making theater. And it’s no green gimmick — it’s what his play is all about.
His two most recent works were environmentally apocalyptic. “So we thought now it’s time tourn the tables and look at solutions,” he said.
Phillips was inspired by a visit to the Nikola Tesla Museum while performing in Serbia. It honors the man who dreamed up more than alternating current and wireless communication.
“He essentially thought up the Internet back in 1900,” Phillips said. He also thought up solar power in the 1930s.”
That Tesla was widely written off as a mad scientist is a harbinger, Phillips said, for the global environmental problems we face today.
“Microworld(s)” is set in Tokyo’s Nakagin Tower, hailed in 1972 as an architectural triumph and the basis for the Japanese concept of pod living. It consists of 140 tiny “living capsules” meant to be entirely replaceable, making it, in essence, the world’s first recyclable housing. But not once has a capsule been replaced. Now squalid and in disrepair, this former icon of modernity is slated for demolition.
In the play, Tesla and the tower represent paths not taken, Phillips said, “for reasons of greed or corruption or whatever.”
Phillips plays Milo, a Serbian intellectual living in a 3-by-3-by-8-foot white box, where he and his rubber ducky explore life and death, time and space. “It taps into Camus, Beckett and Shakespeare,” he said.
Phillips will employ 30 LED lightbulbs, each with a lifespan of 50,000 hours. “If you take one regular 120-watt bulb and plug it into a fully charged weza, it will drain it in 40 minutes,” he said. “That same weza can run our 30 LED bulbs for four hours.
“But we still wanted to make something beautiful, and I think we pulled it off. We’ve discovered a lot of amazing possibilities you can’t do with normal lights.”
Phillips has no illusions that running his modest play on carbon-free power will, in itself, make much of a dent.
“The goal,” he said, “is just to give the audience an idea of the possibilities.”
“Microworld(s), Part 1”
Eco-transformational theater. Presented by Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental at the Buntport Theater, 717 Lipan St. Written and performed by Thaddeus Phillips. Through Nov. 8. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, plus 3 p.m. most Sundays. $12-$15. 720-946-1388 or .
Best bet: “Luminous Emptiness”
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Naropa University is exploring the Tibetan Book of the Dead with a performance of “Luminous Emptiness,” described as “a beautiful Butoh-styled interpretation of the bardo journey.” The project began with the directive from the late Naropa founder, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, to create a “Book of the Dead” stage or film adaptation. “He wanted to explore new ways to share the essence of this sacred text with the modern western world,” said writer Douglas Penick. “The bardo journey is filled with extraordinary sights and sounds and is the key to how to live our lives fully every day, every moment.” 8 p.m. today (Friday, Oct. 15) and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday at 2130 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder. $5-$15. 303-245-4798 or brownpapertickets.com/event/79202
This weekend’s other openings
“And Then There Were None” Classic Agatha Christie mystery (first called “Ten Little Indians”) in which 10 people are invited to spend the weekend on a mysterious island. Soon they are each accused of different crimes — and begin to die off. Through Nov. 15. 73rd Avenue Theatre, 7287 Lowell Blvd., Westminster, 720-276-6936 or
“Dracula” Steven Dietz’s adaptation revisits many of the often-forgotten themes from the original Bram Stoker novel. It focuses on the sensuality, secrecy and religious undertones that first made “Dracula” a legend. Through Oct. 31. E-Project, 9797 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood, 303-232-0363 or
“Fat Pig” What happens when a young, handsome executive falls in love with a “plus-sized” woman? Can their relationship endure the societal pressures that surround them? By Neil LaBute. Through Nov. 1. Presented by the Vintage Theatre at the Aurora Fox, 9900 E. Colfax Ave., 303-739-1970 or
“Menopause, the Musical” Two dozen pop songs, re-lyricized to menopausal themes (“Stayin’ Alive” becomes “Stayin’ Awake”). It’s now been seen by more than 10 million people in 13 countries since 2001. Friday and Saturday only Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St., Fort Collins, 970-221-6730 or
“Twilight Zone Returns!” Three more episodes from the classic sci-fi series are staged live, along with vintage commercials. Through Nov. 7. Theatre Company of Lafayette, 300 E. Simpson, 720-209-2154 or
“The Voice of the Prairie” In the early days of radio, Davey Quinn becomes a star telling his true stories about an itinerant old hobo named Poppy and a blind girl he rescued from a cruel father. But with fame comes surprises from his past. Through Oct. 31. Presented by Coal Creek Community Theatre at the Louisville Center for the Arts, 801 Grant St., 303-665-0955 or
“The Winterling” In the darkness of an English farmhouse, three twisted gang members are locked in a power struggle, while someone upstairs holds a box with something important in it. From freaky Brit Jez Butterworth (“The Night Heron”). Through Nov. 14. Presented by Paragon Theatre at the Crossroads Theatre, 2590 Washington St., 303-300-2210 or
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