Award-winning entertainer Ben Vereen shares his love of community at two events this weekend in Denver: Both events are geared toward health of body and spirit.
This 40 year veteran of stage and screen may be best known for performances in the movie “Roots” and on television shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and” How I met your Mother;” his Tony Award for Broadway’s “Pippin” and accolades for Broadway shows including “Fosse,” and “Jesus Christ Superstar;” or even the current worldwide tour of his one man show “Steppin’ out with Ben Vereen,” but his love of people is what truly puts the sparkle in his eyes.
That love motivates Vereen to give back to community as the 2012 Executive Director for The Broadway Theatre Project and as a spokesperson for healthy living with diabetes, as Vereen himself lives with the disease. “Life is not always flowery, there will be pitfalls,” Said Vereen, who found out in 2007 he had Type Two diabetes. “But you must keep going.” Vereen emphasized that the arts kept him going after tragedies like two car accidents in the same day that threatened his body and career, and with the fear after first hearing his diabetes diagnosis. So he channels that passion into others through diabetes education and to help aspiring artists live their dreams and learn the “business” of show business.
This weekend in Denver, you can hear Vereen’s passion yourself at two separate venues:
The first is at the American Diabetes Association Expo at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 10 at the Colorado Convention Center, where Vereen will share his personal diabetes story and speak to attendees about his work with the Start Taking Action Now for Diabetes (S.T.A.N.D.) awareness program.
On Sunday, March 11, Vereen will host auditions for the Broadway Theatre Project (BTP), an organization with a mission to “give every student a rich learning experience within a short span of time in order to engender a well-rounded, professional musical theatre performer.” The Project travels the country to select students for its program each year, in which 50 skilled artists and academicians teach in-depth classes to prepare students for a career in show business. More than 70 Broadway shows and countless films, television productions and world tours include BTP graduates.
Aspiring performers are encouraged to experience Vereen’s “Master Class,” at 11 am on Sunday, Platypi Studios, 1245 Champa Street. The day begins with a lecture and Q&A followed by the Master class, and an audition workshop. The cost is $75.
Doni Luckutt is a lifestyle expert who believes by enhancing interpersonal connection, we can stop simply living, and become Simply Alive! If you have a suggestion on what brings you to life, connect with her on Twitter @SimplyAlive, via e-mail Doni@SimplyAliveWorld.com or on her blog:
