Ron Cowen’s prize-winning play, Summertree July 21, 2010

Peeling the Leaf: a Theatrical Look
at Life in a Time of War
featuring Summertree
An Award Winning Play By Ron Cowen
Denver, July 2009 – Applebox Theatre, in partnership with ONE Freedom, returns for its second summer season with Ron Cowen’s prize-winning play, Summertree. Concerned with the issues and fears of a family in an uncertain time of war, this honest & essential play is both a celebration of key moments in life and a strong consideration of warfare and its resulting tragedy. “Summertree stands as an honest crucial play and will be a hundred years from now as it is now, as it was in the 60’s.” 1
Set during a time of war, this everyman story takes us into the life of a Young Man faced with the memories of the family he loves & the choices that led him to his moment of mortality. As he lays dying on an unknown battlefield, he sees himself under a familiar tree in his own backyard, reliving moments of joy & pain with his well-meaning but driven Father, his loving and protective Mother, and his dreaming yet uncertain Girlfriend. These visions also include moments of himself as a Little Boy and the intrusions of a fellow Soldier who keeps reminding us of the present in which the story is actually unfolding.
“Summertree doesn’t care who is right, who is wrong. Summertree concerns itself with the universal strain war causes by a noose placed around the neck of families, individually and collectively. It reaches deep within the human psyche tied up in specific knots with a stylistic approach, and in an explicit nature of humanity. Erasing time and space allows the mind to do what it does naturally, remembering what it wants to when it wants to.” 1
The cast, under the direction of Robert Scott and associate directing of Brenton Daviau, includes Ryan L. Maness as Young Man, Leora Hilmar as Mother, Gregory M. Christopher as Father, Jillian Wagner as Girl, Jacob Kirlan-Stout as Little Boy, and Marcel Sorel as the Soldier. The production team, led by ABT’s Creative Director Ryan Gaddis, includes Master Carpenter Carl Whipple, Lighting Designer Anna R. Kaltenbach, and Sound Designer Tyler Nelson.
After the success of Applebox’s inaugural production of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child, which included performances in Denver, Boulder, and Broomfield, this summer’s production has found a home at the University of Colorado at Denver’s Blackbox Production Studio, located in the Auraria Campus Arts Building, room 278. In cooperation with the university’s College of Arts & Media, and the generous support of Associate Professor of Theatre Laura Cuetara, ABT is excited to present two weeks of performances starting July 21 -24, 2010 and continuing July 29 – 31, 2010. All evening shows will begin at 7:30 p.m. Matinee performances, starting at 2 p.m., will also be staged July 25th & August 1st. Tickets can be purchased online through the company website (www.appleboxtheatre.com) or through online ticket agent TicketLeap (https://appleboxtheatre.ticketleap.com). General admission tickets are available for $15 with reduced prices for active duty military & veterans, students, and groups of 8 or more. A portion of all performance proceeds will be donated to ONE Freedom, a Boulder-based non-profit.
Applebox is also pleased to be hosting a benefit for ONE Freedom on July 28, 2010. The benefit will raise funds to provide programming for Colorado veterans and their families via ONE Freedom’s educational program, Strength after ServiceÔ. The benefit evening will engage members of the community, higher education, veterans, civilians, and area non-profits to connect and share resources. Attendees will enjoy snapshots of the play, portions of ONE Freedom strategies, spoken word poetry from veteran writers, information from other area organizations serving veterans, live music, food/beverage, and a silent auction. The benefit will be held on the UC-Denver Auraria campus in the Tivoli Turnhalle (900 Auraria Pkwy., Denver 80204) from 6 – 10 p.m. Tickets for this event may be purchased at www.onefreedom.org.
1 Bartges, Holly. "Summertree." Colorado Backstage. 26 Sept. 2008. Web. 05 June 2010. .
TICKETS AND MEDIA INFORMATION
Run: July 21 – July 24, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. July 25, 2010 at 2 p.m. July 29 – July 31, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. August 1, 2010 at 2 p.m.
Location:
University of Colorado Denver
900 Curtis St.
Denver, Colorado 80204
Blackbox Production Studio
Arts Building, Room 278
Box Office (Reservations/Information):
https://appleboxtheatre.ticketleap.com
For information about Summertree performances contact:
Robert Scott or Ryan Gaddis
staff@appleboxtheatre.com
(720) 984-9389 or (303) 523-7067
Show Tickets:
$15 general admission
$10 for students
$5 for active duty military/veterans & UCD students. Discounts available for groups of 8 or more.
For more information about the ONE Freedom benefit please contact:
Julianne DuMond
jdumond@appleboxtheatre.com
(720) 251-0512
Benefit Tickets: $12
Website: www.appleboxtheatre.com