Don’t consider this a fundraiser. Think of it as an investment in the future of theater in Durango.
Alyse Neubert has certainly contributed enough into the town’s theatrical past to earn the right for the kind of going away party she’ll throw tonight at Durango Arts Center. Neubert is a 2007 graduate of Dolores High School and is a 2011 graduate of the Fort Lewis College Theatre Department. Tonight, she’ll host “A Comedic Cabaret and Silent Auction: An evening of Fun, Music, Dance and Song with a Spaghetti Western Theme.”
“I can’t really give away anything,” Neubert said of the cryptically titled program. “But I’m from the Southwest and moving to Italy so Spaghetti Western is a perfect way to describe where my life’s at right now.”
Envision a updated version of the musical-comedy revue model – comedy, song-and-dance, some aerial silk antics – like Sonny & Cher with a touch of Cirque du Soleil.
“I’m very excited about it,” Neubert said.
She’s also excited about what comes next. On Aug. 28, Neubert will leave for a 2½-year stint with the Academia dell’Arte, with a home base in Arezzo in the Tuscany region of Italy. The theater-education program also will take her to Germany and the Czech Republic, and her studies will include physical theater, dance and comedy as well as circus arts. That includes an apprenticeship with a circus in Torino, Italy.
“I knew I wanted to travel, but there was not much chance to do it in my undergrad studies,” Neubert said. “And I’ve been shopping for grad schools but having a hard time finding a program that I really want to do and not be so restricted.”
Neubert’s place in the program came at the expense of others, but such are the fates, and she experienced only a twinge of guilt. Only 12 students are accepted every three years. The deadline to apply for the program had passed when word came in May while she was working for Theatre Aspen that two enrolled applicants had been injured and couldn’t make the trip. Neubert could.
“I feel really special,” she said. “My goal now is to teach at the college level and be the artistic director of a theater, and I can’t wait to bring what I learn back to the U.S.”
For tonight’s show, Neubert recruited a slew of her longtime stage mates, many with whom she’s performed since grade school. Also starring in the show will be local performers Marcelina Chavira, Erin O’Connor, Geoff Johnson, Miles Bachelder, Adam Sowards, Hattie Miller, Tim Schrag and Steve Ward. Many of the proceeds from the show will go toward her upcoming journey, but she’ll give a portion of the take back to the Arts Center as well.
I want to come back to Durango, and I want to give back,” Neubert said. “Children’s theater is really important to me, and I want to say goodbye to the Durango theater scene and be with the people who helped me figure out who I am as an artist.”
ted@durangoherald.com
If you go
Alyse Neubert will host “A Comedic Cabaret and Silent Auction: An evening of Fun, Music, Dance and Song with a Spaghetti Western Theme” at 7 p.m. today at the Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave. Tickets cost $7, available only at the door. For more information, call 259-2606.
