Check Out Elemental’s story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Selena A..

Selena A., we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Elemental Theatre Company was recreated by some of the founders of Wheat Ridge Theatre Company. As many smaller local arts companies do, we were struggling to fund our projects. Founded in 2019 and chartered as a non-profit in 2021, Wheat Ridge Theatre could no longer afford the space we had been performing out of, and with the new federal administration, funding for the arts became more difficult to obtain than it already was in this struggling US economy. Reborn as Elemental, we have gone back to the purest form of theatre we can. We do not have a permanent performance space, so we changed our name to something that does not tie to any one location. Now we can roam about Metro Denver and bring theatre to the masses wherever we are able. We have not left Wheat Ridge altogether. We performed a Musical Revue there in July at the Wheat Ridge Senior Center. It took us a good part of 2025 to decide on how we wanted to rebrand ourselves, and so we have only left time for two shows in our season, which runs from January to December. George Bernard Shaw’s classic PYGMALION will open September 26th and run through October 12th at the University of Denver’s Davis Auditorium in Sturm Hall with a special Thursday 10/2 performance in support of the Denver Actors’ Fund. Our 2025 season will finish up with JACOB MARLEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL by Tom Mula at a location still to be determined and run December 5-20, 2025. Because we no longer have a set location, we are tied deeper to the community at large and making a point to connect as much as we can; to that end, we will continue to support the Denver Actors’ Fun at our Industry Night performances and the run of PYGMALION has been dedicated to the memory of our dear friend and colleague Christin Martin, founder of Invictus Theatre of Denver, who passed away suddenly this Sunday, September 14.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, there have definitely been a few bumps along the way. Primarily, financial struggles are the toughest part – something that is all too common in the arts, unfortunately. This seems to be true everywhere, though especially in this new administration, which has been cutting funding since the beginning of its term. For new arts programs, things can be particularly difficult; many grants, including SCFD, are not available until an organization has been a functioning non-profit for at least 5 years. We won’t reach that point until January 2027.
Other challenges include navigating the board of directors as a cohesive group. As with any group, we’ve had differences of opinion, and we’ve done our best to work through them. We have all learned a great deal through the process, and grown as leaders, artists, and individuals.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are highly focused on diversity and inclusion. We believe that the performance arts are better served by providing quality entertainment not only to the general public, but to underserved areas with inclusive performers and staff. We strive to represent diverse genders, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, physical limitations, and other characteristics of our communities. And we are very serious about that. Everyone is invited to audition for our shows, and we have a zero-tolerance policy regarding how people are treated in our spaces. Speaking of spaces, we began with a reputation for performing in unique spaces. We developed the idea of Drive-Thru Theatre, where actors performed in stations and cars drove around to see each scene performed to keep the theatre alive during the pandemic. Though we eventually did get a more permanent space, we’ve now returned to our roots and will be rotating about to various (and perhaps strange) locations to perform theatre, rather than staying in one place.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We hope people will come and see, audition for, and work with us on our shows. Like all non-profits, we survive thanks to donors. Our fans can also sign up and select us as an option for Kroger to give every time they shop. Our supporters pay nothing; they just buy groceries; Kroger donates to Elemental . There is information about all of this on our website: https://elementaltheatrecompany.org/

Pricing:

• $28 tickets for adults
• $15 tickets for students

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elementaltheatrecompany.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elementaltheatrecompany/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElementalTheatreColorado
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elemental-theatre-colorado/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Elementaltheatre

Image Credits
Tara Beiter-Fluhr, Selena A Naumoff