Meet Cordelia Zars of Arete Theatrics

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cordelia Zars.

Cordelia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2016, I was a senior in college. In November, the day after the presidential election, an eerie silence hung over the campus. Damp light filtered through the last of the fall leaves and students waded through it heavily, unfeelingly, cast in the shadow of their own thoughts in isolation to the world. The faces of some wore silent smiles of celebration; the faces of others bore the traces of steady tears. Groups huddled in the hallways, shoulders turned inward, sheltering from passersby. Some whispered excitedly, others scowled. Some just stood silently, breathlessly. Professors opened their mouths and closed them again and stared unknowingly into the students’ wondering eyes.

The air fermented with anger. Righteousness. A unilateral sense of triumph; a unilateral sense of blame. The tides of many emotions sweep over a college campus but one arrived that day I’d never felt before. Hatred.
It was then that our school buckled at its fault lines, and the perfect image of unity betrayed its fragility like a jigsaw puzzle, overturned. And in that moment, I saw ourselves as the country, fragments of a puzzle driven apart, determined to lose connection with the humanity of all its other pieces.

Was there hope of bringing us back together? Perhaps not. But it seemed that if there was anything that could, it would not arrive as facts or numbers or political opinions or rights and wrongs, but as a story. A song. As the simple sharing of humanity, and in its revealing, the reminder that we are all the same: beautiful, fragile, and filled with an endless capacity to love.

It was then, sitting on the floor of my college bedroom, I vowed to start a theatre company.

In 2017 I moved to Denver, where I began writing my first show, Man Up, about masculinity and the harmful effects of emotional repression. My colleague and best friend Max Middleton, whom I directed musicals with in college, assisted in the framing and editing of the script, and moved to Colorado the following year to help edit and direct the first production of Man Up. I founded Arête Theatrics as an LLC in July 2019, and Max and I opened the world premiere of Man Up in Boulder in November 2019. The show was an instant success; it sold every seat in the house for the entire run and made a profound impact on audiences of all ages and genders. After Man Up closed, Katelyn Skeen (who stage managed Man Up) remained on the team as Arête’s Administrative Director, and she and I began developing Arête as a business. In the winter of 2020 Man Up was accepted into “Playwrights Voiced,” a playwright’s festival in Wyoming, and I worked with Anne Mason and Noelia Berkes to produce the second production of Man Up (held virtually) in May, 2020.

Noelia and I collaborated so well that we instantly became aware that we wanted our artistic partnership to continue. Noelia Berkes joined the Arête team as the Director of Development after Playwrights Voiced. Noelia, Katelyn, Max, and Cordelia have now teamed up to convert Arête Theatrics to a 501(c)3 and formally launch the company as a community-enriching theatre presence in the Front Range.

The Mission of Arête Theatrics is to bring our Front Range community unforgettable theatre that bridges conflicting perspectives and offers a path towards a more empathetic and peaceful world.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This year of Covid has been particularly challenging, as it has barred us from doing what we love most– live theatre. As a team of artists who love connecting with community and building lasting relationships, we have found it so difficult to be in isolation this year. We are hoping 2021 brings more positivity and connection!

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Arete Theatrics story. Tell us more about it.
Arête Theatrics is a Colorado theatre company that specializes in writing and producing original musicals.

Each season, we choose a theme. Our themes explore divisive social issues that have polarized our country. Our team chooses themes that not only resonate with our local community, but have social, political, and economic relevance nationwide.

Once we’ve chosen a theme, our company writes and produces an original musical and an accompanying season of plays and educational programming aimed at unpacking the complexity of that theme.

We are dedicated to including a diverse range of voices, stories, actors, and artists in our programming each year, and are most proud of the community we’ve built and continue to build in the Front Range.

No other theatre company in the Front Range writes their own musicals, so Arête is proud to introduce a venue that specializes in writing and performing shows in-house.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We have been so lucky to have people who have supported our arts and our dreams from the start, and we would not be where we are without our loving community.

Contact Info:

• Website: aretetheatrics.com
• Email: cordelia@aretetheatrics.com
• Instagram: @arete_theatrics
• Facebook: @aretetheatrics

Image Credit:
Kevin Snyder

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.