Since 2018 the Millibo Art Theatre has been hosting the Women’s Theatre Festival — aka WTF — bringing original works by women to the stage. It’s just one of the ways the MAT has been highlighting the work of women playwrights for well over a decade.
The format might have evolved over time, but what hasn’t changed is the focus on the work of women, says Birgitta De Pree, co-founder and artistic director of the Millibo. “One day it’s not going to be an issue,” De Pree says of fewer opportunities for women in theater. Until it’s not, the Women’s Theatre Festival provides a platform for women to tell stories.
In its earliest iteration circa 2006, the MAT’s Six Women Play Festival was national in scope, inviting women from all over the United States to submit their short works. Now the WTF focuses on the work of Colorado women.
There were years when De Pree’s passionate and outrageous alter ego Babette served as the emcee of the event, entertaining audiences as the stage transitioned between the short plays. That responsibility, along with set changes, now falls to the ensemble of actors.
This year the WTF theme is “Travelers – From Here to There.” Theatergoers can expect six plays and seven performance pieces, including monologues, dance, music and an animated short film. Approximately 16 actors bring the plays to life on stage, with five directors behind the scenes — the Millibo’s Jim Jackson directs two. Yes, always inclusive, the WTF doesn’t exclude men, except in the writing, of course, De Pree says.
De Pree enjoys the opportunity to see women supporting other women, but says the plays tell human stories. “The more we see the universality in plays, the better it is.”
She admits the festival does lean toward filling the theater’s seats with women — it makes a great girls night out — but she encourages anyone to come. “The plays speak to the human experience,” she says.
The Women’s Theatre Festival includes Colorado writers of all levels of experience and spans two weekends. Each play runs about 10 to 20 minutes. “You may not love them all,” De Pree says. “But if you do, they last about 15 minutes; if you don’t, it lasts 15 minutes.”
Here’s the 2023 Women’s Theatre Festival lineup:
Short Plays
Independence Day: Written by Leslie Lewis / Directed by Eve Tilley / Performed by Ashley Crockett, Christopher Keller & Michael Miller
Big D: Written & Directed by Lisa Siebert/ Performed by Carla Brown, Christopher Keller, Nick Remy, E. Amber Singleton
Falling Star: Written by Colette Mazunik / Directed by Jim Jackson /Performed by Reynette Kruger, Elly Siebert, Nick Remy
American Herring: Written by Nina Miller / Directed by Max Ferguson / Performed by Jude Bishop, Jazz Campbell, Amaya Equsquiza, Melissa Hoffman, Anna Miller
A Girl by Any Other Name: Written & Performed by Barbara Mosser / Directed by Joye Cook Levy
Peace Train: Written by Hannah Rockey / Directed by Jim Jackson / Performed by Ashley Crockett, Hannah Rockey
Performance Pieces
Animated Short Film by Emily Newton
Monologue by Rachel Scott
Monologue by Sheridan Singer
Songs by Edie Carey
Dance by Gentle Fritz
Clown with Sage Behr
Dance by Brittany Beaulieu
Find info, showtimes and tickets at themat.org.
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