Two Historic Buildings

Over the past couple of weeks I have had the pleasure of performing in some amazing historic buildings, The Briarhurst Manor and the Phantom Canyon Brewing Company.

On June 13 Red Herrring performed one of their public shows at the Briarhurst Manor in Manitou Springs. It was the premier of a rewrite of one of our westerns. We had a night where the stars aligned and all was well with the world. The audience was wonderful and the actors were hitting all the right notes in their performances.

As I walked through the various rooms, I could feel the sense of what it might have been like for the Bells' whose home this had been. The house is elegant and the current owners have done what they could to preserve the ambiance of the golden age of expansion that was Manitou and Colorado Springs. Although our story took place in Texas, the time periods were very similar. What a joy to not only have fun with a show, but to eat and wander the halls of history.

That was followed by a show on June 22 at the Phantom Canyon Brewing Company located in Colorado Springs. This building at Pikes Peak and Cascade Avenues is very close to the depot for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. It is my understanding that this building used to house the rail workers. The third floor, were we were again performing a western, used to be divided up into numerous small rooms for the workers. I am sure that their work was strenuous, but looking out the windows, the view of the mountains is spectacular. Perhaps they also were able to enjoy those brief moments of contemplation.

To have a job where I can not only honor my desire for performing and history is a gift I am truly grateful for. To walk where others have walked and to try to place myself into their world. Over the past two shows I went from high society to common worker, all by being in the space that they had occupied. It makes you want to dig even deeper and find out more.