Plays With Fire
Each performance includes two staged readings PLUS the announcement of our 21st season!
The Wheelchair on My Face by Sonya Kelly
Bonnet by John Patrick Shanley
STAGED READINGS & BETC SEASON 21 ANNOUNCEMENT
May 14 & 17 at the Dairy Arts Center (Grace Gamm Theater)
This special event is not included in a BETC subscription.
BOULDER
Thursday, May 14, 7:00 pm
Saturday, May 17, 2:00 pm
Saturday, May 17, 5:00 pm
About Plays With Fire
A pair of comedies to put some spring in your springtime - plus our Season 21 Announcement!
Mark Ragan and Jessica Robblee spill the beans about BETC's upcoming season of spectacular shows, and then —
Bonnet by Oscar, Tony, and Pulitzer winner John Patrick Shanley — a staged reading directed by Josh Hartwell
A clever 20-minute comedy of manners in which Ava appears at the breakfast table with a meaningful new accessory, and her husband Dan has a few questions.
The Wheelchair on My Face (New York Times Critic's Pick) by Sonya Kelly — a staged reading directed by Adrian Egolf, featuring Kate Gleason
A memoir-meets-theatre-meets-standup-comedy piece about growing up with poor vision that went undiagnosed until Kelly was seven years old.
Run Time
Plays With Fire is expected to run approximately 80 minutes, with a 15 minute intermission.
Content Considerations
Plays With Fire is best suited for audiences aged 14 and above. BETC does not offer more specific advisories about the subject matter, as sensitivities vary from person to person. If you have any questions about content or age-appropriateness, please call the BETC Office at 303-351-2382.
Tickets & Discounts
Subscriptions
Plays With Fire is not part of the 2025-2026 Season Subscription package. Using the code provided to them, subscribers will receive 10% off of this special production.
Single Tickets
Single tickets are on sale now through the Dairy Arts Center.
Single tickets for all performances of Plays With Fire are $20.00.
Students can get $15.00 tickets and must show a valid student ID at the theatre.
Purchased tickets will be emailed to you from the Dairy Arts Center and copies can be found on your Dairy Arts Center account.
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Group Sales
Looking to purchase tickets to a show for a group of 10 or more? BETC offers generous discounts for groups of 10+. If you are seeking special group arrangements, please call us at 303-351-2382.
Cast & Artistic Team of Bonnet
Josh Hartwell (DIRECTOR) is an Artistic Company Member at Curious Theatre Company, and an Ensemble Member at Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company (BETC). Directing credits include HIR and 39 Steps (Miners Alley); Grounded and Ghost-Writer (BETC); and Casa Valentina, I’ll Eat You Last, and The Motherf*cker With the Hat (Edge Theater Company). He also wrote and directed the immersive play The Estate Sale (Catamounts). An award-winning and internationally produced playwright, Hartwell earned feature film and Off-Broadway contracts with Starry Night Entertainment with his play Contrived Ending (Ovation Award and Henry Award nominees). His The DEVOlution Revolution, is a wild jukebox musical/sci-fi/comedy honoring songs and philosophies of the beloved 1980s new wave band, DEVO. Hartwell was Colorado’s first Regional Representative for the Dramatists Guild, and a two-time finalist for The O’Neill Festival’s New Play Conference.
Cast & Artistic Team of The Wheelchair on My Face
Adrian Egolf (DIRECTOR) is proud to be a BETC Ensemble Member and has appeared in many BETC productions including, The Revolutionists, Cyrano, The Rembrandt, and Ambition Facing West. Adrian is also a performer with BETC’s MAD LIBrarians, improv for young audiences. For Luke & Leni, I love who you are.
Local credits include: The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the Arvada Center, Colorado Symphony, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Benchmark Theatre, Creede Repertory Theater, The Denver Children’s Theater, Theatreworks, Miner’s Alley Playhouse. Regional credits include: The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and Off Square Theater Company. Film/TV: Rent-A-Pal, Red Dot, Quarters.
Kate Gleason (ACTOR) last appeared with BETC in Little Women and Annapurna (Westword Award, Best Actress). Broadway: Noises Off, The Pillowman. Selected Off-Broadway: Henry IV (Brooklyn Academy of Music), A Flea in Her Ear (Roundabout Theatre). Regional/ International work includes performing with Playmakers Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Northern Stage, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Vienna's English Theatre, Hebbel Theatre Berlin, Off Square Theatre, The Arvada Center, DCPA Theatre Company, and Theatreworks. As a director, she has worked with several Colorado companies including The Arvada Center, The Aurora Fox, Miners Alley, Benchmark, Thunder River Theatre Company as well as Off Square Theatre Company in Jackson Hole, WY.
