MissionRelative Theatrics strives to present thought-provoking theatre that examines the joining qualities of the human race.Taking artistic risk, we provide a community gathering place where thoughts can be exchanged about society, culture, and the power of creativity.
about usFounded by Laramie native Anne Mason, Relative Theatrics has been bringing live theatre to South East Wyoming since the summer of 2013. After gaining academic and professional experience nationwide, Mason returned to Wyoming with a goal to bring a fresh theatrical experience to the Laramie community. Relative Theatrics makes its home in the historic Gryphon Theatre of the Laramie Plains Civic Center.
Bringing the audience onto the stage, we strive to create an intimate black-box setting that puts the audience into the world of the play. With the hope that all good storytelling causes a reaction in the audience, each Relative Theatrics performance is followed by a chat-back session with the cast and director, giving the community an opportunity to start a dialogue about their experiences and reactions to the play. We believe that theatre is a forum with the power to illuminate the binding qualities of humanity and reinforce the ideals that as a society we have values that pose as common ground and emotions that relate us to one another. |
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OUR TEAM
Anne MasonFOUNDER & PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Anne Mason is the founder and Producing Artistic Director of Relative Theatrics. A Laramie native, Anne holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Wyoming. She has worked professionally with Capital Stage Company, Sacramento Music Circus, California Musical Theatre, Missoula Children's Theatre, Snowy Range Summer Theatre Festival, and the University of Wyoming. A true believer in giving back to her local community, Anne volunteers her time and talents for Laramie Main Street Alliance, the Wyoming Art Party Pop-Up Art Walk, Laramie Montessori, Laramie Reproductive Health, the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and Laramie Walk MS. She has given presentations on empathy and the power of community-driven theatre at Ignite Laramie, Willful Wyoming Women, Laramie Uplift-Inspire, Rotary Laramie, Tales at the Taphouse, and Laramie Young Professionals. She is a member of The Wyoming Arts Alliance, The New Play Exchange, and Theatre Communications Group. Anne was named one of Laramie's 20 Under 40 Young Professionals in 2016 and was a Wyoming Governor's Arts Awards Nominee in 2019.
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Noelia BerkesDIRECTOR OF VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING
Noelia grew up in Denver, and attended the University of Wyoming, where she double majored in Theatre and Dance and Psychology. After school, Noelia had a general management internship at Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, and an acting apprenticeship at Actors Theatre of Louisville. She moved to New York City in 2013, and has been working in theatre ever since. In addition to her work for Relative Theatrics, Noelia is an educator and producer for Voices Inside/Out, an organization committed to reducing recidivism in prisons around the country, as well as the director of development for Arête Theatrics in Denver. Noelia firmly believes that creativity is the most positive force on earth, and that everyone is capable of creating great art. She is delighted to be working alongside Anne, and the entire Relative Theatrics team.
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Melissa RossMARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Melissa graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelors degree in Art.
She has studied at Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy and focused on oil painting, sculpture, and art history. Melissa has lived in Boston and Phoenix with a diverse professional career in marketing, communications, and working with startup companies. Over the years, Melissa has continued to develop her art through private commissioned work and strives to communicate energy through color, form and expressive colors. Melissa is thrilled to be involved with the Relative Theatrics team! |
Bailey PattersonDRAMATURGY & LITERARY MANAGEMENT INTERN
Born and raised in Casper, Wyoming, Bailey Patterson received bachelor’s degrees in communication and theatre in the spring of 2019 and is currently a master’s student in the Department of Communication at the University of Wyoming. She teaches public speaking to undergraduate students and was recently featured by the Society of Animation Studies for her research on Disney twist-villains. She could not be more thrilled to work as the dramaturgy and literary management intern where she is most excited about expanding her research skills to the worlds of art and theatre. She has been a proud supporter of Relative Theatrics for three years and is delighted to work directly with such a talented, dedicated, and inspiring team.
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Kendall YoderAPPRENTICE
Kendall Yoder just graduated from Central Washington University in June 2020, completing a BA specialization in Film Production with minors in Screenwriting and Theatre General Studies. For the last four years Kendall has completed a multitude of credits in props artisanry, carpentry and set decoration for both the stage and film. While studying at CWU, they also enjoyed their time employed as a carpenter and scenic technician at the Central Theatre Ensemble scene shop and are excited to share this craftsmanship with the ensemble of Relative Theatrics.
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Jaye CooneyAPPRENTICE
Jaye is a recent grad of Colorado State University. In their free time, they enjoy playwriting, performing slam poetry, doing public outreach work, and enjoying various types of iced coffee.
Jaye is most looking forward to integrating their love for theatre and social justice together, and are grateful for the opportunity to do such! |
Justen GloverAPPRENTICE
Justen is a recent graduate of the UW Theatre & Dance program, and is so excited to be working with Relative Theatrics again as a member of the artistic team. He enjoys the outdoors and is grateful to have the opportunity to spend another year in beautiful Laramie. Justen can’t wait for the opportunity to work up close with the professionals who have created such a thriving theatre scene in this community!
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Board of Directors
Laurie Richmond
JANEL SEELEY
PHILIP MOLINE
PATRICK KONESKO
GLENDA EARL
Just the Facts
Relative Theatrics (RT) was founded in August 2013 by Anne Mason and premiered with a production of Brilliant Traces in August followed by Red in November 2013. Performances take place on the stage of the historic Gryphon Theatre with seating limited to 50 for an intimate theatre-going experience.
In the spring of 2015, RT started its annual Playwrights Voiced, a series of staged readings of new works by developing playwrights. By the festival's fourth year in 2018, RT received over 200 submissions and hosted four playwrights for the event from all over the country.
RT has received grant funding from the Wyoming Humanities Council in the 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18 seasons to produce a monthly play-reading discussion series called Read, Rant, Relate – Igniting Conversation Through Theatre.
In February 2016 Relative Theatrics incorporated as a nonprofit and became a 501(c)(3) organization.
Local businesses advertise in RT programs. For the 2016-17 season, RT had 5 businesses that have purchased advertising for the whole season and another 2 who purchase for individual productions. Business partners increased to 12 advertising businesses during the 2017-18 season. RT is pursuing corporate sponsors for their 6th Season in 2018-19.
Relative Theatrics has fostered a relationship with Coal Creek TAP for cross-promotion. Tickets to plays are available at TAP along with a special price for a meal for people who buy advance purchase tickets.
National Public Radio featured Relative Theatrics in the spring of 2017 for a story about the groundbreaking production of What Would Crazy Horse Do? by Larissa FastHorse and the obstacles Native American playwrights face in getting their work produced.
Relative Theatrics hosted professional New York actor Ure Egbuho for a critically acclaimed production of No Child... by Nilaja Sun in the fall of 2017. At the same time, RT hosted an Auditioning and Professional Issues workshop led by Noelia Antweiler (member of the Actors Equity Association) for interested actors in the community. These were the first of many hopeful endeavors to bring guest artists to Laramie for artistic collaborations.
In the fall of 2017 Producing Artistic Director Anne Mason represented Relative Theatrics and the Wyoming Arts Council 50 Year Summit in Lander, speaking on a panel about engaging younger audiences in the arts.
RT partnered with the University of Wyoming Classical and Modern Language department to produce a reading of The Arsonists by Jacqueline Goldfinger in the Spring of 2018. The event, funded in part by The Goode Family Fund, was heavily attended and sparked engaging conversation amongst multiple disciplines.
As a part of playwright Lauren Gunderson's Natural Shocks Campaign, Relative Theatrics represented Wyoming with a reading of Gunderson's one-woman show addressing domestic violence and gun violence in the Spring of 2018. The reading, part of a national campaign of theatre activism that included 107 readings in 47 states and DC, raised money for Albany County SAFE Project and took place in the Fernwood Studio at Cowgirl Yarn in Laramie.
The UW Honors College is collaborating with RT in the fall of 2018 for the Wyoming premiere of Caryl Churchill's A Number. The play, which addresses the ethics of cloning, is in conjunction with an upper-level Honors genomics class. Students and artists will interact with one another in the classroom and the theatre, cultivating a truly interdisciplinary and community-oriented experience.
14 of Relative Theatrics plays have been Wyoming premieres. MoonSong and What Would Crazy Horse Do? were regional premieres, The Big Heartless was a New Play Premiere.
Attendance has increased over time. There were three performances of Brilliant Traces with approximately 50 patrons. Our recent production of The Nether had seven performances with over 350 patrons.
In the spring of 2015, RT started its annual Playwrights Voiced, a series of staged readings of new works by developing playwrights. By the festival's fourth year in 2018, RT received over 200 submissions and hosted four playwrights for the event from all over the country.
RT has received grant funding from the Wyoming Humanities Council in the 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18 seasons to produce a monthly play-reading discussion series called Read, Rant, Relate – Igniting Conversation Through Theatre.
In February 2016 Relative Theatrics incorporated as a nonprofit and became a 501(c)(3) organization.
Local businesses advertise in RT programs. For the 2016-17 season, RT had 5 businesses that have purchased advertising for the whole season and another 2 who purchase for individual productions. Business partners increased to 12 advertising businesses during the 2017-18 season. RT is pursuing corporate sponsors for their 6th Season in 2018-19.
Relative Theatrics has fostered a relationship with Coal Creek TAP for cross-promotion. Tickets to plays are available at TAP along with a special price for a meal for people who buy advance purchase tickets.
National Public Radio featured Relative Theatrics in the spring of 2017 for a story about the groundbreaking production of What Would Crazy Horse Do? by Larissa FastHorse and the obstacles Native American playwrights face in getting their work produced.
Relative Theatrics hosted professional New York actor Ure Egbuho for a critically acclaimed production of No Child... by Nilaja Sun in the fall of 2017. At the same time, RT hosted an Auditioning and Professional Issues workshop led by Noelia Antweiler (member of the Actors Equity Association) for interested actors in the community. These were the first of many hopeful endeavors to bring guest artists to Laramie for artistic collaborations.
In the fall of 2017 Producing Artistic Director Anne Mason represented Relative Theatrics and the Wyoming Arts Council 50 Year Summit in Lander, speaking on a panel about engaging younger audiences in the arts.
RT partnered with the University of Wyoming Classical and Modern Language department to produce a reading of The Arsonists by Jacqueline Goldfinger in the Spring of 2018. The event, funded in part by The Goode Family Fund, was heavily attended and sparked engaging conversation amongst multiple disciplines.
As a part of playwright Lauren Gunderson's Natural Shocks Campaign, Relative Theatrics represented Wyoming with a reading of Gunderson's one-woman show addressing domestic violence and gun violence in the Spring of 2018. The reading, part of a national campaign of theatre activism that included 107 readings in 47 states and DC, raised money for Albany County SAFE Project and took place in the Fernwood Studio at Cowgirl Yarn in Laramie.
The UW Honors College is collaborating with RT in the fall of 2018 for the Wyoming premiere of Caryl Churchill's A Number. The play, which addresses the ethics of cloning, is in conjunction with an upper-level Honors genomics class. Students and artists will interact with one another in the classroom and the theatre, cultivating a truly interdisciplinary and community-oriented experience.
14 of Relative Theatrics plays have been Wyoming premieres. MoonSong and What Would Crazy Horse Do? were regional premieres, The Big Heartless was a New Play Premiere.
Attendance has increased over time. There were three performances of Brilliant Traces with approximately 50 patrons. Our recent production of The Nether had seven performances with over 350 patrons.