Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Patrick Brownson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Patrick, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve ever gotten to work on was a production of Amadeus a couple of years ago. I was offered the role of Antonio Salieri by a great friend of mine, who was the director of the show. While it’s always great to get offered roles, it was especially meaningful to me since this was by far the biggest and most complicated character I’ve ever gotten to play. It was also a little bit of a “six degrees of separation” case as my mom went to college with Tom Hulce, who played Mozart in the film version, and did some shows with him back then.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been doing theatre since I was a kid, starting with church plays, then working my way up to playing George Washington in my 5th grade production of “Let George Do It.” I continued doing theatre through high school, and earned my Bachelor’s degree in Theatre from Metropolitan State University of Denver. I’ve worked on some 60+ theatrical productions around the Denver metro area over the past sixteen years primarily as an actor, but also as a director or in various technical roles.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Honestly, the best thing that society can do to support local theatres is to simply go see productions. With an administration that is doing everything it can to destroy the arts, as well as any community that isn’t part of its idea of what true America is, showing up for them is the strongest way to support them.

Right now I’m lucky enough to be working on an original musical called Absurd Hero, written by local playwright and musician April Alsup. It’s an updated version of the myth of Sisyphus, set in modern day America, and it’s always a challenge but a great time to work on an original piece. We’re going to be performing the show July 18th – 21st at Vintage Theatre in Aurora before we take it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. And it would be great if any readers who are interested to come see a performance in town, as it helps support both local and original theatre.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the most rewarding things about being a theatre artist is seeing how a show or a performance can affect the audience. Whether it’s making them laugh, making them cry, making them think, or giving them a way to forget their troubles for a short time, it can make the time and the work involved so worth it. One special memory in particular was from a production of “Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris” I was in several years ago. At one performance there was an older woman who was living with Alzheimer’s in the audience, as well as her caretaker. The caretaker told our director beforehand that Brel was the woman’s favorite singer, and that’s why she brought her to the show. Throughout the whole show, this woman was living her best life – moving with the music, mouthing the words, moving her hands as if she was music directing us – I can tell you that the whole cast was performing that show for her that night.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vintagetheatre.org/performances/absurdhero
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AbsurdHeroMusical