Sep 3 — Max Shulman & Matt Giles: UCCS TheaterWorks at 51 (history, funding realities, the 51st season lineup)

Sep 3, 2026 — Max Shulman & Matt Giles: UCCS TheaterWorks at 51

Bulletin for September 3, 2026

Featured Speakers: Max Shulman & Matt Giles

Artistic Director & General Director — UCCS TheaterWorks

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OPENING

Marlene opened the meeting with a prayer and John led the Pledge of Allegiance.

"A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers."

— President John F. Kennedy

CLUB BUSINESS

• Lahjavida Field Trip: Tuesday, September 15, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. at 1096 Elton. Meet at the facility. To join the tour, email bgaddis@uccs.edu or call 719-440-3797.

• El Paso County Election System Tour: Tuesday, September 29 at 2:30 p.m., 1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road. Organized by El Paso County Clerk Steve Schleiker. The club will join the UCCS Book Club for this tour. Sign-up sheet was circulated at the meeting.

• "White Christmas" at the Fine Arts Center: Friday, December 18 at 7:00 p.m. Members purchase their own tickets; pre-event details to follow.

• Christmas Party: December 10 at Patty Jewett's. Time to be confirmed. A suggestion was raised to consider the El Paso Club as a future venue — to be explored for next year.

• Purple Heart Ceremony: Scheduled for 9/11; location details to be shared.

• Sheriff's Citizens Academy: One member is currently enrolled, prompting others to recommend the program.

• New Horizons Band Concert: Sunday, November 1 at 4:00 p.m. at the Ent Center. Members were enthusiastic in endorsing the group.

KEYNOTE: MAX SHULMAN & MATT GILES — UCCS THEATERWORKS

Max Shulman (Artistic Director and Associate Professor of Theater) and Matt Giles (General Director) presented the story and vision of UCCS TheaterWorks, now in its 51st season.

Background and Structure

Founded in 1975 by Murray and Betty Ross — whose names grace the lobby of the Ent Center — TheaterWorks operates as a professional wing within UCCS, separate from but connected to the university's academic theater and dance program. It primarily employs Colorado-based professional actors, with occasional out-of-state hires. Students work backstage, in shops, and sometimes on stage through auditions; all students attend productions for free.

Funding and Financial Realities

Ticket sales cover only about 30% of total production costs. The remainder comes from the university's general fund, a portion of the UCCS student fee, and extensive community fundraising. Theater costs continuously rise — labor, lumber, fabric — and unlike modern businesses, the art form cannot be made more efficient. Reducing cast size compromises the work (a full cast is simply required for Sweeney Todd).

Most local actors hold other jobs, so rehearsals are often scheduled at night. The regional non-profit theater movement of the mid-20th century aimed to create professional careers outside New York City, but the decline of Ford Foundation grants since the 1980s has pushed theaters to rely more heavily on ticket sales and individual fundraising.

Theater in the Age of AI

Live theater is fundamentally human-generated art — writing, directing, acting, set-building. AI-generated content lacks the depth, original ideas, and lived understanding that theater requires. The stage offers a unique, unrepeatable energy shared between performers and audience, something no screen or algorithm can replicate.

Theater as Community

Max and Matt argued that live theater directly counters today's loneliness crisis by creating communal, shared experience. It also addresses polarization — presenting difficult ideas and new perspectives without telling the audience what to think.

The 51st Season

• Sweeney Todd: Stephen Sondheim's musical on how a moral quest becomes immoral through obsession. Features a large three-story set and ten actors.

• Private Lives: Noel Coward's classic British comedy about a divorced couple who meet again on their new honeymoons.

• What the Constitution Means to Me: Heidi Shrek's autobiographical play, ending in a live audience-voted debate.

• Sweat: Pulitzer Prize–winning play by Lynn Nottage about the 2008 financial crisis and its toll on Pennsylvania factory workers.

• Dear Elizabeth: Sarah Ruhl's lyrical play based on 30 years of correspondence between poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell.

The primary venue is the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater — a flexible black box seating 190 to 300 people. Sets are built with reused and recycled materials; budgets prioritize paying artists over buying supplies.

Theater Tours

TheaterWorks hosts annual patron trips to major theater cities. An October 2026 trip is planned for Chicago. The annual London trip — running nearly 30 years — takes place every January and includes exclusive discussion sessions with top directors and actors.

CONCLUSION

For more than fifty years, TheaterWorks has been part of the cultural backbone of the Pikes Peak region. It brings people together to experience, question, and understand the lives of others. We are fortunate to have it — and fortunate to have heard from Max and Matt.

"Theatre is a form of knowledge; it should and can also be a means of transforming society."

— Augusto Boal

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The Pikes Peak Club · pikespeakclub.com