During Pandemic, Local Artists Open Up New Avenues

By Doug Hrdlicka

This summer, although restricted in many ways, can still be the year we hoped for ourselves as we faced the end of December and looked forward to the year ahead. That resolution of new skills to learn, books to read, or healthier routines to adopt may seem like a vestige of 2019, but it is most certainly not. Amid the throes of a pandemic are people dedicated to their craft, who are opening up avenues for people to share in that craft and stay the course. 

Following is a look at four Denver-based artists, whose creativity is an inspiration for those of us who, despite the strains of the COVID pandemic, have a desire to learn and fulfill personal resolutions.

Rachel Graham is trained in theater and has made a career as a performer, starring in shows such as Peter Pan. Her keen knowledge and predilection towards all things theater would lead to opportunities in directing and teaching. Her understanding of stage acting would give way to photographing performances in which she had no role. Before the pandemic forced theaters to close, Graham’s schedule was rigorous and booked as far out as October, but such a demanding schedule is merely business as usual for
 a workaholic. 

“I started shooting shows when I wasn’t in the cast, and I slowly became one of the number one theatrical photographers in Colorado,” said Graham, who typically booked two to four shoots each week. “On March 10, the rug was just ripped out.” 

The pandemic would come, and a wave of closures would follow, devastating Graham’s schedule for the foreseeable future. It was a huge blow. But those who work in theater learn resilience because “the show must go on,” and Graham refuses to let the curtain drop before the scene is through. 

She was taken back by the onslaught of closures, and her prosperity seemed slight, but a new calling would emerge. A parent reached out to her through Facebook asking if she had any classes on Zoom available for children. At that time Graham didn’t offer such a class, nor was one in the works. Recognizing the situation as an opportunity, not just to get back to work but to teach aspiring young actors a trade that will surely help them on their path, Graham built a syllabus.

Being an actor in theater means versatility, and one skill that can be the difference between appearing on stage and watching as an audience member is the performers’ makeup. Applying stage makeup may seem like a simple task but it requires artistry and focus. Graham’s vocation and natural curiosity lend themselves to such knowledge and ability.

“If you learn how to do it, and you also have the skills and the reference sheet, when theaters are open again, [the art of applying stage makeup] would be a handy skill,” said Graham. 

The course Graham designed is offered in two parts, the first being about how to work with stage makeup. This class begins with contouring and smoothing everything out. Next, Graham teaches shadowing and highlighting to give shape, leading to the darkening of hard lines that look real even to the people in the back row of the theater. Lastly, part one of the course addresses texturing. The combination of all these techniques allows a person to change their face to near-unrecognizable, and the final result of the first course teaches how to apply makeup to transform an actor of any age into an old person with liver spots. 

The second part of the course is all about the special effects of stage makeup. This is where her students learn the technique of creating scars, or blisters, or applying mermaid makeup — whatever is needed to give life to fantasy and sci-fi. 

The art of makeup is like many other crafts in that if it’s done with skill and diligence, then it will appear easy, but that assumption can’t be further from the truth. A big part as to why it is difficult can be partly attributed to the time required. The makeup needs to be stripped or reapplied during a performance while maintaining true-to-life contouring because even a green-faced ghoul has textured skin with highlights and shadows. 

“I’ve always wanted to do a makeup class,” said Graham, “and they [theaters] give me all these duck noises of excuses, and I’m like ‘ok, well I think it will be cool, I think the kids will like it.’” 

It took a pandemic for Graham to be able to teach stage makeup, and she suffered a great loss, but future performers and makeup artists will be better prepared with her guidance. So, whether for theater or the zombie walk, makeup is a skill that will most certainly serve whoever learns it. 

If classes on stage makeup aren’t your forte then perhaps dance is. And not many move with grace and poise like Kymi Parker. 

Kymi Parker began dancing when she was eight-years-old, focusing on classical. Her training began in Albuquerque, N.M., and she would grow in technical skill but found it hard for the genre to accept all body types, and she was often discouraged from pursuing it as a career. 

“My entire life I’ve said I want to grow up and be a professional dancer,” said Parker, “Many teachers and my parents were like ‘You’re good but…,’ and it was always because dance was a mean-ass world. There is very little body positivity in classical dance.” 

But when she was in her early 20s, she took a trip to Denver to visit her sister and found The Clocktower, where she saw for the first time, professional dancers of all cut and creed performing with eloquence. Upon returning home, Parker quickly found a burlesque performance group who took her in and elevated her to a status of such notoriety that when The Clocktower had an opening, she auditioned, and they took her on.

“I was walking down 16th Street Mall, saw The Clocktower Cabaret clapboard about the show that was happening that night and was like, ‘This looks awesome, let’s go see what it is.’ I went and saw my very first burlesque show ever, and it was this moment where the emcee and the performers looked more like me than any other professional dancer.” 

She made similar strides there and became a staple in the community. Then, the pandemic hit. Like many others, Parker’s job ended abruptly, but nothing can be gained through submission, so she took to the web to impart a “lifetime of training and performance” to those who wish to express themselves through movement. 

Parker teaches a variety of dance, from ballet techniques to burlesque. She has taught in professional studios before but prefers small, more intimate classes. The idea behind it is people want specific things out of a class, and her ability to cater to the desires of the individual gives them a
greater experience. 

“When you do private lessons and have one or two people, it is so much easier to be like ‘Hey, do you have any physical limitations?’ I just think that the amount you can absorb in an hour of private lessons as opposed to a class is so much more.” 

Along with teaching classes, Parker and The Clocktower ensemble will be live streaming shows. On the docket are Disney performances and a variety of other shows. 

It could be, though, that reorganizing your apartment or house to impart something reflective of yourself or cozy for evenings in is the goal. Well, best begin with the walls, and nothing cures monotone décor much like art. 

La’ Donna Jones sums up her work as “loud colors.” It is of no particular style or genre, but merely a melding of how she experiences the world. 

“I’ve always thought about that question, ‘What is the style of my art?’” Jones said. 

“I don’t know how to legitimately answer that question, and the reason why is because I don’t know what that means. That work style is very like, sterile. I have to categorize how I feel… I don’t know,” Jones added.

Much like the previous two artists mentioned, Jones has dedicated her life to her art. It flows through her like a river cutting through a canyon emerging on canvas as a single piece greater than the parts it took to make. Landing with it is the success of overcoming self-doubt and all the challenges it takes to believe that course is the correct one.Jones was born in Madison, Wis., where she connected to her desire for art and to produce it, a practice that drove her. There was a five-year lapse when she felt the pressure to get a “real job” and ended up in a job as a debt collector. The job deprived her of what she lived for, art. And it wasn’t until a particularly hard call with an elderly woman who just lost her husband when Jones examined her course and concluded that it was time to step back to the thing that gave her life. 

“She told me that living your life for someone else is so easy, being who you are is so much harder, but it’s worth it,” said Jones about the conversation she had with the elderly woman. “I was like, ‘I got to go.’ I’m 26 years-old and I don’t know what I’m doing with my life, but this isn’t it.” 

That move led her to meet people who were connected to the art world and saw in her what she knew was in herself. She began teaching and commissioning work, and those people who were integral are still part of her life today. 

She eventually found herself in Denver, where she continues to build a network of artists to give to the world what it gave to her and facilitate the flow of art from the marginalized artist to the curator or enthusiast. 

“I don’t want to be fearful; I don’t want to be afraid to be me, and I don’t want other people to feel that way, especially teenagers. Teenagers are going to be a huge part of this program,” Jones said about the soon-to-be artist collaborative Brush Box Arts. 

To have a piece commissioned by Jones, the buyer undergoes a process where she seeks to understand you, to know what moves you, and show what’s in your heart through her loud colors. 

“You reached out to me for my particular version of art and with that being said I have to give it to you my way. But I need to know you a little at least to get a feel of what you’ll see when you walk past your piece, will you see you or will you see me, or will it be a feeling you try to evoke in your home?” said Jones.

All art creates a story, one that moves us, and it does so by taking us on a journey provoked by our own understanding of the world. It works like a ship and its crew, synchronized to land us at a destination, and if theater was the crew, painting the ship, and dance the tasks it takes to operate, then music would be the wind that moves it. 

Dan Grant is a music teacher who tutors online. He found music as a teenager and, as unlikely as it sounds, developed a fondness for it through skateboarding. 

“Skateboarding kind of opened some doors to some music that I didn’t know existed, and it sparked a passion in me,” said Grant. 

It wasn’t until after high school that Grant sought to elevate his love for the art and turn it into a lifelong pursuit. He had taken lessons early in life and grew his talent through practice. He would later audition at Metropolitan State University and be denied. Dedicated as he was, it did not temper his desire. 

Before his second audition, Grant took lessons. A friend of his reached out and offered to teach art music, a category that enlists both classic and jazz. The interim between auditions was six months, but what he gained in that short period set him apart from his prior attempt. 

“The second audition I passed with flying colors,” said Grant. “It’s really important to distinguish what I was interested in and what these people wanted to hear.”

For the next four years, music would be what sustained him, it was in the water he drank and the air he breathed. Grant would practice for recitals and join multiple bands over his tenure at MSU. He would gradually begin sharing his knowledge of piano and guitar and tutor other aspiring musicians. And if any of his students part with something, it should be to strive in being the player that they can be. 

“Music is about you,” said Grant. ”If you’re somebody who’s interested in it — I always encourage it — if you do it, realize it’s about you and your development. The benefits, I think, are pretty high.” 

We have all lost a great deal because of the pandemic, but what is certain is that many of us refuse to fold under the pressure and instead find that spark within that allows us to rise to the challenges. ■

Denver VOICE