As the world whirls in turmoil and cynicism, it can be easy to lose faith in the institutions and people around us. Boulder-based Local Theater Company’s latest production, acts of faith, offers a beacon of hope. This solo play, embodied by Colorado Theatre Guild president and Local’s co-artistic director Betty Hart, is a timely exploration of the role of faith in our modern world.
“There’s a passage in the play where [my character] Faith says, ‘The thing about faith is it all depends on who you’ve got it in,’” Hart says. “I think if you look at the past year in our country, there are so many opportunities to both question your faith and deepen your faith.”
With wit, humor and moving storytelling through the eyes of its protagonist, Faith, a young woman from the African Copperbelt who is misinterpreted as a prophet and taken advantage of by her community, the play dares to ask what it means to believe when the ground beneath us seems to shift.
“We see horrific things happening in the United States and around the world, but people continue to show up as they always do: with kindness, generosity, compassion and concern for others beyond themselves,” Hart says. “If you want to go down the path of negativity, there’s ample opportunity to do that. But if you keep looking, you will also find that there are miracles taking place every day.”
‘I didn’t get enough time with Faith’
During the pandemic, David Yee, a playwright born and raised in Toronto, wrote acts of faith as a hybrid, live-streamed play starring Natasha Mumba. Although the project was never intended to be performed in front of an audience, Helen Murray, the Aurora Fox Art Center’s former executive producer, saw potential for a stirring stage production.
So Murray contacted Yee and requested the rights to present the play’s U.S. premiere at the Aurora Fox in early 2023. Hart was supposed to star and Murray would direct. However, it became apparent that the production needed a new director in July 2022 when Murray accepted a job offer to become the producing artistic director at the American Stage in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Pesha Rudnick, who had known Hart for years and worked with her as co-artistic director at Local, agreed to direct the project after Murray approached her with the script. After a sold-out run, rave reviews and a nomination for Best New Play or Musical from the Colorado Theatre Guild for its January 2023 premiere at the Aurora Fox, the team realized they were not prepared to let the project end.
“I didn’t get enough time with Faith,” Rudnick says. “Sometimes, when you work on a new piece of theater and begin the process of getting to know someone, you realize you don’t want to let go of them. That’s a very personal answer; it is not a very commercial answer for reproducing the play. But when this character started to emerge, it felt like they needed more time in Colorado.”
Now director Rudnick and star Hart are reuniting to bring this gem to Boulder audiences, promising a new and expanded version of Yee’s powerful work.
“We had people from Boulder who couldn’t get to our run in Aurora because it was sold out,” Hart says. “People heard about this play and asked us, ‘Are you going to bring it to Boulder?’ And at the time, we said, ‘I don’t know.’ It has been wonderful to give the people what they were requesting.”
Take two
Revisiting the play for its Boulder run with a mostly new production team has been a rare and exciting journey of discovery for Rudnick and Hart.
“For all the things you learned the first time, the second time around, you notice all the things you missed,” Hart says. “There are places where I go, ‘Did I used to say that line? I don’t remember saying that,’ and Pesha says, ‘You said that line, but your brain is perceiving it differently.’ I would also add that when I was doing this piece in early 2023, I had never been to the continent of Africa.
“Then, in July 2023, I went to Ghana and Egypt,” Hart continues. “The world that I was creating in my mind through pictures and videos from all of the great dramaturgical work that Pesha and I did suddenly had a completely different resonance when I saw the kids walking to school in their school uniforms, seeing them on field trips, or going to visit the slave castles. A huge shift happened in me when Africa went from this place I’d read about and seen in films to something I had experienced for myself.”
One other thing that was different this time: The group went to Santa Barbara to work with multidisciplinary artist and movement coordinator Christina McCarthy. Rudnick and McCarthy collaborated with Hart to ensure that each gesture in this one-woman show was intentional.
“Every breath, every look and every tiny little gesture is seen,” McCarthy says. “That means there must be a reason for everything you see onstage.”
In addition to the nuanced work happening in the play, Local’s Come Together Initiative — the company’s community outreach program, often featuring informal post-show talkbacks — is designed to transform acts of faith into an experience rather than just a performance.
“We’re always looking for sincere and organic methods of meeting our audience and sharing elements beyond the play,” explains co-artistic director Nick Chase. To facilitate this, they are hosting “affinity nights” throughout the run, including College Night on Feb. 3 and an Out Night for the LGBTQ+ and Ally Community on Feb. 8, designed to foster a sense of belonging.
“We are hoping everyone takes a leap of faith,” Hart says. “People who’ve never experienced the story and people who’ve seen it before, because if we’re getting new things out of it, we know our audience will as well.”
ON STAGE: acts of faith. Feb. 1-18, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Tickets here.
