The stars finally aligned this past weekend as Asteria theater opened its doors to the campus and community for the first time after years of development and building. The $55 million project finally concluded a few weeks prior to the grand opening.
This new building was the largest investment in the arts at CMU in recent years, and one that should bring more performing arts in for the community.
As showgoers filed in, they were greeted with complimentary champagne and exclusive red carpet for various picture opportunities. To put the size of the opening into perspective, CMU Admissions had volunteers chauffeuring guests right to the front door to help give a more personable experience. On Sept. 27, Asteria had its grand opening with the stage production of Amadeus, a Colorado Mesa University (CMU) theater department show.
(Teagan Meens)
The new theater filled all 860 of its seats as the community and campus were treated to the spectacle. The audience was greeted by a massive yet inviting space.
“The stage is huge. That’s something for us to get used to. You can put a lot of bodies on the stage and there is still room to move around. From a staging standpoint the composition of the actors is fun to play with” says theatre department head and show director Mo LaMee.
The stage itself is 60×40 feet, which is far larger than the Robinson Theatre. It is also now the largest stage between Denver and Salt Lake City.
Amadeus stars Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Benjamin Reigel and CMU Accompanist Max Reilly as Salieri and Mozart respectively. They were joined on stage by CMU alum and Grand Junction Art Center Director Lee Borden, as well as more than a dozen current students.
One of the other contributing roles was The Criterions very own Managing Editor, senior Kazuo Salazar.
“This was the largest stage I’ve ever performed on. And getting to work with a lot of these people again after Three Sisters last year was a real blessing. I love whenever I get the opportunity to work with people who are better than I am, so being in scenes with Bridget and Ben was really powerful. And I think that I am going to be walking away from this show better for it,” said Salazar
Even as a professor, Reigel is an Equity contract actor. This is an opportunity that rarely presents itself to students in the theatre department, and provides them with the opportunity to learn from a professional in a hands-on capacity outside of the classroom.
Reigel most often performs professionally for Shakespeare festivals around the country, including here in Colorado at Boulder’s Colorado Shakespeare Festival.
“The Asteria feels 10x bigger than the Robinson Theater, but what’s interesting is to need half the vocal energy to fill the room. The acoustics are amazing” said Reigel.
Amadeus continues with performances this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM and matinee on Saturday at 2:00 PM. Don’t miss out on a chance to see what all the “chittero-chattero” is all about. Get your tickets online at cmustages.com.
