Gutenberg! The Musical!, the Garner Galleria’s current production, is filled with humor, flexible truth telling, and…choreography?

Piper Lindsay Arpan

Piper Lindsay Arpan, a frequent DCPA collaborator (Xanadu, The Other Josh Cohen), works as the Assistant Director and Choreographer of Gutenberg! The Musical!. “It’s two acts of non-stop singing, dancing, and acting that leaves each performer drenched with sweat and emotionally maxed out!” Arpan said.

Besides the excitement of this particular production, Arpan is drawn to working in the Garner Galleria because of the quality and artistry of DCPA Cabaret shows. “I love creating new work, and although the titles [DCPA Cabaret] picks are often already established, they need to be reimagined for a smaller number of actors who can work within the space,” Arpan explained. “It gives each artistic team a chance to tell the story in a new way that hasn’t been done before. It stimulates our imaginations and the world of possibility that can exist within the construct of the story.”

But why theatre, why dance? Arpan has had a close connection with her creative side since…before birth. “My mom claims I started dancing in the womb…so much kicking,” Arpan said. She danced intensively in several styles while growing up and started training professionally with a competitive company at the age of 12.

Arpan at Florida State University

After being accepted to the Florida State University dance program, Arpan pursued a BFA in dance and a BA in business management. Then, Arpan was invited to dance at the Royal Ballet School in England and Offjazz in the French Riviera, before moving to New York City to pursue a full-time career in dance.

Arpan remembers, “On a whim and armed only with a very simple 16 bar cut from the musical Wild Cat, I attended my first musical theatre audition to play Delee (the ‘shimmy girl’) in a production of Smokey Joe’s Cafe in Hoboken, NJ. I booked it. And I caught the musical theatre bug…big time.”

Arpan went all-out building her musical theatre career for the next decade. She landed a role in The Producers, the Radio City Rockettes, and ultimately Monty Python’s Spamalot, both the first national tour, and on Broadway. “I danced in the through the back door of Broadway. And I’ve been deliriously happy and artistically fulfilled ever since.”

Arpan in Spamalot, Broadway

Now, Arpan is working full-time in Denver as a choreographer and dancer, actor and director, and arts educator. She began a relationship with the DCPA’s Education program in 2015 after noticing a deficit in dance proficiency in the Denver arts community. “Teaching often feels like the biggest responsibility of all the work I do, and I am committed to continuing to grow our community by providing opportunities to explore new styles and techniques of dance that will help strengthen the performers around both the needs of our market, and the constantly changing pulse of dance in theatre,” Arpan said.

“Making it in the theatre involves an unparalleled amount of hustle, strength, grit, and endurance. I am so grateful to be sharing my knowledge from the best of the best with today’s performers, and to (hopefully) inspire them to find their areas of expertise, and ultimately, success in a remarkably competitive industry.”

Those themes of endurance and perseverance shine through in Gutenberg! The Musical!, where two best friends are pitching their idea for a new musical to a group of producers. “For me, choreography starts with a love for the material. I’m highly selective about the work I accept, always making sure that it sings to my soul,” Arpan explained.

Arpan for DCPA Education

But choreographing a musical where dance isn’t the central focus, or the actors aren’t trained dancers, is half of the fun. “That, in and of itself, is a dance, which often yields a truly unique and exceptional production where everyone is featured to the best of their ability, and able to shine as brightly as possible.”

When asked about her passion for the craft, Arpan mentioned a quote that defines her work and her life. “My heart lifted my feet, and I danced.” She went on to say, “there’s nothing like the feeling of leaping, turning, soaring, and pushing our bodies to the limit to express joy. In the theatre we say, ‘we sing when we can no longer speak, and we dance when we can no longer sing.’ Being able to use our bodies for this highest expression feels like heaven on earth. I am so grateful to be able to make a living doing what I love the most.”

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