Telluride Theatre: The Downlow, 12/26

23 Dec Telluride Theatre: The Downlow, 12/26

Now entering its 4th year, The Downlow is an evening of storytelling and an initiative of Telluride Theatre. The theme of the show on Tuesday, December 26, is Holidays & Family. Storytellers are Christopher Beaver, Landon Feller, Sarah Holbrooke, Sissy Zoller… and a few more.

Performances take place at the new anointed “The Bob,” formerly the Black Box Theatre the Palm complex, named for “Glider Bob” Saunders, beloved pilot-thesbian-community activist and leader who died too soon last year. The performance is free, but a $10 donation will be gratefully accepted at the hat pass. Telluride Theatre sponsors and members get reserved seats. The event is R-rated for ages 18+. A bar will be open for your liquid pleasure.

The Downlow is hosted by Laura Shaunette.

For a full schedule of events at the Palm Complex, go here.

Entering its fourth year, The Downlow, an evening of storytelling, has become an extremely popular year-round event. Each Downlow has a different theme with December 26th addressing “Holidays & Family.” This is a one-of-a-kind Telluride show, where non-performers and people you see everyday get up to bare their souls, recounting true events and sharing some outrageous, funny, touching and incredible stories for the education and enrichment of the Telluride community.  

“Started by locals Geneva and Laura Shaunette, The Downlow is one of the most popular things we do at Telluride Theatre. Geneva and Laura approached us saying they had an idea for a storytelling night and it fit perfectly with the mission of Telluride Theatre. We love working with them,”  stated Sasha Sullivan, Telluride Theatre’s Artistic Director. “Performances are part of THE OFF of our program which is about providing FREE smaller events with BIG impact.”

Laura explains: “We listen to a lot of podcasts – especially storytelling podcasts. Telluride is a community full of storytellers, so we thought an event like this would do really well here.  Storytelling is such a great way to connect with other people and we loved the idea of hosting a cozy evening for locals and visitors alike. Storytelling is such an organic way to get to know another person. We already feel like we’ve gotten to know so many new people through this process. With every Downlow comes a unique experience that allows us to learn something new about someone in our community. It’s so special that this community holds space for an event like this – one that helps us to understand each other better and requires us to intentionally make time and effort to listen.”

Geneva goes on to state: “Our main goal is to provide a platform for people who don’t usually get on stage. We provide a space that allows them to be comfortable being themselves and not feel too much pressure to be theatrical. The people who live in this town have led such interesting lives and it’s been so fun to hear a hilarious or very personal story about someone I see at the coffee shop three times a week, but have never spoken to. The Downlow is fun and entertaining, but also accessible to participate in. We spend one-on-one time with our storytellers to help them develop their stories for the stage while maintaining their personal voice.”

If you are interested in participating in a future Downlow, email telluridedownlow@gmail.com