Nov. 3, 2025
Aurora, CO – This week, the Community College of Aurora (CCA) Visual & Performing Arts Department presents an original theatrical production: “Work in Progress,” under the direction of Julie Rada and Stacey D’Angelo, CCA’s Dean of Academic Success in Creative Enterprises. Thirteen students will perform the free show Nov. 6 through Nov. 8 at the Larry D. Carter Theatre, located in CCA’s Fine Arts Building at the CentreTech campus. Through multimedia elements and movement, the play features stories of real people in Aurora exploring their careers in trade work and personal growth.
“Work In Progress”
Thursday Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.
Friday Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Saturday Nov. 8 at 7pm
Larry D. Carter Theatre
Admission is free
What makes “Work In Progress” unique is its relation to community. An example of documentary theatre, the play draws on hours of recorded interviews from over 15 CCA students, faculty, and staff members, combining a variety of short stories into the full production. Each story captures one or more individual perspectives of a community member’s experience, often told by an on-stage narrator while multimedia elements and actors’ theatrical movements color the imagery.
I think the play would be impactful to any lifelong learners. There are a lot of folks who were interviewed who’ve gone back to school and who talk about what it’s like to be a returning student or to shift fields,
said Julie Rada, CCA Chair of Visual and Performing Arts and “Work In Progress” co-director. The voices are very diverse, from various backgrounds, including immigrant backgrounds. There are a range of races, ages, and genders represented. We have so many career fields represented. Anybody who works might find themselves represented in this piece.
CCA student and performer, Lizzie Guyberson, finds one of the stories particularly inspiring because it speaks to her pursuit of a degree in psychology. In a scene about behavioral health, I get to act as a therapist. Actors playing students come up and say a quick line: they’re angry,
Guyberson said. I pick them up, help them, and be that support person that we all need.
Guyberson and the other student performers auditioned for the show as an extracurricular activity. They represent a variety of CCA degree programs, from STEM fields to health care.
Student actors, including Lizzie Guyberson (right) rehearse for “Work In Progress.”
After listening to the community interviews, the student performers developed the original production by collaborating with co-directors Rada and D’Angelo. Local playwright, Larry Mitchell, assisted with script writing.It was an iterative process that strictly adheres to the words used in the research interviews.
We’d give the student actors theatrical tools and we provided some improvisation and physical theater training so they had a little bit of an idea about compositional tools. If the play were a painting, we’ve given them their brushes, their colors, and then some time,
Rada said. Then, they share what they’ve come up with. As directors, Stacey and I curate it and shape it up by responding to it and giving feedback. It’s an iterative dialogue between the students as creators and us as experienced theater makers.
Across those interviews, unifying themes tied the stories together into the final “Work In Progress” production. Those themes include the pursuit of careers in the trades and the education that got them there. These themes resonate with CCA’s recently refined mission, demonstrating the impact of clear career pathways on socioeconomic mobility for individuals pursuing higher education.
Co-director of “Work In Progress,” Julie Rada, flips through collaborative notes that she, co-director Stacey D’Angelo, and 13 student actors made in developing the original play.
CCA student Jaime Garcia is one individual who shared his story for “Work in Progress.” Currently studying in CCA’s cybersecurity program, Garcia initially struggled to make a living after graduating from high school. He was inspired by people he knows who work for space exploration companies. I’m a personal trainer, and since sales isn’t my forte, I thought I should turn to something that I’m really good at: coding, computers, putting things together,
Garcia said. So I pivoted to school work because it felt like a better route.
After the final “Work In Progress” final show on Nov. 8, the students performing in the piece are walking away with storytelling experience based on qualitative research. Lizzie Guyberson shares that the experience isn’t the only positive outcome for her.
In this show, I’ve made so many friends just being in the production. Even though I do public speaking for work, I have a hard time making friends. This was the perfect opportunity for me to do that,
Guyberson said. What originally drew me to auditioning for the play was the title, ‘Work In Progress.’ I thought it was about college students in their day-to-day life, but it turned out to be something so much better.
About the Community College of Aurora
The Community College of Aurora (CCA) provides high-quality instruction and student support services to Aurora, Centennial, and Denver, Colorado. With a vision to aspire to be a college where every student succeeds, CCA is the most diverse college in the State of Colorado. Focused on creating social and economic mobility for its students, the college offers courses on three campuses, online, and through its high school concurrent enrollment programs. For more information, visit www.ccaurora.edu.
Contact:
Courtney Butler
Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Special Initiatives
Strategic Communications and Alumni Engagement
P: 303-340-7201 | E: [email protected]