AN AMERICAN IN PARIS Producer Tara Smith Joins DCPA Board of Trustees

At its recent June Board meeting, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts' (DCPA) appointed Broadway producer Tara Smith as an incoming Trustee.

A native of Denver and former student of the DCPA's Education program, Ms. Smith is an award-winning producer and the co-founder of Triptyk Studios, a theatre, film and television development and production company she heads with award-winning writer/producers Brian Swibel and Adam Westbrook.

"We are delighted to have Tara join our Board of Trustees," said DCPA Chairman Daniel L. Ritchie. "As a former patron and student of the DCPA's Education classes, she brings a unique combination of personal insight into the organization and impressive connections that will enable our programming to reach new audiences beyond Colorado."

"I'm delighted to join the DCPA's Board of Trustees," said Ms. Smith. "As a national leader in the theatre industry, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts helped shape my career. Not only did I often see original plays in Denver before they went on to New York, but my sister and I also grew up learning the craft of theatre in its extensive classes. It's a true pleasure to lend my efforts to inspiring future generations through the DCPA's educational programs and theatrical productions."

Currently represented on Broadway by the four-time Tony Award-winning musical AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, Ms. Smith made her Broadway producing debut at the age of 26 with the hit musical satire, XANADU, for which she was honored in 2008 with an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony nomination for Best New Musical. Other Broadway producing credits include THE SEAGULL, Will Ferrell's YOU'RE WELCOME AMERICA (Tony nomination) and THE PERFORMERS. Regional and international credits include DANGEROUS BEAUTY (Pasadena Playhouse), BONFIRE NIGHT (New York Stage & Film), and XANADU (Worldwide Productions). Tara also produced the record-smashing web series "Cubby Bernstein" starring Cynthia Nixon, Nathan Lane and Patti Lupone.

Upcoming Broadway bound productions include FREEDOM RUN, a musical adaptation of Betty Deramus' non-fiction book, Forbidden Fruit: Love Stories from the Underground Railroad, which she is developing and producing with music legend Stevie Wonder and NBC, as well as musical adaptations of Jane Austen's EMMA and the Oscar-nominated film AMÉLIE, opening at Berkeley Repertory Theatre this fall.