← Colorado Matters
Colorado Matters
March 6, 2026: Legislative check-in; DU Middle East expert on Iran; 'Raise the Curtain' with Annie Barbour
00:49:20
Loading summary
Transcript127 lines
- [00:05]
A
Whether you consider it half over or half started, there's still lots to tackle in the legislative session, from agriculture to AI. We get a halftime check in from our public affairs team. Then there are no fewer than four fronts to the war in the Middle
- [00:21]
B
east, and the end game is very unclear.
- [00:24]
A
But we'll seek as much clarity as possible from the head of the center for Middle East's Studies at du. Later, the star of Brooklyn Laundrie, a play about all the responsibilities we juggle even as we search for happiness.
- [00:39]
C
I can't be reasonable anymore. I have always done what this family wanted me to do, and what do I have to show for it? Nothing.
- [00:46]
B
Look at me.
- [00:47]
A
Our series raise the curtain. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News and KRCC. I'm Ryan Warner. In Colorado Springs this week, the 100 lawmakers Coloradans sent to represent them in Denver are halfway through their session. It's been relatively quiet given the tight budget and lame duck governor. There are cuts to make and some noteworthy bills cracking down on pesticides and maybe changing course on prostitution. From our public affairs team, Ben to Birkeland and Ray Solomon are with me. Hello, you two.
- [01:32]
D
Hi, Ryan.
- [01:33]
E
Hey.
- [01:34]
A
A bit. Hi. Hi. Hi, Benta. Let's start with the proposal to decriminalize prostitution here. Is this going anywhere or just raising eyebrows?
- [01:45]
E
It's certainly the type of policy that's going to get a lot of attention because of the subject matter. It has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but it doesn't have a hearing date scheduled. I think it's going to face a real uphill battle at the State House right now. It's an idea and a PDF. The main sponsor is a Democratic senator from Pueblo.
- [02:08]
A
An idea and a PDF at this point. Would this be a first?
- [02:12]
E
BENTA yes and no. Of course. Nevada has had prostitution legalized in some areas for a long time. Not Las Vegas, but areas outside of the city regulated brothels. Backers of Colorado's bill say the goal would be to protect sex workers. And Maine did a lesser version of what's being proposed. It's called the Nordic Model. So sex work is decriminalized, but in Maine it's still illegal to pay for sex. Colorado's bill would go further because it would lift penalties altogether for buyers and sex workers. It already has a lot of opposition from law enforcement prosecutors in some cities. But Colorado's constitution does require every bill to get an up or down vote. So that will happen at some point this session.
- [03:04]
A
Aha. There is an obligation for a hearing Ray, you are watching bills related to agriculture this session. What stands out?
- [03:14]
D
Yeah, you know, earlier in the session, I was closely following this one bill that was awfully controversial in the agricultural world, the Seed Act. It had to do with this one particular type of insecticide called neonicotinoids that are most frequently used in the form of pre treatments for seeds. But that bill has already died in committee, so I don't want to spend too much time talking about that. But believe it or not, there are other interesting things happening for agriculture at the state House. Another thing I'm watching is a very interesting situation with two directly competing ag overtime bills. It has to do with, you know, the threshold where overtime pay kicks in for farm workers. And one bill would lower that threshold to 40 hours a week and the other one would bump it up to 60 hours. So backers of that 60 hour bill told me that farm and ranch work needs different rules because it's just fundamentally different than any other industry. Here's Representative Dusty Johnson from Fort Morgan, who told me killing the 40 hour a week bill and adopting the 61 is one of her biggest priorities this season.
- [04:21]
E
Ag is very seasonal or there are times where we're very based on weather. You might do 14, 15 hours one day and then not work for the next two to three days because we just had a blizzard or a ton of rain and we can't get out in the field. All of my farmers and ranchers are the best stewards of the land. So it's really scary when urban colleagues come and try to tell farmers and ranchers what to do when they've been doing this for generations.
- [04:46]
D
But then Democratic Senator Jesse Danielson, who's the main sponsor of the 40 hour overtime bill, she also has deep roots in agriculture, so she's not uninformed. And she told me she thinks the industry she grew up in needs to do better.
- [05:01]
C
Rural Colorado is not only land owning business owners, it includes a lot of different people. And farm workers are part of that too. It's not a fundamental misunderstanding of an entire industry. It's the belief that these workers are incredibly valuable and should not be undervalued just because they work in the ag industry.
- [05:29]
D
So I've heard from Senate leadership that those two bills could even end up head to head in the same committee hearing. So that'll probably be a pretty late night.
- [05:38]
A
My goodness. And compelling arguments for both and against both. Ray, it reminds me of a tension, tension that's really as old as time, this tension between rural lawmakers protecting their way of Life from city slickers, you know?
- [05:55]
D
Yeah. I mean, that rural urban divide is constant Evergreen headline. And it's true of some of the skirmishes that I've already talked about. But I would say there's another theme coming up in these ag bills that I've noticed, too. A set of bills that I would describe as focused on nurturing future generations of farmers and ranchers, which is something that, that everyone, all parties can get behind. So things like tax breaks that would benefit some small farmers, financial incentives for agricultural land conservation, and then one that would put a little more weight behind that Colorado proud label we all know so well. So that fruits and veggies grown elsewhere couldn't masquerade as a local produce. And those bills, I would say, are not controversial at all. And they've been sailing through the legislature without opposition.
- [06:46]
A
We'll actually hear more about that Colorado proud bill in a moment. Every year, y', all, I feel like I see more tech related legislation. What's on the table this cycle for tech?
- [06:58]
E
Yeah, we have a number of things. We have legislation related to artificial intelligence data centers and even those cameras that have been in the news because some people fear they're violating fourth amendment rights and because of concerns about mass surveillance.
- [07:14]
A
Yeah. What are lawmakers talking about specifically there?
- [07:17]
C
Yeah.
- [07:18]
E
So for the flock bill, they want to require law enforcement to get a warrant before they could access flock databases, with some exceptions. And this bill does have bipartisan support. Opponents of the flock system say it's just another step towards a surveillance state. But law enforcement groups argue that the cameras allow them to respond to crimes faster, track down potential criminals, follow leads. Matt Turner is a captain with the Weld county sheriff's office, and he testified against this bill and committee. He says it would restrict the use of the cameras too much.
- [07:54]
A
Fatal hit and run crashes involving kids, rural homicides, kidnapping with attempted murder in there, missing and endangered adults, or even one of my own deputies who was killed by a drunk driver.
- [08:05]
B
And these cameras helped us catch that
- [08:07]
A
person and sentence him to a long
- [08:08]
C
time in jail, long time in prison. Excuse me.
- [08:11]
E
Another bill would go even further, and it would set up more requirements for how law enforcement uses facial recognition software. It would also set up penalties for violations. Now, I'll say that bill hasn't cleared a committee yet. And both of these bills do have a price tag. And in a tight budget year, that could be the biggest turnover.
- [08:32]
A
AI has been front and center in Colorado for sure. What's that policy discussion like this time?
- [08:38]
D
Yeah, there's. There's a few bills in play right now that are focused on regulating chatbots. One that would require companies that use AI chatbots to clearly disclose when children are interacting with AI. And that's in response to some stories about AI chatbots leading children to self harm in other states. Then there are also some other bills in play looking at how AI is used in healthcare and in psychotherapy, trying to set up some guardrails around things like insurance companies using AI to deny deny coverage and how therapists can use it with patients. So we're going to hear from Blair Skinner, president of the Mental Health Advocacy Network of Colorado. She was testifying at that committee hearing.
- [09:21]
E
This bill is aimed at ensuring that clinical decision making is not displaced by automated outputs without meaningful human review. And I'd say that the biggest outstanding thing in the AI space is that lawmakers need to address Colorado's anti discrimination law that is scheduled to go in effect in June. So this is a law that the legislature passed. It deals with how AI systems are built and the data they use. Supporters say the goal is to increase transparency so people would have to be informed when an AI system is being used in a key decision. This is in areas like employment, healthcare, government finance. And it sets up ways for people to potentially take action or correct inaccurate information about themselves if they think the AI system has discriminated against them.
- [10:10]
A
Yeah, Chris, the state has been grappling with this for the last few years. Already delayed implementation once the state came into this budget cycle about a billion dollars behind Benta. That seems to keep happening. Is there a solution on the horizon?
- [10:27]
E
You consider budget cuts a solution because, yeah, that's what's going to happen this session. Colorado did face billion in cuts last session and as the Joint Budget Committee members have described it, there aren't any more couch cushions to look under this session. So there will likely have to be cuts to things like Medicaid, the biggest part of the state budget. And the Joint Budget Committee, which drafts that budget bill, will get the final figures in mid March. That's the quarterly economic forecast. So we will know more then. And I've said this before, but the only thing state lawmakers are constitutionally required to do during the session is pass a balanced budget.
- [11:08]
A
Our thanks to CPR's Benta Berkland and Ray Solomon. At the halfway mark of the legislative session, people often pay a premium for local produce and that's something that can be taken advantage of. Vendors who say that a juicy peach is from Palisade when it isn't a bipartisan bill unanimously passed the state House to strengthen protections for the Colorado Proud label. Monte Vista Democratic Representative Matthew Martinez spoke with CPR's Sandy Batoulga.
- [11:40]
C
All right, I have to ask, what is your favorite Colorado grown food?
- [11:44]
F
That is a very tough question, but you know, I lean to the best pairing of food I would say is pueblo green chile with some San Luis Valley potatoes. I think makes an amazing meal.
- [11:56]
C
How much money are Colorado farmers missing out on because of untruthful Colorado Proud labels?
- [12:01]
F
You know, I think right now we don't know, but we have seen this spark up and it's something that we wanted to address this year to making sure that we're not only protecting our producers that are working hard growing foods that we love here in Colorado, but also the consumer and making sure that they know when somebody says it is Pablo Chile, Palisade peaches, Rocky Ford cantaloupe. They know what they're getting and they know that it was grown right here in the state and that there's supporting local farmers and ranchers.
- [12:29]
C
And how did this issue get on your radar?
- [12:31]
F
So I sit on the Water Resources Agriculture Review Committee and this got brought up as a part of another conversation around farmers markets. There was some witness testimony that came up and said, you know, this is a problem that is being had in the state with food vendors or counterfeit produce that's coming in. And diving into the issue with Representative Soper from Delta, we really were like, this is something that we want to dive into. And again, making sure that we're protecting our producers here in the state as well as the consumers that are purchasing that produce.
- [13:02]
C
How can you actually track the origin of a certain product? How do you know that this new proposed law will be effective?
- [13:09]
F
Well, this is going to be on those that are purchasing, right? That is, if you're at a roadside stand in May and you see someone advertising Palisade peaches, well, knowing that those aren't in season yet, that you can reason our current consumer protection laws to being able to report that and being able to make sure that they're protected.
- [13:29]
C
Okay, so you're relying on consumers to report this rather than like there being an official tracking system, Correct?
- [13:36]
F
Yeah. And I think one, we want to make sure in a tight fiscal year that we weren't putting any undue burden on the state or on the municipal and county governments in the enforcement in this, but being able to say like, hey, you know, I know when Palisade peaches are growing, I know when slv potatoes are harvested and this is being sold right now. You know that that still puts that through with the attorney general's office.
- [13:58]
C
What will the consequences be if someone is reported and caught faking that Colorado proud label?
- [14:04]
F
Well, kind of a cease and desist order is essentially going to be written with that.
- [14:10]
A
That is Democratic Representative Matthew Martinez of Monte Vista. He's co sponsor of a bill to label as deceptive trade practice the sale of counterfeit Colorado produce. The state Senate now takes up the legislation. We'll be right back with perspective on Iran from the center for Middle East Studies at du. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News. I'm Ryan Warner. There's a long history of US Presidents saying a war will be quick only to see it drag on. Think Vietnam, think Iraq and mission accomplished. President Trump wants out of the Iran melee in a matter of weeks, but this is one sticky wicket. Let's get some perspective from the center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver. I spoke with its director, Michelin Ishai, Thursday afternoon. Professor, thanks for being with us.
- [15:07]
B
It's my pleasure.
- [15:08]
A
I understand you've said this war wasn't a matter of if, but when. Maybe just say a few words about why.
- [15:15]
B
Well, we already knew the United States had deployed two aircraft career in the Middle east during the time of United States negotiations with Iran. We already knew that several weeks before the attack, that is really were getting prepared, airlines had stopped and halted. And so the tension and the fog of war were already apparent. And that's the reason why it was a question more of when rather than if.
- [15:47]
A
We had a nuclear deal with Iran. Other nations were a party to it, the US Withdrew. Was this the inevitable end?
- [15:56]
B
Difficult to say because since that time there was a very brutal war since October 7th attack in which some of the famous rhetoric coming from Iran and the Ayatollah Khomeini who had called for the death to Israel and the death to the United States ended up being materialized on October 7th when Tehran succeeded in mobilizing its network of proxy forces. And so the question was, was he really intent to go back to the negotiating table when its proxy forces, notably Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthi and, you know, the various Iraqi and Syrian militia, were already starting multifront war in Israel. And the nuclear war capability was always potential deterrence and spirit and clear whether the deal with Obama, had it been perpetuated by Mr. Trump, would have changed the course of action?
- [16:59]
A
What is your sense for how close Iran was to nuclear capability? So we know that there was a strike earlier by the US Of Iranian nuclear infrastructure, I think. After which Trump said the program is obliterated.
- [17:17]
B
Correct. June 2025, as we remember, there was a Israel American operation to target many Iranian nuclear sites. And at the time, the conclusions from the American administration is that the Iranian had suffered a great deal of hit at the time. It was perceived that they were succeeding in accelerating the nuclear enrichment capability by 60%. And there was a setback for a couple of years. So very unclear from June to now how much the Iranians were able to sustain that attack, whether there were bombs that were moved to different destinations. So we don't know exactly what was going on. But the American and Israeli governments were sufficiently concerned they were restarting their nuclear enrichment capability and that it was all a question of a nuclear ticking bomb at that point. And it was when rather than if
- [18:18]
A
that would happen Again, back to that same idea. Well, there are many questions around this decision by the US And Israel, but I understand you feel those are less important now than what happens next. What are you watching most closely? Because I gotta say, this story is moving so fast. There are so many different parties. It is also metastasizing in a way across the Middle East. What should we be keeping tabs on most, do you think?
- [18:46]
B
Well, you're completely right. It has metastasized. In fact, the war which started Saturday is now on forefront. I would say the first one that started even before Saturday was the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, Hezbollah being a militia that is alive with Iran, and that is escalating even today. Part of the reason why they are doing it is there's been information that reveal that there was an upcoming attack against Israel in its northern border. And what the idf, the Israeli Defense Force, is suggesting is that it would have been similar to the level that occurred in October 7th. So this is one of the theaters. Then you have, of course, what happened on Saturday, which was the Israel and the United States in the joint forces attacked Iran, and its first target of attack was, of course, the decapitations of Khamenei. And then we moved on to different theaters since then. One is Iran retaliation against the Gulf monarchy, which was for the Gulf monarchy, somewhat unexpected because they were trying to posture themselves as a more neutral buffer. And then we're discussing about a potential new theater which would involve the Kurds, I mean, the Iranian Kurds and potentially the Iraqi Kurds, that will confront Iranian forces and distract them or drain them. And they will do that in conjunction with the United States operation. So as you said, we are moving very fast in many different theaters. And the end game is very unclear.
- [20:27]
A
The end game is very unclear. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is apparently vying for control following the Supreme Leader's killing. But even within that army, there are disparate factions. So you've got that jockeying. Meanwhile, President Trump tells the Iranian people that after the US Leaves the region, they may take control of government in a democracy as he perceives it. I suppose those are two aspects of the potential endgame here. Do either of those resonate?
- [21:05]
B
This is what the United States has said. In fact, they've shifted their intention in different moments. If you recall, in January, Washington signaled to the Iranian opposition force that they were on their way and that there would be a regime change if they kept carrying on the protests. That didn't happen at the time. And then the United States changed its intention, if you recall, and it called for a nuclear deal. Well, it was more than nuclear deal. In Oman, the demands were now halting all enrichment of nuclear capability, ending ballistic missile program, stopping Iran's efforts to enliven or rekindle its proxy. So there was a change in intention and at that point, and therefore it would have been a different endgame. And then during that moment, another shift, and that was sort of a major attack with not only the effort to decapitate more than one layer, as we know now, of Iranian government, but also to create a major infrastructural damage to the Iranian state. And so that leads for what purpose? Which is your original question. Different intent, different endgame. Of course. It seems to me that if we pay attention more carefully to what President Trump is saying these days, he would settle not so much for regime change, but different leaders could be also coming from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. It should be. Not the son of Khamenei, who we think is lightweight, as he said today, he wants someone that he can conduct a next step strategy, perhaps more likely the way he did it in Venezuela, sort of keeping some of the infrastructures of the ircg, the Revolutionary Guard, and get someone who would be more compliant to United States demands that would, I believe, satisfy at least his four weeks strategy. That can change of course. Now, if his intention is regime change, the four week strategy are not feasible at all. It would require so much more. It was certainly required that he would have prepared in advance. Now that we know it, an interim government that could take over once the Iranian Revolutionary Guards crumbled. We don't see that. And so we don't know if it's a viable situation. And possibility.
- [23:41]
A
And you're making reference to the four week war plans that the Pentagon has estimated in the last few days. Huh? I am very curious just to get your sense as an educator of what you're telling students these days.
- [24:04]
B
Well, you know, I am also trained professor in human rights, not just the director of the center for Middle East Studies. And, and I usually frame intervention by asking three questions. And that is, was an intervention lawful and just, whether it's prosecuted with a certain level of consistency with Geneva Convention and other form of humanitarian law. And finally, to what extent a regime change is possible and what should be done prior to the regime change to make it viable. Because once you entered a war arena, the morality and the ethics change. And when you break the eggs, you gotta fix it. I mean, when you just mess up, you gotta fix what you do. And so the question is, what is in the pipeline to make those things happen? So those are three different sequences in the way of thinking about what can happen and what should have happened.
- [25:03]
A
Well, it seems to me that you've at least partially answered the third, that that if there is a plan, it's been changing, that there's a lack of clarity. But maybe we tackle that first question. Is this lawful? What the United States and Israel have
- [25:21]
B
done from the perspective of domestic law in the United States, just to start with that, we know that the central issue, and that has been discussed quite a bit in domestic policy, was the concern of the constitutional division of war powers. That expectation was not met and the president bypassed this particular first requirement. As for the level of international law, you know, international law, humanitarian law, tends to be very, in quote, conservative and always trying to sustain the world order, whatever world order it is. Now, I don't think the international law was at all consistent with the attack because there was no imminent strike and there was no attack and there was no Security Council authorization. But there is always a difference between unlawfulness and just because there is one concern that people certainly in my field focus a lot about and is the rights of the Iranian people who have been under extraordinary duress and have been massacred by their own government as of January of 2026. And to what extent should they received assistance and help in situations of that sort. And that usually those form of questions goes beyond international law and domestic law. Those are different form of questions.
- [26:45]
A
You know, the Trump administration itself has plainly made anti democratic moves. I mean, lies about stolen elections, attempts to reverse them, labeling his opponents traitors. There's a rapprochement between his government and evangelical Christianity. Even as we look at in Iran that had been very much connected to radical Islam. I mean, does that make you trust the democracy justification less?
- [27:18]
B
Well, it is a problem because in addition to all what I said, we know that the president has only, I mean, a very low level of public support for that war. It didn't increase as a result of the worst. Is staying very low around the 30%. I believe so, yes. In this particular instance is not a reflective of public opinion. And there is already a pushback, I believe, even in the rank of its party and challenging about the necessity of the United States to make a war that is, I think, wrongly described as a war for Israel. But nonetheless, that's usually the rhetoric that you hear these days.
- [27:59]
A
Do you see contradictions in what Trump does here and what he's saying abroad?
- [28:04]
B
Well, you know, wars are pretty brutal and anti democratic, so by definition there'll be always a contradiction. Trump has indicated very clearly that he's not interested in focusing on human rights or the liberal order. In fact, he finds that a hindrance to foreign policy prefers transactional policy. The highest bidder can be part of the club of the rich in order to create the management of any war. Is that resonant to what's going on in the United States? In a way you can say it is because we have seen that judicial system has been challenged and questions on a variety of instances. Yes, one can say that there is some level of consistency in this particular regard.
- [28:54]
A
Okay, last question before I let you go. You mentioned popular support for the Iranian incursion is not high. Meanwhile, gas prices are getting higher at a time when many Americans are focused on the cost of things, certainly an issue that returned Trump to the White House. Military spending, meanwhile, seems boundless while social services are starved. What should we be looking for in terms of the economic impact of this war?
- [29:24]
B
Yes, you're right. Major economic consequences. Primarily because Iran, the country sits at the center of the Persian Gulf energy system. And so the most immediate impact is on the global energy market. The Strait of Hormuz, which is the strait that border Iran, is one of the world's most critical choke points through which about 20%, a fifth of global oil supplies and large volumes of LNG liquefied natural gas pass each day. So even the threat of disruption that has already push the energy prices at your gas stations, you know, upward and introduce a risk premium into oil and gas markets. So we see that happen. Rising energy costs are quickly translating today into a higher transportation, I mean, electricity, food price, fueling inflation and all that is going to have a deepening, rippling effect to the global economy. So for sure, people are going to react. And so this is part of the reason why Trump wants to have a short war. He understands that this conflict is disrupting those trade and financial markets, so he wants to make it as short as possible. But he found himself in a major quandary because by hitting those layers and decapitated layers of elite, the supreme leaders and the Revolutionary Guard, he finds himself with less people to talk with. And he realized that he needs to find that person while the energy price is going up because soon enough he's not going to be able to keep is promised for four weeks or five weeks. War.
- [31:11]
A
Professor, thank you so much for the perspective.
- [31:14]
B
Oh, well, my pleasure.
- [31:15]
A
Michelin Yeshay directs the center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver. We spoke midday Thursday and Colorado Matters continues in this next half hour at a fictional dry cleaners where some dirty laundry gets aired. I'm Ryan Warner in Colorado Springs. You're with CPR News and krcc. You're back with Colorado Matters From CPR News and krcc. I'm Ryan Warner. She comes from an acting family and she has performed on stages across Colorado. Annie Barber's latest role is in Brooklyn Laundry at the Derry Art center in Boulder. It's about the vulnerability of loving and being loved and the responsibilities family can heap upon you.
- [32:04]
C
I can't be reasonable anymore. I have always done what this family wanted me to do, and what do I have to show for it? Nothing.
- [32:11]
B
Look at me.
- [32:12]
E
You have a family.
- [32:14]
A
No.
- [32:14]
C
You have a family, a husband, a kid. Trish may be dying, but at least she did it. She has kids. All I have is a history of guilt, a studio apartment, ho ho, skirts and shoes. I haven't had a meaningful boyfriend in years. I met this guy and he's actually available. He has business. He wants a home. I think he wants a wife. He's even open to the idea of having a kid, maybe even with me.
- [32:49]
A
Annie Barber's own story mirrors the play. Having lost her mother and stepmother to cancer, she spoke with my colleague Alejandro Alonso Galva for our series Raise the Curtain. Ale asked what it's like to play a role that hits so close to home.
- [33:07]
C
When I was first auditioning for Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company, I was called in for Brooklyn Laundry. And I hadn't read the script and I got the side and I did research on it and I was like, oh, no. I was like, I was worried. I, at least in my opinion, part of the responsibility of the actor. When you're taking on a role for a play is the question, can I do this to its fullest? Can I represent the story that needs to be told without feeling like I am in an uncomfortable place or asking too much of myself? And that can be physical limitations, vocal limitations, if you're a musical person. And I had to ask myself that question, would it be something sustainable and safe for me to explore a story of loss and compounding loss with my own backstory? And I read the play, and I sat with it for, like, a little bit afterwards, just thinking. And I ultimately came to the decision of, yes, and that I wanted to share that story. Not my story, but I wanted to be able to be a vessel for art and for audiences to feel like what it might be to experience loss in a way that was removed from me, but honest for the character.
- [34:25]
G
Do you feel like this kind of play sought you out because of your life experiences?
- [34:30]
C
Uh, you know what I will say? Yeah. I had never auditioned for Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company before either, so it was really my first, like, into their world. And the fact that this show was in this season with the director that it had, and honestly, the cast that was built around me, it felt like I was supposed to do it. And it is sorrow, it is sad, but at the end, there is so much hope and so much love and hope that transcends grief and sorrow. And I think this play really does that. And because it ends that way, all the more reason why I was like,
- [35:10]
G
well, yeah, as a journalist and as a writer, one concept that we have is that we're not writing anything. We're just the door in which something's coming through without getting too, too woo, woo, or maybe let's just get woo woo.
- [35:25]
C
Yes.
- [35:26]
G
Do you feel that actors have the same thing, the same idea of stories finding a way to become embodied and finding writers and finding actors to then be told?
- [35:38]
C
I think in our best circumstances, yes. I don't think we always get the opportunity to do that, just by the nature of the industry. The industry and what theatrical institutions decide to produce that year. But I think when we are fortunate enough to be working on a script and in a room with people that are really interested in telling the story to itself, absolute, fullest truth. I do feel that the people that I like to work with anyway, and the people that I think that do that well, do become vessels. And it is a spirit that moves through us and translates to the audience. And I think one of the most important things, if you Allow yourself to become that vessel, then the audience. Because that's the power of live theater, is the audience and reacting in real time to what you're doing on stage in that moment, then gets to also open themselves up to receive whatever this vessel is flowing through, you know? And I think that's where art with a capital A happens.
- [36:44]
G
One thing I always try to think about with actors is that you guys are human.
- [36:49]
C
Yes.
- [36:50]
G
Easy to forget.
- [36:51]
C
Painfully so.
- [36:52]
F
Yeah.
- [36:53]
G
With the standing on the. And the bright lights and the performances, you went through a real pain that wasn't on stage. It was in your real life when you walked off stage while doing Taming of the Shrew with your stepmother.
- [37:05]
A
How.
- [37:06]
C
How you know, to be honest, I still don't entirely know. I think. Well, one, she was always the biggest supporter of me and my work. And when we were in rehearsals, I would drive up to. Cause I was in Colorado Springs and she was in Denver. And when she went to the hospital, I drive up every time I could to see her. When I wasn't on stage, I was on i25 going to the hospital. And I remember earlier on, I was there before rehearsal. And language was hard for her at that stage. Cause her breast cancer had gone to her brain. But she asked very clearly, she goes, how's rehearsal? Why aren't you in rehearsal? That still kind of gets me thinking about that. Like, she was like, you should be there, not here. I love her so much. But I think the show honestly was a saving grace. Because suddenly I had to let Annie go. And I had to be Petruchia. And I had to be there for my cast. I had to be there for the audiences that showed up. It was a part that I had wanted and dreamed of doing since I was in, like, high school. And to be able to use language in a way that expressed a wide variety of feelings that were not the feelings I was currently sitting in was very freeing. I had to not engage with the very present worry and fear and stress in my life. And I had to be present on stage for two and a half hours. And honestly, that was very nice. I did not look well. I had bags under my eyes. I think there's a selfie, actually, that went on, like, my phone is, like, featured photo of the day recently from Taming of the Shrew. And it was because I did step away from the show when she passed. And then I closed it out because it felt important for me to do that. And I was in costume in the dressing room, and, oh, my God, I looked like I Looked aged. I looked tired with everything that had been weighing on me. But what I was able to kind of throw my guts on the stage was really nice.
- [39:20]
G
You had something to distract you Almost.
- [39:23]
C
Yeah. And I stand by that. I think it's one of the best performances I've done to just throw myself into that with something with language that held me up because I could sink my teeth into it. I think saved me from grief. Too early. Yeah.
- [39:37]
B
Mm.
- [39:38]
C
Do you ever have trouble making decisions?
- [39:41]
G
No.
- [39:42]
B
If I go up there and they
- [39:43]
C
ask me what I want, I may freak out a little.
- [39:47]
A
Why?
- [39:48]
C
Too much pressure to choose shuts me down. Let me show you something.
- [39:55]
B
Look at this. What is it?
- [39:59]
C
Paint chips.
- [40:01]
A
Okay.
- [40:02]
C
I was thinking about changing the color of my kitchen, so I got these chips. I got it down to these four. Do you know how long at carrying these chips around?
- [40:13]
A
No.
- [40:14]
C
Three years. I can't choose the color.
- [40:18]
B
They all sort of look the same
- [40:19]
C
to me, but they are all about the same. But I get afraid, all right. And if I freak out over something as stupid as paint chips or what I have for dinner, how do you think I am when it's something that's actually important?
- [40:32]
A
A scene there from Brooklyn Laundry, starring Annie Barber at the Dairy Arts center in Boulder. The second generation actor is speaking with Alejandro Alonso Galva about her stage work and the loss of her mother and stepmother to cancer. After the break, a little bit of Hamlet and a serendipitous, maybe supernatural story of theater hijinks. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News. You're with Colorado Matters from CPR News. I'm Ryan Warner. Let's get back to Annie Barber. We've raised the curtain on this actor who's performed across the state. She's speaking with Alejandro Alonso Galva.
- [41:16]
G
Your mom passed when you were 15.
- [41:18]
C
Mm.
- [41:19]
G
Are there things that you remember, especially with her being an actor and you being an actor, that she left behind that stick with you?
- [41:27]
C
I never got the ability to see her perform, but all the stories that people would tell me was just that she was just an absolute riot, was just a comedian and would make people literally. Oh. She had a pregnant director, and I guess her goal was every day was to, like, make her pee her pants while they're working on Great Expectations. So she was a clown, and it's funny. I did a production of Turn of the Screw last year on Kara Springs, and I didn't realize this until after I had opened, and my dad saw it, but he's like, you know, your mom played that role and I said, what? And I had no idea. But she was so goofy. She was such a clown. Even, like, with seriousness. Things that happened in life and family and even her own sickness, she always took it with a grain of salt and made sure that we weren't down in the mouth about it. One of my favorite stories was, well, she had her left breast was a mastectomy. So she had it removed and in her bra. And she was the mother of four kids, so she had boobs and in her left bra to make up the difference of the lost breast. I was essentially like, I'm sure it was something more eloquent and medical than this, but how I remember it is essentially like a giant, like, tacky sack or like, a sandbag. And she'd get home from, like, a long day, like, picking it up from school or something, and she'd go, hot potato. And she'd throw the sandbag at us and be like, ew. And I'd drop it on the floor. She goes, don't drop my boob. So the osmosis of mom was just always like, you know, find, like, don't waste time. Like, don't waste your life missing what could have been. Stay present and look forward to what can happen. And that was how she, like, treated her. Dying honestly, was like, don't waste your life wishing I was around, because that will be the biggest disappointment to me. And make sure that you fill your life with as much laughter and as much love as you can possibly want. So with her, it was always just about, like, you know, being a little bit goofy, which was good. Cause my dad's also goofy, but he's always a little more serious. He probably won't like hearing that, but it's true.
- [43:36]
G
When you're doing this show, Brooklyn Laundrie.
- [43:38]
C
Mm.
- [43:38]
G
Do you ever feel them present?
- [43:40]
C
It's funny. Sometimes they do creep up in interesting ways. So when I was doing Emma at Denver center, which is my mom, and I loved the Pride and Prejudice movie with Keira Knightley. It was one of the movies we'd watch after her chemo days, you know, And Emma's a Jane Austen piece. And we had a show on her birthday, which is actually the day before mine. And I was missing her that day. I just was during the show. It's like the second act of the show. One of the actors who's doubling as two different dads in the piece, he has a fake mustache. At one point, it's a big ball saying, I'm wearing this beautiful dress that was made for me. And all the important love interest characters are on stage. And the dad comes downstage to interject. We're in the Wolf Theater, so it's huge. There's a whole bunch of people there. His mustache just, like, flutters to the ground. And the audience started cackling. And I look at Amelia, who's playing Emma, and we're both like, don't laugh. Cause it's a very serious moment for the two of us. And he goes down to pick it up, and he puts it in. And then it falls into his cup that he has of mead. And it just proceeded to be a series of the funniest accident gifts that could happen on stage that had his own. Literally with tears on our face, trying to contain our laughter. And then eventually we had to acknowledge it because the audience was losing their minds. And afterwards, after the show, I was like, oh, mom was there for that. Because it was all the goofy gifts that you can't replicate that end up making the show that ephemeral gift of,
- [45:17]
G
like, everyone will remember that.
- [45:18]
C
Yes. It's so silly. And I definitely was like, oh, mom was in the house for that silly one. But for Broken Laundrie, the idea of mom being around is evoked a lot during the show. And there's some nights where I hear that as Fran, and there's some nights where I hear that as Annie.
- [45:39]
B
She's here, you know. Oh, Mom,
- [45:46]
C
I know. Christ, I can smell the song. Yeah.
- [45:55]
G
We were talking about how stories sort of find their ways to be embodied. Your mother comes in, she plays this wonderful joke on you. But it does live on forever in the memories of every single person that will remember that show for the rest of their lives because of how much of a gift it was. So in that way, it's not ephemeral at all. It just moves from one source to an embodied source to another source until it comes back around again. And somebody in that crowd decides, yeah, I'm gonna stage that, actually.
- [46:27]
C
Yes. And that's actually why I brought up Hamnet. The story is that Shakespeare's son, Hamnet dies and inspires Hamlet. And his wife is watching Hamlet. And she sees the audience grieve the loss of her son. And so suddenly, her grief is coming not just from a deep place within herself that can't be expressed, but she's witnessing 300 other people experience her loss. And in that way, it gives her son life. You know? And then the idea then that Hamlet, the story that we all know, that loss and grief and acknowledgement has continued on for hundreds of years. And what a beautiful idea that the acknowledgement and someone having to hold space for grief that I have felt and share it. Because that's one of the hardest things about grief, is when you feel alone in it. And I think that's one of the reasons why I like Brooklyn Laundry and why once I decided that I wanted to do it, I was like, this play is mine, like no one else can have it. That I feel like it's a chance for people to share with me a little bit and also feel safer because it's not me, you know, it's someone else's story. But I'm still making room for people to be able to hold space for it. And that feels nice.
- [47:57]
A
That is Colorado actor Annie Barber raising the curtain with my colleague Alejandro Alonso Galva. She stars in Brooklyn Laundry at the Dairy Arts center in Boulder. A note the Boulder Ensemble Theater Company sponsors CPR but has no editorial sway. If things theatrical interest you, make sure to check out all the installments of Raise the curtain@cpr.org raisethecurtain and that's Colorado Matters for now with with special thanks to senior producer Anthony Cotton in Colorado Springs, I'm Ryan Warner with CPR News and KRCC.