“Saffron has a magical ability to be both honest and gentle. Rigorous with the art, generous with the artist: how rare, to find such a combination in one collaborator. She teaches like she directs, with precision, gentleness grounded in high expectation, and a breathtaking and welcome honesty that both challenges the student and makes them feel safe. Students flourish under Saffron's tutelage. I have seen it again and again.”  
- Megan Gogerty, Playwright and Solo Performer, www.megangogerty.com

RECENT AND UPCOMING PROJECTS

Concord Floral

Directed by Saffron Henke
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Dates: Dec. 16, 18, 19, 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 19, 2 p.m.

Concord Floral is a one-million-square-foot abandoned greenhouse and a refuge for neighborhood kids; a place all to themselves in which to dream, dare, and come of age. But hidden there is a secret no one wants to confront, and when two friends stumble upon it they set off an unstoppable chain of events, from shadows in parking lots to phone calls from the grave. It's time for the teens of Concord Floral to start talking. For streaming information, visit CSUArtsTickets.com

“This was f**king awesome. I think what you all achieved here is admirable on so many levels. I think you capture this play, and the spirit of this play and horror of this play and pathos of this play, just in spades.”  -Mace Archer, KCACTF Response

“I don’t think I was fully prepared to be as moved. I’ve seen too much zoom theatre and too much online theatre, I’ve satisfied that itch for the rest of my life. So, to be quite honest, to come to your show and watch another one, was not on the top of my list of things to do at the end of the semester… but watching it? This is one of the best translations of a theatre piece in this format that we are living in that retains its theatricality. That’s my big kudos and big applause.” - Mace Archer, KCACTF Response

Concord Floral received several nominations for The Young-Howze Theatre Journal Awards, including:
-Director of the Year
-School Theatre Program of the Year
-"You Oughta Be In Pictures" Film of the Year

Other Reviews and In house praise:
The Source, by Jennifer Clary Jacobs
The Collegian, by Anna Tomka

“The ultimate goal of a scary story is to give us some spine chilling moments to take home with us at the end of the night. This story and the actors’ interpretation are still giving me the willies. I’m also taking home the amazing cast and some of the amazing imagery. Most of it I still have no clue how they did it. I’m also taking home the dedication of this faculty and their hard work to make this show work. Theatre is alive right now because of all these artists’ hard work”.
​ -Jordan Tamanelli, on Concord Floral

Mary Magdalene Smokes a Joint
(In Development)

Written by Ben Jolivet
A one person show starring Saffron Henke
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Mary Magdalene Smokes a Joint by Ben Jolivet, one of history’s most famous women takes center stage. Mary Magdalene gives voice to the loves and losses, to the miracles and the exorcisms of her time on earth and reframes and re-centers her role in the greatest story ever told. With wit, warmth, and wisdom, Mary guides us through her world and the experience of being a woman with a voice in a world made for men—along the way, discovering herself what she can do with it. Who is teacher and who is student? Who gets to lead? And what truly does one see when looking into the face of G*d? Both eulogy and celebration, Mary Magdalene Smokes a Joint puts the world’s most misunderstood of women back at the heart of her own story. ​

On the Brink Reading Series: HIR by Taylor Mac

Spring 2021 ON THE BRINK Reading Series
Curated by Professor Saffron Henke

What have we learned from 2020? How do we as theatre artists respond to this moment?

These are multifaceted times we are facing, not just in terms of the political, social and cultural upheavals that 2020 brought upon us, but also the challenges the pandemic has brought to live performance as well. In response, this Spring, the Colorado State University Theatre Department will begin a series of readings of new works addressing the hot topic themes of our times – issues that have pushed our culture to the brink…and that reveal whole new worlds of possibilities. A collaboration of professional theatre artists, faculty members, current students and CSU alumni, On the Brink will explore works representing a variety of underrepresented voices and perspectives.

For more information, click here. 
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