DENISE BURSON FREESTONE co-founded OpenStage Theatre in 1973 with her husband Bruce and served as the Company’s Producing Artistic Director for forty-six seasons. During her extensive career Denise has worked as an actress, director, producer, designer and dancer and has directed and performed in numerous productions. Some of her most memorable acting roles include Violet Weston in August: Osage County, Vivian Bearing in Wit, Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie, Sister Aloysius in Doubt, Dotty in Noises Off, Hannah/Ethel Rosenberg/Roy's Doctor/Rabbi Chemelwitz/The Oldest Bolshevik/Angel Asiatica in Angels in America, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth and Emily Dickinson in The Belle of Amherst. Recent directing credits include The Comedy of Errors, The Three Musketeers, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Denise has received numerous OpenStage OPUS Awards for directing, acting and designing, and has been named an inaugural Zonta: Her Legacy recipient, a BizWest Woman of Distinction and a Colorado Woman of Influence.
Denise's Work in OpenStage Theatre
| Event | Role |
|---|---|
| Passion. Inspiration. Stubborness. | Co-Founder |
| Constellations | Production Advisor |
| The Full Monty | Production Advisor |
| Every Brilliant Thing | Production Advisor |
| Rumors | Production Advisor |
| Men On Boats | Director |
| Much Ado About Nothing | Production Manager/Hair Co-Designer |
| Fool For Love | Production Manager |
| Frankenstein | Production Manager |
| Steel Magnolias | Production Manager |
| Avenue Q | Production Manager |
| The Mystery Of Love And Sex | Production Manager |
| Steel Magnolias | Ouiser Boudreaux |
| And Then There Were None | Production Manager |
| The Crucible | Production Manager |
| Monty Python's Spamalot | Production Manager |
| The Comedy Of Errors | Director/Production Manager |
| Christmas Chaos: Getting Scrooged | Production Manager |
| Ideation | Production Manager |
| August: Osage County- Essential Season | Production Manager |
| Bright Ideas- Essential Season | Associate Production Manager |
| The Three Musketeers - Essential Season | Director/Production Manager |
| La Bete- Essential Season | Production Manager |
| The Flick- Essential Season | Production Manager |
| Ultimate Beauty Bible- Etcetera Season | Production Manager |
| August: Osage County- Essential Season | Violet Weston |
| Taming Of The Shrew | Production Manager |
| The North Plan | Production Manager |
| The Submission openstage Etc. | Production Manager |
| Stage Kiss | Production Manager/Hair and MakeUp Designer |
| Orphans | Production Manager |
| A Bright New Boise openstage Etc | Production Manager |
| Superior Donuts | Production Manager |
| Taming Of The Shrew | Director |
| Outside Mullingar | Aoife Muldoon |
| Spring Awakening | Production Manager |
| The Servant Of Two Masters | Production Manager |
| Unnecessary Farce | Production Manager |
| Journey To The West | Hair Designer/Hair Stylist/Production Manager |
| Romeo And Juliet | Production Manager/Language Consultant |
| True West | Production Manager |
| Scapin | Production Manager |
| Moonlight And Magnolias | Production Manager |
| The Tempest | Director |
| The Tempest | Production Manager |
| The Seafarer | Production Manager |
| Rent | Production Manager |
| Dangerous Liaisons | Madame de Rosemonde |
| Amadeus | Production Manager |
| Bullshot Crummond | Production Manager |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Director |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Production Manager |
| The Rocky Horror Show | Production Manager |
| Noises Off | Dotty Otley |
| Wit | Professor Vivian Bearing |
| Shipwrecked! An Entertainment | Production Manager |
| Othello | Production Manager |
| A Child's Christmas In Wales | Production Manager/Make-Up Designer |
| The Rocky Horror Show | Production Manager |
| Othello | Director |
| The Ladies Man | Production Manager |
| The 39 Steps | Production Manager |
| 33 Variations | Painter |
| 33 Variations | Production Manager |
| Dead Man's Cell Phone | Production Manager |
| The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (abridged) | Production Manager |
| Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure | Hair Designer & Make-Up Designer/Hair Stylist/Prop |
| Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol | Director |
| King Lear | Production Manager |
| A Picasso | Production Manager |
| Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure | Production Manager/Hair Designer |
| Brilliant Traces | Production Manager |
| King Lear | Goneril |
| Is He Dead? | Production Manager/Wig Designer/Hair Co-Designer |
| The One-eyed Man Is King | Production Manager |
| Sceneworks | Producer/Stage Manager/MC |
| Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol | Director |
| Bug | Production Manager |
| Anton In Show Business | Producer |
| Shining City | Artistic Consultant |
| The Glass Menagerie | *Amanda Wingfield |
| Sceneworks | Actor |
| The Maiden's Prayer | Artistic Consultant |
| Anon(ymous) | Production Manager |
| Doubt | Wig Stylist |
| As You Like It | Production Manager/Hair Designer/Hair Stylist |
| Pride And Prejudice | Production Manager |
| Third | Production Manager |
| The Book Of Liz | Production Manager |
| The Oldest Profession | Producer & Costume Designer |
| Little Shop Of Horrors | Producer/Make-Up Co-Designer/Stylist |
| Doubt | *Sister Aloysius? |
| Rag And Bone | Set-In Crew |
| Dirty Blonde | Producer |
| Rag And Bone | Artistic Mentor |
| Nickel And Dimed | Producer |
| Noises Off | Co-Producer |
| The Arabian Nights | Producer |
| Man Of La Mancha | Producer/Hair Co-Designer |
| The Cripple Of Inishmaan | Producer/Make-Up Designer |
| Noises Off | *Dotty/Mrs. Clackett |
| Splitting Infinity | Producer/Hair & Make-Up Designer |
| Saint Joan | Producer |
| Enchanted April | Producer |
| Boston Marriage | Artistic Consultant/Properties Designer/Hair Desig |
| Swimming In The Shallows | Artistic Consultant |
| Italian American Reconciliation | Producer/Hair Co-Designer |
| The Threepenny Opera | Director |
| Picnic | Rosemary Sydney |
| Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead And 15 Minute Hamlet | Set-In Crew |
| A Bright Room Called Day | Set-In Crew |
| An Ideal Husband | Set-In Crew |
| The Exonerated | Set-In Crew |
| Rasputin | Set-In Crew |
| Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead And 15 Minute Hamlet | Producer |
| The Solid Gold Cadillac | Producer/Hair Designer/Hair Stylist |
| The Six That Fell | Playwright Liaison |
| An Ideal Husband | Producer |
| The Exonerated | Producer |
| Desperate Affection | Artistic Advisor |
| An Ideal Husband | Make-Up Designer |
| Rasputin | Producer |
| A Bright Room Called Day | Annabella Gotchling |
| The Drawer Boy | Set-In Crew |
| Copenhagen | Set-In Crew |
| The Women | Set-in Crew |
| A Perfect Ganesh | Set-In Crew |
| The Drawer Boy | Producer |
| Rasputin | Director |
| Copenhagen | Make-Up and Hair Designer |
| The Women | Director |
| A Perfect Ganesh | Producer |
| Copenhagen | Producer |
| The Play's The Thing | Producer |
| Major Arcana | New Splendid Lady; Electra Valdez; Amanda Bridges; |
| Angels In America | Hannah Pitt |
| Communicating Doors | Set-In Crew |
| Macbeth | Set-In Crew |
| Flaming Guns Of The Purple Sage | Set-In Crew |
| Proof | Set-In Crew |
| Agatha Christie's Murder At The Vicarage | Producer |
| Flaming Guns Of The Purple Sage | Producer |
| Proof | Director |
| Communicating Doors | Producer |
| Moon Over Buffalo | Charlotte Hay |
| Macbeth | Lady Macbeth |
| Romeo And Juliet | Producer |
| Tartuffe | Wig Design |
| Laughter On The 23rd Floor | Makeup Designer |
| Who Will Carry The Word | Producer |
| Tartuffe | Producer |
| Dorian Gray | Producer |
| Romeo And Juliet | Hair Designer |
| Laughter On The 23rd Floor | Producer |
| The Musical Comedy Murders Of 1940 | Bernice Roth |
| The Hot L Baltimore | Producer |
| Crimes Of The Heart | Producer |
| Rumors | Director |
| Fuddy Meers | Producer |
| Henry Iv, Part 1 | Producer |
| The Hot L Baltimore | Make-Up Design |
| Wit | Vivian Bearing, Ph.D. |
| Cry Havoc | Costumes |
| Fortinbras | Producer |
| The Mousetrap | Producer |
| The Tempest | Producer |
| Picasso At The Lapin Agile | Producer |
| Impression: Monet | Hair design |
| Impression: Monet | Director |
| Cry Havoc | Producer |
| Harvey | Producer |
| The Mousetrap | Make-Up Design |
| The Tempest | Hair Design |
| Impression: Monet | Producer |
| Impression: Monet | Properties design |
| The House Of Bernarda Alba | La Poncia |
| An Inspector Calls | Make-up design |
| The Last Night At Ballyhoo | Producer |
| The Comedy Of Errors | Producer |
| The Man Who Came To Dinner | Producer |
| The Comedy Of Errors | Director |
| Misalliance | Producer |
| The Man Who Came To Dinner | Costume design |
| A Little Night Music | Producer |
| An Inspector Calls | Producer |
| The Last Night At Ballyhoo | Boo Levy |
| King Lear | Producer |
| Dial M For Murder | Make-up design |
| The Ladies Of The Camellias | Producer |
| Breath Of Spring | Make-up design |
| The Living | Producer |
| King Lear | Goneril |