Cipher Creative Productions
Cipher Creative Productions is a multi-media performance company founded by Natalie Scarlett devoted to first serve the artists whose work it presents by focusing on new writing, workshopping, and collaboration on devised work for theatre and film. In Shakespeare’s prologue to Henry V the Chorus asks the audience to “let us, ciphers to this great accompt, on your imaginary forces work;” likewise, Cipher Creative Productions asks to help audiences decode meaning through raw and unconventional performances of new work.
Click Here for upcoming performances: March 1st, 7:30 pm at The Lyric. Slouch and Grouch: A Multimedia Circus
Director Bio
NATALIE SCARLETT is an English and drama teacher by day and a theatrical director, writer and all around creative person all the time, especially at night. A tireless teacher, Natalie proudly coaches debate, cultivates creative writing club and directs the non-musical theatre program at Liberty Common High School. She is also chair of the Festival of Ideas and the Favorite Poem Project reading series. With the flexible schedule of a teacher, she travels extensively in the summers seeking to further her knowledge and refine her craft. In the summer of 2016 she taught English at The Gyeseong School in Seoul, Korea. The summer before she worked at the Theatre for a New Audience in Brooklyn through a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship for drama teachers writing a Shakespeare curriculum and studying with literature professors, professional directors and classically trained actors. While working in New York, she revived her desire to bring theatre alive outside the classroom as well as within, and she brings this enthusiasm to the Fort Collins community now. While studying at Columbia University, she actually got to touch a First Folio with her bare hands! She also worked writing poetry curriculum at the Poetry Foundation in Chicago under the leadership of former poet laureate Robert Pinsky. Before really pursuing her teaching career in Fort Collins, Natalie backpacked through Europe for eight months while she worked as a freelance English tutor, innkeeper and bike shop keeper. She travelled the country with the Tour de Fat caravan and worked as an editor for Wolverine Farm Publishing. Natalie has a B.A. from Hillsdale College in Michigan, where she studied acting and directing. Past directing credits include Sartre's No Exit and Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author, as well as numerous short plays. She was the first directing student in the history of her college to be chosen to direct a mainstage play as part of her senior thesis. Natalie is also a published poet and short story writer and some of her writing can be found here. While directing is her primary passion, she has acted on the semi-professional and collegiate stage in numerous roles as various as Laura in A Glass Managerie with Harvest Public Theatre and Wilma Eisenring in a punk rock Brechtian version of Beiderman and the Firebugs. She has appeared in Bas Bleu Theatre's production of If We Are Women. She has worked on several productions with OpenStage Theatre, most recently directing Caroline M. McGraw's Ultimate Beauty Bible as well as serving as assistant director on King Lear, Bug, Amadeus, and Anton in Show Business. Natalie and her husband, Aaron Williams, a local artisan luthier, are terrified and electrified as new parents to Imogen Eira Eucatasropher Elin in the spring of 2017. Natalie is proud of the thriving arts scene in Fort Collins and eager to continue writing, making theatre, producing films and generally contributing to and supporting arts and culture in our community. Cipher Creative Productions is a incubating project with which she hopes to build a new theatre company with a focus on showcasing new work by emerging writers, directors, and actors with a DIY spirit and a focus on rough innovation and community involvement. Her most recent work has been as the writer and director of "The Eggplant, and Other Domestic Incidents" and "Slouch and Grouch" at the Fort Collins Fringe Festival.
NATALIE SCARLETT is an English and drama teacher by day and a theatrical director, writer and all around creative person all the time, especially at night. A tireless teacher, Natalie proudly coaches debate, cultivates creative writing club and directs the non-musical theatre program at Liberty Common High School. She is also chair of the Festival of Ideas and the Favorite Poem Project reading series. With the flexible schedule of a teacher, she travels extensively in the summers seeking to further her knowledge and refine her craft. In the summer of 2016 she taught English at The Gyeseong School in Seoul, Korea. The summer before she worked at the Theatre for a New Audience in Brooklyn through a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship for drama teachers writing a Shakespeare curriculum and studying with literature professors, professional directors and classically trained actors. While working in New York, she revived her desire to bring theatre alive outside the classroom as well as within, and she brings this enthusiasm to the Fort Collins community now. While studying at Columbia University, she actually got to touch a First Folio with her bare hands! She also worked writing poetry curriculum at the Poetry Foundation in Chicago under the leadership of former poet laureate Robert Pinsky. Before really pursuing her teaching career in Fort Collins, Natalie backpacked through Europe for eight months while she worked as a freelance English tutor, innkeeper and bike shop keeper. She travelled the country with the Tour de Fat caravan and worked as an editor for Wolverine Farm Publishing. Natalie has a B.A. from Hillsdale College in Michigan, where she studied acting and directing. Past directing credits include Sartre's No Exit and Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author, as well as numerous short plays. She was the first directing student in the history of her college to be chosen to direct a mainstage play as part of her senior thesis. Natalie is also a published poet and short story writer and some of her writing can be found here. While directing is her primary passion, she has acted on the semi-professional and collegiate stage in numerous roles as various as Laura in A Glass Managerie with Harvest Public Theatre and Wilma Eisenring in a punk rock Brechtian version of Beiderman and the Firebugs. She has appeared in Bas Bleu Theatre's production of If We Are Women. She has worked on several productions with OpenStage Theatre, most recently directing Caroline M. McGraw's Ultimate Beauty Bible as well as serving as assistant director on King Lear, Bug, Amadeus, and Anton in Show Business. Natalie and her husband, Aaron Williams, a local artisan luthier, are terrified and electrified as new parents to Imogen Eira Eucatasropher Elin in the spring of 2017. Natalie is proud of the thriving arts scene in Fort Collins and eager to continue writing, making theatre, producing films and generally contributing to and supporting arts and culture in our community. Cipher Creative Productions is a incubating project with which she hopes to build a new theatre company with a focus on showcasing new work by emerging writers, directors, and actors with a DIY spirit and a focus on rough innovation and community involvement. Her most recent work has been as the writer and director of "The Eggplant, and Other Domestic Incidents" and "Slouch and Grouch" at the Fort Collins Fringe Festival.
Directing Work
"Scarlett's project achieved impressive proportions. The actors and characters confronted each other with convincing confusion on one side and impassioned anger on the other[...] As the first student to direct such a large project Scarlett set a precedent for future would-be directors, and she set the bar high "
Hillsdale Collegian, editorial following Natalie Scarlett's production of Six Characters Looking for an Author
"The play (Six Characters directed by Natalie Scarlett) provoked discussion across campus. Plays which force us to confront what we don’t normally offer a broader opportunity to compare traditional thoughts with contemporary ideas in reality, rather than just the theory-world of class and papers. Choosing “Six Characters”—with its entertaining, if somewhat surreal, hour and a half of high drama, lust, and suicide—challenged audiences to examine Pirandello’s of the meaning of language, reality, and existence"
Hillsdale Collegian Review following Six Characters Looking for an Author directed by Natalie Scarlett
"Natalie Scarlett said her interpretation of Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit will hopefully inspire personal reflection in each member of the audience. Dr. Brandon said he considers the play[…]one of the most challenging works of modern theatre. “Sartre’s No Exit is an extremely important play that is also rarely done,” he said. “This will actually be the first time I’ve seen it in production and Natalie has a great director’s eye.”
Hillsdale Collegian review following No Exit directed by Natalie Scarlett
"I worked with Natalie Scarlett in No Exit. I found our work to be very rewarding on a personal and professional level. She was professional yet colorful as a director. I felt that there was structure, but not too much. I've never felt more human than I did during that show. It was a very different sort of character for me, and Natalie pushed me to make the difficult emotional connections. "
Tory Eisenlohr-Moul, played Ines in Natalie Scarlett's production of No Exit
Natalie Scarlett is brilliant. I was thrilled when she cast me in her production of Six Characters in Search of an Author. As a director, she always encouraged us actors to stretch ourselves--never limiting our creative freedom--yet, keeping our exploration harmonious with the script's given circumstances. Given the complexity of the emotional work of Pirandello's play, Natalie made a point to devote rehearsal time to discussion of back-story and improvisational work, which I much appreciated. The end production was awesome. Aesthetic, cerebral, and profound--Natalie's concept interwove the stagework, lighting design, and set theme impressively. Since working with Natalie as a novice college actress I discovered my own passion for the art of directing. My personal directorial vision is heavily marked by my admiration for Sanford Meisner, and I have Natalie to thank for first introducing me to the Meisner technique in her Six Characters rehearsals. She actively encouraged her actors to pursue living truthfully in each moment, and I now know how rare a gem that is in the theatre world.
Abigail Nones, Twin Cities based Freelance Director, played The Mother in Natalie Scarlett's production of Six Characters
Hillsdale Collegian, editorial following Natalie Scarlett's production of Six Characters Looking for an Author
"The play (Six Characters directed by Natalie Scarlett) provoked discussion across campus. Plays which force us to confront what we don’t normally offer a broader opportunity to compare traditional thoughts with contemporary ideas in reality, rather than just the theory-world of class and papers. Choosing “Six Characters”—with its entertaining, if somewhat surreal, hour and a half of high drama, lust, and suicide—challenged audiences to examine Pirandello’s of the meaning of language, reality, and existence"
Hillsdale Collegian Review following Six Characters Looking for an Author directed by Natalie Scarlett
"Natalie Scarlett said her interpretation of Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit will hopefully inspire personal reflection in each member of the audience. Dr. Brandon said he considers the play[…]one of the most challenging works of modern theatre. “Sartre’s No Exit is an extremely important play that is also rarely done,” he said. “This will actually be the first time I’ve seen it in production and Natalie has a great director’s eye.”
Hillsdale Collegian review following No Exit directed by Natalie Scarlett
"I worked with Natalie Scarlett in No Exit. I found our work to be very rewarding on a personal and professional level. She was professional yet colorful as a director. I felt that there was structure, but not too much. I've never felt more human than I did during that show. It was a very different sort of character for me, and Natalie pushed me to make the difficult emotional connections. "
Tory Eisenlohr-Moul, played Ines in Natalie Scarlett's production of No Exit
Natalie Scarlett is brilliant. I was thrilled when she cast me in her production of Six Characters in Search of an Author. As a director, she always encouraged us actors to stretch ourselves--never limiting our creative freedom--yet, keeping our exploration harmonious with the script's given circumstances. Given the complexity of the emotional work of Pirandello's play, Natalie made a point to devote rehearsal time to discussion of back-story and improvisational work, which I much appreciated. The end production was awesome. Aesthetic, cerebral, and profound--Natalie's concept interwove the stagework, lighting design, and set theme impressively. Since working with Natalie as a novice college actress I discovered my own passion for the art of directing. My personal directorial vision is heavily marked by my admiration for Sanford Meisner, and I have Natalie to thank for first introducing me to the Meisner technique in her Six Characters rehearsals. She actively encouraged her actors to pursue living truthfully in each moment, and I now know how rare a gem that is in the theatre world.
Abigail Nones, Twin Cities based Freelance Director, played The Mother in Natalie Scarlett's production of Six Characters
Actor
Acting Work
"Laura is portrayed by Natalie Scarlett, whom Quinlan calls "a kind of a wunderkind." She's a published poet and an accomplished actress and has appeared in several Shakespeare competitions, he says."
Toledo Blade Review of Glass Menagerie, Harvest Theatre of Toledo
"Natalie scarlett as Laura Wingfield is vulnerable and evokes empathy essential to make this production work. "
Toledo City Paper Review of Glass Menagerie, Harvest Theatre of Toledo
“Scarlett is a treat as Sepp’s playfully devious accomplice, Wilma Eisenring…”
Hillsdale Collegian review of Beidermann and the Firebugs
“Natalie , as a member of the actors' group, was very talented, creative, and a pleasure to work with. She is a natural leader, with sensitivity and compassion.”
Madge Levinson, Director, YoungPlaygoers, Toledo Repertoire Theatre
directed Natalie at Toledo Repetoire Theatre
Toledo Blade Review of Glass Menagerie, Harvest Theatre of Toledo
"Natalie scarlett as Laura Wingfield is vulnerable and evokes empathy essential to make this production work. "
Toledo City Paper Review of Glass Menagerie, Harvest Theatre of Toledo
“Scarlett is a treat as Sepp’s playfully devious accomplice, Wilma Eisenring…”
Hillsdale Collegian review of Beidermann and the Firebugs
“Natalie , as a member of the actors' group, was very talented, creative, and a pleasure to work with. She is a natural leader, with sensitivity and compassion.”
Madge Levinson, Director, YoungPlaygoers, Toledo Repertoire Theatre
directed Natalie at Toledo Repetoire Theatre
English and Drama Teacher
Education
B.A. Hillsdale College, Theatrical Directing and Dramaturgy, 2009 (full scholarship)
First Hillsdale College Student asked to direct a mainstage production for senior thesis
Studied at BGSU/Stratford Shakespeare Honors program, Lourdes College, and University of Toledo.
Professional Experience
- Apprentice English Teacher, Ridgeview Classical Institute (RCI) 2012
- Poetry Editor and traveling bookseller, Matter Journal and Wolverine Farm Publishing
- Theatrical Director and Assistant Director, OpenStage Theatre in Fort Collins, CO
- Assistant to the Director, Center for Cultural Interchange (CCI) agency for foreign exchange students
- Center for Institutional Advancement, Hillsdale College
- Completed the Institute for Excellence in Writing workshop
- National Junior Forensics League coach and judge
- Selected teaching scholar in National Endowment for the Humanitites Scholarship and Performance: A Combined Approach to Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays: “Politics and Persuasion in As You Like It, Julius Caesar, and Macbeth.” in New York City at The Theatre For A New Audience
- Taught English in the summer of 2016 at Gyesong Girls' School in Seoul, Korea
- Selected participant at the first Summer Poetry Teachers Institute in Chicago through the University of Boston, The Poetry Foundation, and the Favorite Poem Project
- Hosted several Favorite Poem Project Readings
- Founded and Chaired the annual Festival of Ideas at Liberty Common High School
- Presented academic paper at Depauw University’s Honors Conference of Communications
- Started the Hillsdale College Film Society
- Traveled Europe for seven months
- Leading a student tour to Europe in 2016
- Winner of Poudre River Library’s “Battle of the Bards” poetry contest
A teacher should be a caretaker of wonder. A teacher should be a veritable rockstar in the eyes of his students. A teacher should impart, through challenging assignments, the joy of learning and the rewards of knowledge. I want to be this teacher, the igniter and temporary tender of this spark in the mind of each of my students.
My goal is to teach that when reading the words of a great writer, a student's spark is invited to be a part of humanity's greater fire. When students can perform and understand these great works they participate even more fully in this fire. With this intimate experience is born the love of knowledge, the joy of beautiful truths, and the impetus to share this tradition; it is infectious from one student to another. This spark is so important for student actors and artists to have and cherish, especially since the world often will try to quench it.
The history of drama and literature is built around the sacredness of words, from some of the first recorded plays of Ancient Greece to Samuel Beckett. An effective communicator can only keep the audience's attention if he truly understands the words he speaks and the meaning they convey. With a deference for spoken and written word language becomes richer. Because of this cultivated understanding each student's confidence in their own words can flourish. Words make us human, granted, but the way we use them can make us artists, philosophers, and leaders.
My goal is to teach that when reading the words of a great writer, a student's spark is invited to be a part of humanity's greater fire. When students can perform and understand these great works they participate even more fully in this fire. With this intimate experience is born the love of knowledge, the joy of beautiful truths, and the impetus to share this tradition; it is infectious from one student to another. This spark is so important for student actors and artists to have and cherish, especially since the world often will try to quench it.
The history of drama and literature is built around the sacredness of words, from some of the first recorded plays of Ancient Greece to Samuel Beckett. An effective communicator can only keep the audience's attention if he truly understands the words he speaks and the meaning they convey. With a deference for spoken and written word language becomes richer. Because of this cultivated understanding each student's confidence in their own words can flourish. Words make us human, granted, but the way we use them can make us artists, philosophers, and leaders.
“Natalie is an organized and competent instructor of exceptional knowledge and personal warmth. She is consistently motivated and engaging in the classroom.”
Jeremy Tullius, Teacher, Ridgeview Classical Schools
worked with Natalie Scarlett at Ridgeview Classical School
"It has been indeed a pleasure to work with such an energetic professional who[...]I am confident is ready to enter a serious school. Natalie Scarlett was every day willing to learn and to put in the time necessary to find success."
Joseph Collins, mentor teacher at Ridgeview Classical School
mentored and worked with Natalie Scarlett
Jeremy Tullius, Teacher, Ridgeview Classical Schools
worked with Natalie Scarlett at Ridgeview Classical School
"It has been indeed a pleasure to work with such an energetic professional who[...]I am confident is ready to enter a serious school. Natalie Scarlett was every day willing to learn and to put in the time necessary to find success."
Joseph Collins, mentor teacher at Ridgeview Classical School
mentored and worked with Natalie Scarlett
wRITER
Read some of Ms. Scarlett's writing here.
"I began writing for fun when I was young, jotting down poems and short stories in my diary, but I did not pursue public readings and publication until I met my mentor, Michael Kocinski, in 2003. With Michael's aid I won several national awards for poetry, was published in a few national journals, and became a presence at weekly workshops and readings. I won the American Voices award through the Scholastic writing competition as well as two Golden Key awards. As I pursue a career as a director I will always carry my little black Moleskin notebook with me. Some of the ideas in my journal are poems and some are plays.
"I began writing for fun when I was young, jotting down poems and short stories in my diary, but I did not pursue public readings and publication until I met my mentor, Michael Kocinski, in 2003. With Michael's aid I won several national awards for poetry, was published in a few national journals, and became a presence at weekly workshops and readings. I won the American Voices award through the Scholastic writing competition as well as two Golden Key awards. As I pursue a career as a director I will always carry my little black Moleskin notebook with me. Some of the ideas in my journal are poems and some are plays.
"Ms. Scarlett said that writing poetry takes little time for her. After thinking through a poem and perhaps making a few notes, she writes it down and maybe does some minor editing for line break and punctuation. Mr. Kocinski says her music background—she’s studied piano and vocal performance—has helped her. “As an artist she’s really conscious of rhythm and movement in poetry,” he said. "
Toledo Blade article on Natalie Scarlett's publication in Best Teen Writing of 2005 published by Scholastic and winning the American Voice Award from the Scholastic Art and Writing competition
Toledo Blade article on Natalie Scarlett's publication in Best Teen Writing of 2005 published by Scholastic and winning the American Voice Award from the Scholastic Art and Writing competition
Theatre Technician
I worked as the props master at Hillsdale College for one year before I focused more intently on directing. After the intensive 3 years I spend at college working on my acting, directing, and dramaturgical skills I left with my B.A. in theatre and surprisingly little hands-on experience backstage. Though I volunteered for strike, worked backstage for every performance as the props master, and did some work in the costume shop, scene shop, and lighting booth, I did not feel confidence in my abilities. I decided that if I was going to be a director one day and boss everyone around I should know what it is they do and how to do it competently. I began work at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins, a huge venue which hosts everything from Pilobolus, Spamalot, and symphony orchestras. I was put through the paces and stuck with it, was asked to work for the stagehand's union on a few occasions and found a new appreciation for how hard stagehands work. After running wardrobe hampers two-high up an ice covered aluminum ramp at 2 am on the day before Christmas Eve I can say that I have been initiated as a salty stagehand. I look forward to learning more and one day being an up-rigger.
“I met Natalie when she started working for some of the larger shows at the City of Fort Collins Lincoln Center. From the outset, Natalie impressed me as intelligent, reliable, personable and capable. She integrated quickly into the crew and contributed greatly. I wish her continued success in her endeavors and hope to get the opportunity to work with her again.”
Dan Schoonover, Lead Deck Manager / Head Rigger / Audio Engineer / Lead Technician, City of Fort Collins - Lincoln Center, worked with Natalie
Dan Schoonover, Lead Deck Manager / Head Rigger / Audio Engineer / Lead Technician, City of Fort Collins - Lincoln Center, worked with Natalie
Traveler
For the last six months I have been traveling through the United Kingdom and continental Europe. I had been saving money for the last four years to do a backpacking adventure through Northern Europe and Scandinavia and volunteering while living abroad. On my travels I have learned some Norwegian by studying Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen with some native Norwegian speakers. I lived in an artist's commune in Evanger, Norway, attended the Edinburgh Fringe Festival while volunteering at a bike shop, ran a B&B on the Isle of Mull, and taught English while looking after cats in southern France. Through websites like workaway.info, wwoofing.org, and couchsurfing.org, I was able to see a lot of the world, make wildly different friends, and learn a lot about other cultures through immersion. I have a much clearer idea of what I want to do with my art now that I have seen myself in other places.
“Natalie is an incredible person that I learned a lot from. She helped me open my cafe this Summer, she organized and cooked wonderful meals that we served in the cafe. She is not afraid of getting dirty, she scratched and painted walls and worked with wood chopping etc. "
Mona Nordaas, installation artist and owner of Evangerista artist community and cafe
Mona Nordaas, installation artist and owner of Evangerista artist community and cafe