LOCAL FEATURE HOW CHAOS BLOOMED BY CAT EVANS SOUTH BROADWAY IS AN EVER-EVOLVING, deeply rooted historical street – essential to the spirit of Denver. Along its length, you will find almost anything you can imagine: a vast array of vintage stores, coffee shops, plant havens, restaurants, and bars — both new and old — where the public can enjoy late nights, early mornings, and everything in between. Among the many emerging businesses calling Broadway their home, there’s one, in particular, you don’t want to miss – Chaos Bloom Theatre. The off-center, quirky Chaos Bloom Theatre, located at 70 S. Broadway, is a creative space where people perform comedic improvisation and can take courses to prepare them for virtually any stage. Chaos opened its doors in mid-2021 and has been firing on all cylinders ever since. This is no ordinary theater, however. Each room at Chaos Bloom, down to its turfcovered bathroom, is done with intention. A customized mural of the Denver skyline rests between the stage and the teaching rooms located at the further end of the building, reminding each passerby of the city in which they are experiencing. This unusual design, detail by detail, was pioneered by one of the four current owners of Chaos Bloom, Amey Goerlich, who within the past year, took creative control. The performing arts deal with major gender disparity within leadership positions, and it is dramatically skewed toward men. The opportunities for a woman to step in, call the shots, and be the face of creative establishments are far and few in between. According to womenarts.org, women “face enormous employment discrimination in the arts and media.” Time will tell how this will shift, but for now, Chaos has handed the reins to a woman with a vision. Goerlich began her theatrical career in 2001 at Upright Citizens Brigade in New York. She performed with them until 2016, when she moved to LA to teach at Westside Comedy. She did that for three years until COVID came and everything shut down in Los Angeles. “I knew I wouldn’t survive off just teaching online,” said Goerlich, explaining why she and her husband were on the hunt for a new opportunity. Serendipitously, Justin Francin, a co-owner at Chaos Bloom, reached out to Goerlich and asked her to come to Denver to be the director of training. The classes Goerlich now offers vary by level/intensity – beginner and onward. A sketch comedy 101 hybrid class costs $125 for six weeks. In the class, sketch comedy basics, include content, editing, script structure, and page to performance transformation. Chaos Bloom also offers various types of training. According to Goerlich, “It’s a different type of training than you can get anywhere else. I built my own curriculum and asked myself questions like how can I make this the most entertaining.” All classes range from $100-$200 and last about six weeks. A full array of their educational offerings can be found on their website, chaosbloom.com. “Given the opportunity to create an entirely new curriculum that was inclusive was a huge opportunity. I don’t think a lot of women in improv get that opportunity.” From the ground up, Goerlich assisted in developing the space that so many would soon call home. For months, CREDIT: CAT EVANS 6 DENVER VOICE January 2022
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