SeriesFest, which is essentially a film festival for independent episodic TV, has grown into an incongruously signature Denver event that for one week makes the Mile High City the epicenter of the TV universe.

And it’s about to celebrate its ninth year with six days of events culminating in an all-star comedy night at Red Rocks headlined by Chelsea Handler and featuring Jay Pharoah, Adam Ray and Joel McHale.

Other big names heading to Denver include actor Paul Giamatti for a live recording of his podcast “Chinwag,” and Academy Award-winner Fisher Stevens leading a panel conversation titled “Turning Podcasts into Television’s Next Big Hit.”

This year’s events will take place May from 5-10, primarily at the Sie FilmCenter.

SeriesFest is a nonprofit organization dedicated to championing emerging and underserved voices in episodic storytelling. Last year, 13,000 attended events in Denver and Morrison. The lineup includes screenings of network premieres, a pilot competition featuring dozens of titles from all over the world, panels, workshops and a fascinating “Pitch-A-Thon” that lets dreamers present their big ideas before a panel of industry bigwigs.

The party kicks off May 5 with a world-premiere screening of CNN’s latest installment in its decade anthology, “The 2010s,” followed by a Q&A with executive producer Mark Herzog.

Network screenings, many accompanied by their creative teams, will include the world or U.S. premieres of Netflix’s new animated series “Mulligan,” Amazon Freevee’s “Primo,” Season 2 of NBC’s “Grand Crew,” National Geographic’s “A Small Light” and the Season 2 pilot of “Everyone is Doing Great.”

Randy Barbato, Fenton Bailey and Tom Campbell, executive producers of MTV’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” will receive the SeriesFest “Impact in Television Award.”

The May 10 closing event, which will feature Handler making her first appearance at Red Rocks, begins with a screening of Fox’s “Animal Control,” featuring McHale.

Original pilots making their world premieres at SeriesFest will include: “Hit Man: Secrets of Lies” (with Kind there to talk about it); “Full Bleed” and “Grown.” Nine scheduled panel discussions will tackle topics such as “Actors with Disabilities Making Their Mark in Hollywood: What More Needs to be Done,” and, “The State of Comedy”

“We’re excited to celebrate such incredible content and bring together industry luminaries from around the world to inspire audiences and engage in conversations about the ever-changing television landscape,” said SeriesFest co-founder and CEO Randi Kleiner. For info and tickets. Go to seriesfest.com.

Van Oosbree makes inroads in Arvada

The pandemic notwithstanding, Kelly Van Oosbree has been averaging about nine shows a year as a director or choreographer across the metro area, but her present gig is a major milestone.

“Damn Yankees,” playing through May 7, not only marks her first time directing at the Arvada Center, she’s believed to be only the second female director of a musical there in decades, if ever. (The other was the recently named Artistic Director Lynne Collins, who helmed “Into the Woods” last summer – her first time directing a musical anywhere in 27 years.)

“Oh, it’s a dream fulfilled,” said Van Oosbree, who was nominated for a Colorado Theatre Guild Henry Award for her direction of Cherry Creek Theatre’s “A Little Night Music” back in 2019 against a field with six men. In fact, only three of the past 24 directors nominated for Henry Awards have been women – which is more of a commentary on the Colorado theater landscape than the awards program.

“It’s not uncommon,” Van Oosbree said. “It just seems to be a boys club. But hopefully, that’ll change.” Of her first Arvada Center experience, she added, “It turned out great. This opportunity fell into my lap, and I just couldn’t be more happy about it. The process has been super, and people have been wonderful, and hopefully, it’ll become a regular thing.”

Her next gig is directing “Escape to Margaritaville” for Give Five Productions at the PACE Center, opening June 23 in Parker.

‘Sweeney Todd’ local credits high-school teacher

George Washington High School alumna Patricia Phillips, who is appearing in the ensemble of Broadway’s “Sweeney Todd” (starring Denver-born Annaleigh Ashford), shouted out her legendary high-school teacher on social media last week:

“Back in 1980, my drama teacher, Nancy Priest, decided she’d take the drama club to New York City for spring break. My mother convinced my father, who was raising four kids on an exceptionally tight postal worker’s salary, to spend the little extra they had to send me on this fateful journey. I saw the original production of ‘Sweeney Todd’ while on that drama club sojourn. I saw George Hearn and Dorothy Loudon at that performance. And I met Stephen Sondheim, viscerally. I could have never known what a pivotal night that was for me and for the entire course of my life. Forty-three years later, through more obstacles and good fortune than I can possibly enumerate, I am a cast member in the newest Broadway production of ‘Sweeney Todd.’ I guess ‘these things do happen.’ Grateful and humbled beyond measure.”

Phillips, who trained at Carnegie Mellon University, made Broadway history when she became the first actor of color to play Carlotta in “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Denver troupe busing to San Diego

Control Group Productions is bringing its True West Award-winning mobile adventure “The End” to the prestigious La Jolla Playhouse’s WOW Festival from April 27-30 for four already sold-out bus rides that Artistic Director Patrick Mueller and his team have re-tailored for San Diego passengers.

“The End”  takes audiences on a cyberpunk ride through a city transformed by the escalating climate catastrophe and inexorably rolling toward the brink of collapse. This new version is informed by the company’s dialogue with several San Diego environmental justice and climate action organizations.

‘The Book of Will,’ from Denver to London

“The Book of Will,” which began its life as a featured reading at the Denver Center’s 2016 Colorado New Play Summit, has now been staged by more than 50 companies nationwide (including last summer at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival), making it one of the most successful Denver Center launches in its history. (Nothing will likely ever touch “The Laramie Project.”)

Now Lauren Gunderson’s exploration of how Shakespeare’s plays ever got preserved and published is marking another major milestone: It is about to make its British (and European) premiere April 27 at the Queens Theatre Hornchurch. Can’t wait to read what East Londoners think of an American’s love letter to theater and the actors who saved Shakespeare.

Warner Brothers turns to Linton

Regan Linton, former artistic director of Denver’s disability-affirmative Phamaly Theatre Company, is one of six filmmakers who have been selected by Warner Bros. Studios to develop and shoot 20-minute short film adaptations that reimagine its iconic films through a diverse and inclusive lens. Linton has been assigned “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

The film project, which also includes “A Star is Born,” “Rebel Without a Cause” and others, celebrates the 100th anniversary of Warner Brothers. “Holy moly, I still can’t believe it,” Linton said.

Red Line names Greene Fellowshippers  

Three Denver-based artists have been selected as winners of the Greene Fellowship, which includes a $28,000 stipend, studio space, business training and network development. Selected from 82 applicants were Chelsea Kaiah, Max Maddox and Laura Shill. The fellowship, founded by Alex Blum and Hannah Agosta and administered by RedLine Contemporary Art Center, is to propel promising artists into self-sustaining careers.

And finally ….

Mahayla Rose of Boulder and Lisa Engelken of Denver have advanced to the regional finals of something called “Red Bull Dance Your Style Denver,” part of a global, mixed-style street dance competition that builds to one international winner. Engelken grew up taking classes at Denver’s internationally renowned Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, where she now teaches. She got her start in street dancing through a workshop offered by Denver’s Bboy Factory in 2017. The next round pairs 16 competitors dancing one-on-one at 5 p.m. Saturday night (April 22) at Summit, a live music venue at 1902 Blake St. The audience determines the winners. Tickets are $10 at livenation.com. The world final will be held Nov. 4 in Frankfurt.