DCPA says farewell to retiring Head of Acting, Larry Hecht

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts said farewell to retiring Head of Acting Larry Hecht on Monday night with a celebration that drew past and current acting students from their 20s into their 70s. Hecht taught hundreds of students over 18 years at the DCPA, ranging from beginners to master’s degree candidates.

“I consider your passion and utterly endless commitment to what you do, day in and day out, to be a rare and incredible gift,” said Hecht’s successor, Timothy McCracken. “Not only to students, but to all of us around you.”

Hecht had a major role on the faculty of the DCPA’s now-closed National Theatre Conservatory (NTC) masters degree program. His many on-stage credits for the DCPA Theatre Company have included A Skull in Connemara, The Pillowman, Glengarry Glen Ross, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and more. He also played Mark Rothko in Curious Theatre’s multiple award-winning Red.

Hecht and wife Ashlee Temple (a DCPA Teaching Artist and local director) are moving to California. Read more from John Moore about Hecht’s career and retirement in Denver Centerstage.

(Photo: Larry Hecht is playing Doctor Faustus in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival‘s “Wittenberg” through Aug. 9. Photo by Jennifer M. Koskinen.)