Step 1- Wake the hell up, no matter how good that dream was.
Nik Walker
Step 2- Thank your humidifier for protecting you from the high altitude dryness all night.
Nik Walker
Step 3- Don’t leave your bed till you’ve emailed your fiancée…
Nik Walker
…and watched your morning movie.
Nik Walker
Step 4- Pair your light breakfast with some educational reading.
Nik Walker
Step 5: Don’t overlook the beauty of your apartment’s lobby
Nik Walker
Step 6- Bring your notepad for notes.
Nik Walker
Step 7- Listen to every word that director Carl Cofield and stage manager Rachel Ducat tell you.
Nik Walker
Step 8- Don’t get distracted by how comfy William Oliver Watkins (Kareem) and Morocco Omari (Jim Brown) look sitting in those chairs…
Nik Walker
…or whatever Colby Lewis (Cassius Clay) is laughing at…
Nik Walker
…or how isolated in his time out corner Jason Delane (Malcolm X) is.
Nik Walker
Step 9- If York Walker (Jamaal) has any questions, try to explain it to him as best you can.
Nik Walker
Step 10- Remember how awesome your SM Phoebe Sacks is.
Nik Walker
Step 11- Never turn down some chillage with the boys.
Nik Walker
Step 12- Absorb that Vitamin D whenever possible.
Nik Walker
Step 13- Resist the temptation to indulge in all the wonderful things that are legal in Denver...at least not now, you got a show to do.
Nik Walker
Step 14- Acknowledge how cool it is to have your show up on a digital billboard
Nik Walker
Step 15- Try some good, clean organic food from a local restaurant. Love the taste, but miss NYC pizza immediately afterwards.
Nik Walker
Step 16- Take a midday nap while revisiting one of your old standby shows.
Nik Walker
Step 17- Get up, get back to the theater, and recall that no matter how far west you’ve gone…
Nik Walker
…home is never that far away.
Nik Walker
Step 18- Take some time to become one with your set.
Nik Walker
Step 19- Don’t be afraid to get a little dressed up….
Nik Walker
…and go to the pre-show talkback. Always good to get them on your side before the show.
Nik Walker
Step 20- Don’t be scared of the love note an audience member left you from the night before. They’re just being…friendly….
Nik Walker
Step 21- Design your dressing room station just the way you like it.
Nik Walker
Step 22- Bask in the badassness of your props.
Nik Walker
Step 23- Give those new shoes a spin before you step onstage.
Nik Walker
Step 24- Admire Colby for all the research he’s done.
Nik Walker
Shave yo’ face.
Nik Walker
Give your dresser the respect he deserves, dude works hard.
Nik Walker
Step 27- Don’t punch Colby, even when he picks up props that aren’t his.
Nik Walker
Step 28- Have a staring contest with Will….
Nik Walker
…or follow Morocco around for a while. Whatever loosens you up.
Nik Walker
Step 29- Make sure you bother Natalie the intern.
Nik Walker
Step 30- Appreciate the fake scar she put on her hand.
Nik Walker
Step 31- Get in the zone with your pump-up tunes….
Nik Walker
…then step into Jocelyn’s den of hair awesomeness to get all wigged up!
Nik Walker
Step 32- Wig on, cigarette in- look how ready you are.
Nik Walker
Step 33- Take one last look at the Denver night- almost show time.
Nik Walker
Step 34- Don’t disrupt Jason while he’s talking to himself.
Nik Walker
Step 35- Read your comics. Get your steam on.
Nik Walker
Step 36- Don’t worry. You’re ready for this. Miami awaits.
Nik Walker
Step 37- When relaxing after the show, punch Colby for being so damn creepy.
Nik Walker
Follow Walker on Twitter at @NikkyWalks.
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"This slice-of-life dramedy that the LA Times calls imagines what occurred the night of Cassius Clay’s historic win over heavyweight champ Sonny Liston. Declining a glamorous party, Clay celebrates with his friends: activist Malcom X, singer Sam Cooke and football player Jim Brown. Each man argues his vision for what it means to be black in 1964, culminating in an early morning announcement from Clay that will shock the world."
Carl Cofield directs a cast that features Jason Delane as Malcolm X, Walker as Sam Cooke, Morocca Omari as Jim Brown, Colby Lewis as Cassius Clay, York Walker as Jamal and William Oliver Watkins as Kareem.
Performances continue through April 19.
Single tickets for start at $41. To purchase, call Denver Center Ticket Services at 303.893.4100. Buy and print online at www.denvercenter.org.
