Cultivating Empathy: Helen Hand on Legacy, Theater, and the Firehouse Stage

Inside a converted fire station in Denver’s Lowry neighborhood, the Firehouse Theater Company has spent more than twenty years creating intimate theatrical experiences rooted in community and connection. The theater was founded by John Hand, who envisioned the space as a creative extension of Colorado Free University.

After John’s passing, his sister Helen Hand stepped into the role of artistic director, despite having no prior theater experience. A clinical psychologist by training, Hand says her background helped shape the theater’s mission of “cultivating empathy,” using storytelling to help audiences see the world through the experiences of others.

Today, Firehouse Theater continues that mission with the world premiere of H-E-Double Crooked Letter, a play blending supernatural folklore with themes of family, heritage, and belonging. Hand says the intimate setting of the theater allows audiences and performers to share a unique emotional connection, creating what she calls a “co-witnessing” experience where stories unfold just feet away from the audience.

For Hand, the theater is more than a performance space, it is also a living legacy of her brother’s vision, and a reminder that collaboration and storytelling can bring communities closer together.