Bailey Shaw, right, poses with her sister Fiona at Aspen High School's graduation Saturday. Shaw died suddenly on Tuesday and is remembered for her energy and passion for the performing arts.
The Aspen school district and theater community are mourning the loss of one of its rising stars too soon.
Bailey Shaw, who graduated from Aspen High a week ago, died suddenly and unexpectedly in New York City Tuesday evening in what is believed to be an accidental fentanyl overdose. She was 18 years old.
Bailey arrived in (New York) and was just excited to get her new life started, her father Daniel Shaw said by phone Thursday. She was one of the funniest people you could ever meet. She was an incredibly complex person who sometimes had difficulties but who really found her calling and her passion in theater, in her community.
Shaw, who had left Duncan Shaw, had just walked across the stage of the Michael Klein Music Tent last Saturday at the AHS graduation and left for New York to begin an exciting internship with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a non-profit fundraising organization. She was to help stage an event called Broadway Bares, a show for adults at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, wanting to work for a while before going to college.
It was to be the culmination of Shaw's work over the past year and before, making a lasting impression on the entire Theater Aspen/ASD theater program and Arts Campus At Willits operations, excelling at both behind the scenes and in front of the public in the entertainment landscape.
Getting your foot in the door that way, walking into the room is amazing, said Casey Trascik, technical director of the ASD theater. I've had people who, when I left college, went to New York and for a lot of them it was years before they could even touch Broadway or work off-Broadway. I feel like it really speaks to who Bailey was: when she walked into a room and when you met her and what she said, you knew this person was special and you wanted to take her in. photo.
Shaw has shown unparalleled enthusiasm for the performing arts and talent in all aspects, from behind-the-scenes work such as stage management and coordinating with artists and talent to performing herself, initially joining TACAW as a traveling magic performer during COVID.
Shaw was a student of magician Doc Eason, a longtime performer at the former John Denvers World-Famous Tower Comedy/Magic Bar in Snowmass. Eason called Shaw his star student.
(Shaw) was a gifted student who picked up everything I gave him like a sponge, Eason said. I have just delved into sleight of hand and have a wonderful library of contemporary magic tricks. Bailey just got a head start on me on the learning curve.
With Easons' connection, Shaw performed at Los Angeles' Magic Castle, a renowned private club just off Hollywood Boulevard. She was an alumna of Tannens Magic Camp in Pennsylvania.
Shaw was born in Aspen and attended local schools until eighth grade before going to boarding school in California. She spent her summers interning at TACAW and returned for her senior year at Aspen High.
After Baileys' death, Daniel Shaw sent an email to the high school to send a notification to the community, which was sent Wednesday morning. Her fellow graduates were already off campus after graduation, but her loss was still felt in the halls.
At Wednesday night's school board meeting, AHS Principal Sarah Strassburger observed a moment of silence during public comments and said the district had the Aspen Hope Center on campus for guidance.
Although she was only at Aspen High School for a short time, she had an incredible impact on her peers and teachers, Strassburger said via email Thursday. Her peers were so excited to see what she would accomplish, as was I. We are all heartbroken that his life was cut short; she had so many gifts to offer this world.
Bailey Shaw receives roses after directing the Theater Aspen/Aspen School District production of Anything Goes.
Strassburger said the district honored National Fentanyl Awareness Day, discussed overdoses and Narcan in its Drug and Alcohol Awareness Club and incorporated drug prevention education into its curriculum for students ninth grade.
Daniel Shaw and other sources noted how excited Bailey was for the next stage of her life. He said there was no evidence to suggest her death was anything other than an accident. An NYPD records request on the incident returned no records.
Shaw said he did not know where his daughter got the drugs that killed her whether she bought them in New York or brought them from Aspen and that he was not sure whether what were these drugs. However, he was certain that it was an accidental dose of fentanyl that caused his overdose, without yet having official results.
She was so enthusiastic about her life, Daniel Shaw said. She had dinner with friends that evening and was ready to go. There was no evidence that it was anything other than an accident. Fentanyl is everywhere and all it takes is one time, one mistake, one miscalculation and your life is over.
With this one mistake, a life full of promise for a goal: finding one's place in the world is gone.
For many of the sources the Aspen Daily News spoke with for this story, this aspect is one of the most difficult aspects of the tragedy.
It's so hard because I feel like in the time I knew Bailey, I watched her find her tribe in the world of theater and performing arts and find a group of people who understood, appreciated and valued her, Ryan Honey, Executive Director of TACAW. said. TACAW was part of that family of people who honored her for who she was, her perspective, her skills, and her talents, and it's just heartbreaking to see this accident shine a light on that.
Bailey Shaw was scheduled to begin interning in a Broadway production this week before her sudden death from what is believed to be an accidental fentanyl overdose.
This is not the first time fentanyl has had a tragic impact on school-aged children in the Roaring Fork Valley, and it likely won't be the last.
In Glenwood Springs, Cath Adams started an awareness group called Aperture of Hope after her daughter Emily overdosed on a fentanyl-laced Percocet pill she bought for a toothache. Aperture of Hope speaks to Valley schools on National Fentanyl Awareness Day in early May.
This is just my opinion, but (the local fentanyl situation) is definitely growing, but I hope that as we go to the schools, they will be more and more aware of it, Adams said. My goal behind this is not just for the kids, but also for the parents and not being afraid to have these conversations.
Aperture of Hope places purple flags on school campuses across the Roaring Fork Valley in May to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl.
Aperture of Hope has resources on its website, including information about fentanyl and overdose treatment, at ApertureOfHope.com. If you suspect someone is suffering from a drug overdose or fentanyl poisoning, call 911.
Shaw is survived by his father, mother Isa Catto and sister Fiona. Service plans have not yet been developed.
