Brenda Lynn Bynum
James Jenner and Karen Gruber Ryan in Oasis Theatre Company’s February 2018 production of David Mamet’s The Water Engine.
Every time we here at SFR begin to think, "Okay, this must be it—this must be the apex of awesomeness for Santa Fe theater!" we are once again blown out of the water. In 2017, we saw new theater companies, events and partnerships spring up on the regular, and progress in 2018 shows no signs of slowing.
But how best to keep abreast of all the news? First of all, SFR is dedicated to keeping theater happenings in our mobile-friendly events calendar, so check there if you need something fun to do any given weekend. And we do mean any given weekend—save the first bit of January, every single weekend of the year includes at least one, if not as many as five, theatrical productions in Santa Fe. Pick up a new print copy of the paper each Wednesday.
Beyond that, the definite must-sign-up-for newsletter is that of the aptly named Theatre Santa Fe. Founded and presided over by local actor, director and producer Janet Davidson, the org not only runs the most complete theater website in town, but it sends a weekly e-mail to let folks know what's imminently onstage, what's in the wings and what auditions or workshops you need to sign up for.
Theatre Santa Fe is an alliance of 22 local theater companies (and that number often ticks up). In September 2017, it hosted the first-ever Santa Fe Theatre Walk in the Siler-Rufina neighborhood. This year's Theatre Walk is scheduled in the same neighborhood at 3 pm on Saturday Sept. 15, and features scenes from plays that you may have missed or that are coming up, improv workshops open to all, fun stuff for kids and more. Last year's party was entirely free and entertained about 600 attendees, and we're pretty sure it's going to become an annual don't-miss event.
Another of our favorite projects is Talking Theatre Live, a series of ultra-digestible, super-casual 30-minute video interviews conducted by local director and actor Scott Harrison. Inspired by Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Harrison had a pretty simple concept: He gets his theater friends in front of the camera and they shoot the breeze about the craft. Anyone who's ever seen two affable actors chat knows that this is an entertaining time. Follow Talking Theatre Live through Harrison's theater company's Facebook page, Ironweed Productions or theatresantafe.org (under the "Community" tab).
A company to keep an eye on in the coming year is definitely Oasis Theatre Company. 'Twas founded in New York City in 1988 and moved to Santa Fe in 2017, at which time Artistic Director Brenda Lynn Bynum and Managing Director James Jenner decided to load up a bunch of trailers with all their costumes, sets, props, lights and curtains (essentially everything it takes to run a theater, except the building itself) and move to New Mexico. The company quickly set to work producing approachable and polished productions of classic plays (think Chekhov, Mamet and Voltaire). They're putting up a production of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya in October 2018 and, given the caliber of their productions here so far, we couldn't be more psyched.
Much More
We couldn't possibly pay equal attention to all the shows you should see in the coming year, so we'll have to settle for the highlights for the rest of 2018. This is by no means a complete list of what Santa Fe theaters will offer audiences, so keep your ear to the ground and keep sfreporter.com/cal bookmarked.
The Santa Fe Playhouse is probably gonna freak everyone out like crazy with The Rocky Horror Show June 14-July 1. Last summer's musical, Cabaret, sold out and even added two performances, so you're gonna want to get Rocky Horror tix as soon as they're available (all the info's at santafeplayhouse.org). Plus, rumor has it that the playhouse is inviting a different guest narrator from the community each evening, and a certain theater writer from your favorite weekly newspaper just may be scheduled to appear. That's all we're sayin'.
This summer features not one, but two outdoor productions of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The first comes from the Santa Fe Shakespeare Society, running July 6-Aug. 12 in Monte del Sol Charter School's courtyard; if you wanna get your comparison glasses on, Shakespeare in the Garden then presents the play at (you guessed it) the Santa Fe Botanical Garden Aug. 17-Sept. 2.
And yes, Santa Fe is truly amazing, but we've been spinning our tires a bit and have also come to love our neighbor to the south. If you're down for an Albuquerque sojourn, Tricklock Company blows our minds pretty hard, and the Vortex is another go-to. Plus, hey folks—have you seen the inside of the not-so-aptly named Albuquerque Little Theatre? It's easy to forget there are auditoriums that large! So, yes, Santa Fe's scene pops off pretty hard, but if we have to share the spotlight with other New Mexico towns, ABQ keeps up with the best of 'em.
