Zoe Burke - Page 3

Towards the end of her one woman show, Hidden Treasure: A Georgian Immigrant's Story, Ketevan Kharshiladze Ussery speaks about a workplace conflict. She details her anger and frustration with the given situation, and then, after a realization, about attaining peace. 'This is theatre,' she simply says of the conflict, and indeed, life, and with that new perspective, proceeds on. Though Ms. Ussery's show details her process of moving from Georgia to the states, and eventually El Rito, New Mexico, the way in which she describes her experiences - through the lens of someone who has dedicated their life to the theatre - is simple proof that the human experience transcends national borders.

According to drama teacher and director Brad Fairbanks, Santa Fe Preparatory School (more commonly known as Santa Fe Prep) drama may be one of Santa Fe's best kept secrets. After watching final dress for this weekend's production of Mamma Mia, I'm inclined to agree.

I am, in general, a huge fan of new works. There just seems to be this sense of vitality and urgency in original plays - the feeling that someone HAD to tell this story; and that kind of passion and need for expression has led to some of my favorite theatrical experiences. As of last night, Just Say It Theater's production of The Big Heartless can be added to that list. This new play, written by local playwright Dale Dunn, was a semi-finalist in the 2016 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to see it in Santa Fe, cast with local talent and directed by the always excellent Lynn Goodwin.

There is something so incredibly special about watching a group of highly disciplined young people coming together to create something bigger than themselves. The collaborative nature of high school drama is like none other, and particularly in programs with strong, knowledgeable leadership (such as the program at Santa Fe High School, led by director Reed Meschefske), the results speak for themselves.

The Adobe Rose Theatre (ART) and the International Shakespeare Center Santa Fe (ISC) are pleased to announce that the ISC will be taking over the operations of the Adobe Rose Theatre at 1213B Parkway Drive, Santa Fe, NM. 

The Oasis Theatre Company will present William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale opening Thursday, January 31st and running through Sunday, February 17th.

'Some people's lives, they seem to go easy, don't they? In a straight line, floatin' down a river with the breeze at their backs. Others, like mine, like yours, well, not such a straight line. There's no explaining it or trying to figure it out…It just is. It's big. It's big and it's heartless.'

2018 was an amazing year for theatre in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and if the proposed seasons for area theatres are any indication, 2019 is going to be a great one, too. From classic plays to super contemporary ones, and of course, a decent amount of musicals, this year has a lot for theatregoers to look forward to. Here are some productions I'm particularly excited about in the coming months.

WEST END PRODUCTIONS' 2019 season kicks off on February 22nd with TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT. Four of Albuquerque's favorite actors - Kenneth Ansloan, Tim Crofton, Tim MacAlpine and Harry Zimmerman, under the direction of Cy and Jane Hoffman, play the many characters, including the central figure, sometimes simultaneously! Four middle-aged men, each dressed in a black suit, with a black tie, sporting a black bowler hat and a red carnation in his jacket button-hole, sit facing the audience. It is not the most exciting way to start a theatrical journey, but Scottish playwright Giles Havergal's sly adaptation of Graham Greene's comic novel turns stylistic economy into a stylish statement, as it tells the odyssey of a very dull retired bank manager who reunites with his seventy-five-year-old aunt at his mother's cremation, which leads to a considerable change in his life and much excitement.

Blue Raven Theatre and Warehouse 21 present a one-day new play festival - Fearless Female Voices. Fearless Female Voices, which is occurring in honor of International Female Voices Day, will feature eight new plays by Santa Fe's female playwrights.

'I don't think the world likes women much,' Hester La Negrita says to her case worker during the first act of Aux Dog's production of Suzan Lori-Parks's In The Blood. The play (which drew connections to the #metoo movement, as pointed out in a program note from Artistic Director Victoria J Liberatori) was a harrowing and emotional study in the ways in which a disadvantaged woman can be abused by the system that is, theoretically, in place to help her.

Actress, playwright, and director Talia Pura's new play, Perfect Love, shows, through a series of highly engaging vignettes, that love is a sometimes wonderful, sometimes painful, often complex, multifaceted thing. Pura, along with actors Amanda Cazares, Tyler Nunez, and Hamilton Turner, each took on nearly a dozen roles in this enjoyable production demonstrating love in many of its manifestations.

In The Blood, a subversive riff on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, was nominated for a Pulitzer and was written by Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur Genius Grant Award Winner, Suzan-Lori Parks.

The Adobe Rose Theatre, a 501(c)3 non profit corporation in Santa Fe, has announced a grass roots fundraising campaign to achieve its mandate and to keep the lamps burning and the doors open to the community.

Oscar Wilde's 1895 satire, The Importance of Being Earnest, is arguably his most popular, and almost definitely his most widely performed, work. Director Barbara Hatch's director's note references the daunting nature of taking on the challenge of producing such a beloved and well known work; it is my opinion that, with few minor issues, Ms. Hatch and her cast more than did the piece justice.

Now in its third year, the Youth Shakespeare Festival features students from Academy of Technology and the Classics, Capital High, Eldorado Community School, Mandela International School, McCurdy Charter School, New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe High, Santa Fe Indian School, Santa Fe Prep, and the Upstart Crows of Santa Fe.

Perfect Love explores the imperfections of relationships, proving once again that love is usually messy and far from perfect. The construction of this full-length comedy explores the theme of failing relationships from differing perspectives and character combinations. Four actors play multiple roles in stand alone vignettes. (not suitable for young children)

During the month of November, the Oasis Theatre Company in Santa Fe will be presenting a mini festival of David Mamet plays in their newly renovated space. The main event is a double header production of The Shawl and The Sanctity of Marriage, but there will also be staged readings of Reunion, The Woods, and A Life in The Theatre on select Monday evenings.

Santa Fe is known for its art. It is widely known that the City Different is home to world class visual and performing arts; it is also home to a school that educates high schoolers striving to be part of the next generation of world class artists. That school is the New Mexico School for the Arts, and I had the privilege recently to sit in on a rehearsal of their production of You Can't Take It With You, as well as chat with director and faculty member Barbara Hatch about the show and NMSA in general.