Santa Fe Playhouse is a non-profit professional theater based in Santa Fe New Mexico. Founded in 1919 by American novelist and essayist Mary Hunter Austin as The Santa Fe Little Theatre[1] and incorporated in 1922, it is “the oldest continuously running theatre west of the Mississippi.”[2] The theater found a permanent home in 1962 located at 142 East De Vargas Street in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the heart of the Barrio De Analco Historic District.
| Formation | 1922 |
|---|---|
| Type | Theatre group |
| Location |
|
Artistic director(s) | Robyn Rikoon |
Notable members | Mary Austin, Argos McCallum, Vaughn Irving, Richard Block. |
| Website | santafeplayhouse.org |
Santa Fe Playhouse is currently led by Artistic Director Robyn Rikoon[3] and Executive Director Colin Hovde.
History edit
The Santa Fe Little Theatre was founded by writer and social activist Mary Hunter Austin (1868-1934). Originally called the Santa Fe Players, it held its first performances in 1919[4] and incorporated in 1922. Austin took her cue from the national Little Theater movement, which provided homes for intimate, progressive, and experimental works outside of the profit-driven corporate theater world.
The first production, on February 14 and May 13, 1919 were in the St. Francis Auditorium at the newly constructed New Mexico Museum of Art.
The Santa Fe Players performed in temporary venues around Santa Fe, including tents at the rodeo grounds and makeshift shelters on the Plaza. Some early melodramas — still an annual tradition — were presented at an outdoor market that’s now a hotel parking lot on Old Santa Fe Trail.
In 1962 the Santa Fe Players signed a lease and renovated an old livery stable in Barrio de Analco into a theater space which is the current venue at 142 E. De Vargas St. Over the years, the venue has been called many things, including Santa Fe Little Theater and Santa Fe Community Theater. In 1997, it became the Santa Fe Playhouse.
Centennial Season[5] (2022) edit
THE EFFECT written by Lucy Prebble, directed by Robyn Rikoon
March 12–Sunday, April 3
Edward Albee’s A DELICATE BALANCE directed by L. Zane Jones
April 23–Sunday, May 15
EVERYBODY written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (director TBD)
June 18–Sunday, July 10
SKELETAL SERIES
July 20–Saturday, Aug. 13 – exact dates TBA
SANTA FE FIESTA MELODRAMA written by courageous, anonymous locals, directed by Andrew Primm and Eliot Fisher
Aug. 27–Sunday, Sept. 4: Santa Fe Playhouse
Sept 8–Sunday, Sept 18: local tour, TBA
THE MOUNTAINTOP written by Katori Hall, director TBD
Sept. 24–Sunday, Oct. 16
AN ILIAD written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, performed by Patrick Osteen
Oct. 27–Saturday, Nov. 12: local bar tour TBA
A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD written by Robert and Willie Reale, directed by Rob Lutfy and Robyn Rikoon
Dec. 3–Sunday, Dec. 25
SWAIA PERFORMANCES
References edit
- ^ Cline, Lynn (2007). Literary Pilgrims: The Santa Fe and Taos Writers' Colonies, 1917-1950. UNM Press. p. 155. ISBN 9780826338518.
- ^ "The Santa Fe Playhouse".
- ^ Burke, Zoe. "BWW Feature: The Santa Fe Playhouse Announces New Artistic Director: Vaughn Irving to Pass the Baton to Robyn Rikoon". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
- ^ "Celebrating a century of theater in Santa Fe - Albuquerque Journal". www.abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
- ^ "Santa Fe Playhouse Announces Centennial Season". ladailypost.com. Retrieved 2022-04-08.