A Summer Festival Series where the stories and spirit of our community take center stage.
This season, the Santa Fe Playhouse will present groundbreaking, genre-defying performances that push boundaries, challenge perspectives, and honor underrepresented communities.
FESTIVAL PASSES!
Introducing our STANDARD FESTIVAL PASS and our PREMIUIM FESTIVAL PASS!
Want an easy way to see all 8 different performances in the Festival AND get great perks? Check out our 505 Alive! Festival Pass! Just like a Season Flex Pass, our Festival Pass allows you to pre-plan your festival experience while also making it wallet-friendly!
STANDARD FESTIVAL PASS PERKS-
- SELECT 8 FESTIVAL PRESENTATIONS FOR THE PRICE OF 7!
- CHOOSE YOUR DATES / SHOWS!
- CHOOSE ANY STANDARD OR STANDARD PLUS SEATS AVAILBLE!
- GET A FREE TICKET TO OUR FESTIVAL KICK OFF PARTY!
PREMIUM FESTIVAL PASS PERKS-
- SELECT 8 FESTIVAL PRESENTATIONS FOR THE PRICE OF 7!
- CHOOSE YOUR DATES / SHOWS!
- CHOOSE ANY SEATS AVAILBLE!
- GET A FREE TICKET TO OUR FESTIVAL KICK OFF AND CLOSING PARTY!
OUR 505 ALIVE! LINEUP
The festival will generally feature performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30 PM, and Sundays at 2:00 PM.
JUNE 5th – 8th, Unbound: A Performance Ritual
By Dancing Earth Creations
UNBOUND is a performance ritual and community powered project that honors our GenĂzaro ancestors and uplifts their legacies. From the 1600s through the early 1900s, Native people of many tribes, often women and children, were captured and forced into New Mexicoâs slave labor economy and assimilated into Catholicism and Spanish culture.
These ancestors were captured from many different tribes & communities, including Apache, DinĂ©, Kiowa, Ute, Comanche, Pawnee, Hopi and Pueblo. They were given various identifiers: criada, cautivo, coyote, GenĂzaro. Descendants contextualize themselves and their communities within this legacy in distinct, place based ways. Some grew up learning the stories of who they come from and many of us did not. Yet, the fact remains that GenĂzaros and GenĂzaro communities continue to exist with vibrancy, tradition, diversity, nuance and querencia.
The director Sarah Hogland-GurulĂ© and collaborating artists Lupita Salazar and Gabriel Carrion-Gonzales are descendants of GenĂzaros and have created UNBOUND as a loving offering to their ancestors. They worked intimately with historical research, family stories, platicas with other descendants, generational memory and embodied research to create a visceral and informative experience about a history that is often left out of a contemporary understanding of New Mexico.
Content Advisory:
UNBOUND reckons with indigenous slavery, captivity and loss.
Cast / Crew:
Director/Performer: Sarah Hogland-Gurulé (she/her)
Core Collaborator/Performer: Lupita Salazar (she/her)
Core Collaborator/Performer: Gabriel Carrion-Gonzales (he/they)
Producer: Angel Guanajuato (any pronouns)
Runtime: 75 Minutes with an optional reception afterwards
JUNE 12th – 15th, Play. Write. Week!
A Week of Supporting New Work through Staged Readings
Directed by Leonard Madrid
Leonard Madrid is a New Mexican theatre artist with a specific focus on new works. He has received the Kennedy Center’s award for Latinx playwrights three times. His play “Cebollas” had its New Mexican premiere at the Santa Fe Playhouse in 2024. He recently produced the New Mexican New Works Festival at Eastern New Mexico University. Next year, his play “Cebollas” will run at the Vortex Theatre, and his play “Santa Beva” will premiere at Blackout Theatre in Albuquerque. Leonard is a proud member of the Artistic Core at Blackout Theatre in Albuquerque and an associate professor of theatre at Eastern New Mexico University.
Lithosphere Heart by Tatiana Isabel Gil, June 12 & June 14 at 7:30 PM.
A young woman, reckless in her pursuit of her deepest desires, learns how to love herself while reconciling the intersections of her identity as Queer, Catholic and Latina. Through a kaleidoscopic landscape of music, prayer, memory, art, and imagination punctuated by four love affairs, Lithosphere Heart chronicles the soaring heights and scarring lows of teenage Alejandraâs journey towards self-discovery and healing.
Content Advisory:
Self-harm, suicidal crisis
Tatiana Isabel Gil is a fat queer Panamanian femme with a passion for new play development, art that incites action, and decolonization as a form of healing. They are a University of New Mexico MFA in Playwriting graduate school drop out with a BFA in theater arts from Boston University. Recently, Tatianaâs dark comedy, Salve Maria was a semifinalist for the Eugene OâNeil Theater Conference. Her first full length play, Lithosphere heart was also named a semi-finalist for the Playwrightâs Realm scratch pad series. Tatianaâs work centers around âmaking the revolution irresistibleâ (Toni Code Bombara) by creating theatrical experiences that heal and decolonize our insides so that we are properly oriented to take action in building a free world rooted in collective liberation. What this looks like in their writing is creating pieces that are healing ceremonies and celebrations where QTBIPOC folks have nuanced, dignified, and juicy experiences with themselves, each other, and the earth. These stories usually live within worlds that contain magical elements, and different forms of storytelling structures like poetry, prose, dialogue, ceremony, and movement.
Achey Little Places by Rhiannon Frazier June 13 at 7:30 PM and June 15 at 2 PM.
It’s a very bad day. Or maybe it’s the end of the world. Kim and Gem are stuck in traffic and it seems like it might last forever. These two strangers get to know each other as the world burns around them because you can only play 20 Questions so many times.
Content Advisory:
Themes of grief and discussions of trauma surrounding family. Strong language is used.
Rhiannon Frazier is a creator based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They have been an avid supporter and creator of new works since 2016 when they took their first co-written show, EllieIda, on a fringe tour. Since then, she has continued to write and produce new works throughout the US. Rhiannon is happy as a writer, actor, and director, but is happiest when in the creation process. Part of a burgeoning theatre collective called MUD Theatre, Rhiannon is excited to see what happens with this wonderful group of artists.
JUNE 19TH – 22ND, Play. Write. Week! Part 2
A Week of Supporting New Work through Staged Readings, directed by Leonard Madrid
Frijolebeans by Raul Garza June 19 and June 21 at 7:30 PM.
When Gabriela dies suddenly, her grown children Rita, LucĂa, and Georgy battle for ownership of her final pot of frijoles. As the siblings quarrel, a series of frijol-guides manifests from the humble Country Crock container, provoking the siblings to re-examine their identity, privilege and Latinidad. In the end, Rita, LucĂa, and Georgy discover the richness of familia where they least expect it.
Content Advisory:
Themes of grief and the loss of a family member.
Raul Garza is a Latinx playwright who has drawn acclaim for telling stories that resound with authenticity and sense of place. He boldly explores the intersection of popular culture and cultural identity, and incorporates music, spirituality, and the power of nostalgia into works that span time and location.
When not writing, Raul vibes on kundalini yoga, devours pop culture, and travels beyond his means.
Amen. Namaste. Scene.
Moonman by Paul Esquibel June 20 at 7:30 PM and June 22 at 2 PM
Moonman is a coming of age phantasmagoria about identity, friendship, and love. Set in the years 2008 and 2015, a young man navigates his way into adulthood through chaotic relationships, depression, and drug use; all while catching glimpses of a surreal and magical existence just beyond his awareness.
Content Advisory:
References to drug use/lethal overdose, allusions to suicidal ideation.
Paul Esquibel is a writer, director, and actor working in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He holds a BFA in Theatre from the University of New Mexico, and has directed three plays for the university including two original works. Paul runs creative writing workshops around the city for various community centers. He enjoys reading, watching movies, playing video games, and spending time with his wife, their cat and two dogs.
JUNE 26TH – 29TH, TRUNK
by Riley Samuel Merritt
TRUNK is a one-man, interactive production that delves into the mind of a young artist reckoning with his approaching death. Written and performed by Riley Samuel Merritt, the play draws from over a decade of his personal writingsâpoetry, prose, and eight original songsâto examine the fragile intersections of identity, ambition, and connection. Inspired by the 15th-century morality play Everyman, TRUNK reimagines the age-old confrontation with mortality through the lens of a flawed, modern creative. While the narrative is not autobiographical, Merritt uses his own life as a vessel to explore the universal story of what it means to live truthfullyâand die honestlyâas an artist. Audience participation is central to the show, making each performance a shared act of reflection and storytelling. Viewers are invited to contribute their voices, reinforcing TRUNKâs core themes of community and collective memory. Ultimately, TRUNK is both a personal unpacking and a public offeringâa meditation on legacy, vulnerability, and the moral responsibility of the modern artist in a world that often forgets to listen.
Content Advisory:
Discussions of sexual themes and religious allusions. Strong language is used. This piece invites actor-led audience participation.
Riley Samuel Merritt is an actor, writer, and musician raised in Aztec, New Mexico. Riley graduated from New Mexico State University with a degree in musical theatre, and has spent his years since in Santa Fe, working with some of the finest companies in Northern New Mexico. Now ready to move to metropolitan Chicago, Riley has toured TRUNK across the country, and is finishing the tour where it began, back in Santa Fe. Thankful for the time he’s shared with the talented artists of the Southwest, his participation in 505 Alive! is a marked departure before a fond farewell.
JULY 3RD – JULY 6TH, The Mrs. Rochesters
by Alexandra Avila (with Ladies Disdain Productions)
Ladies Disdain Productions presents a bold reimagining of Jane Eyre that centers Jane and Bertha, reclaiming Berthaâs voice and humanity in a story that long erased her. This adaptation amplifies the experiences of women of color and challenges the racial and patriarchal structures within even beloved literature. At a time when women’s rights, particularly those of women of color, are constantly under threat, The Mrs Rochesters asks: Whose stories are told, whose pain is overlooked, and what does it mean to resist the roles society imposes?
Ladies Disdain Productions strives to build community and foster conversations by producing new works and reenvisioning classes from a queer, femme forward perspective. Theatre is inherently political, and we want to use the works we create to uplift and center marginalized voices and narratives.
Content Advisory:
sequences of intimacy and stage violence
JULY 10TH – 13TH, Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey
by Debra Ann Byrd
From her ancestral lineage to her arrival at a metaphorical crossroad, Debra Ann Byrd presents a tour-de-force journey of her living memoir in Becoming Othello: A Black Girlâs Journey. Shakespeare aficionados will love how she weaves the Bardâs words into her own, but one doesnât have to be a Shakespeare fan to appreciate Byrdâs poignant telling of her own story.
Interspersed with verses from Othello and dynamic song and speeches, Byrd bares her soul in this vulnerable, personal, and resonant story of perseverance, discovery, and unconditional love. Directed by Shakespeare & Company founder Tina Packer and written by and starring the Founding Artistic Director of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival Debra Ann Byrd.
Content Advisory:
The show discusses topics and personal stories of rape, trauma, and suicidal ideation. Themes of racism, class and gender are explored. Please be advised that a prop gun and gunshot sound cue will occur on stage during this play. These occurrences may not be suited for some audience members. Recommended for ages 13+.
Debra Ann Byrd is an award winning classically trained actress and producer who recently was named Writer-in-Residence at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Artist-in-Residence Fellow at the Folger Institute, and a Community Scholar Arts Fellow at Columbia University. She is the Founding Artistic Director of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival and an emerging playwright, who received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting from Marymount Manhattan College and completed advanced studies at The Public Theaterâs Shakespeare Lab, Shakespeare & Company and The Broadway Leagueâs Commercial Theatre Institute. Her classical roles for the stage include Queen Elizabeth in Richard III, Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals, Volumnia in Coriolanus, Cleopatra in Antony & Cleopatra, Othello in The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice, and Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest; the latter, for which she received Best Lead Actress and Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role nominations from AUDELCO and the NY Innovative Theatre Awards. Byrdâs career as an actor, producer, arts manager and business leader has been recognized with more than 20 awards and citations, including the NAACP Shirley Farmer Woman of Excellence Award, the LPTW Lucille Lortel Award and the Josephine Abady Award for Excellence in âProducing works that foster diversity.â
JULY 17TH – 20TH, Echo in the Canyon
by Dancing with Fire Productions
“Echo In The Canyon” a Native Theater Production is in honor of ceremonial theater to celebrate all Native and Indigenous performing artists across Turtle Island. To showcase all of our individual talents together in one space and empower our next generations to come. Each Act represents the four sacred directions: East, South, West and North.
Dancing With Fire Productions is a Native theater and performing arts company located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A vibrant and Native-led company dedicated to presenting Annual Native Theater Festivals, Film community events, a Native Theater youth program, and an International residency program for Native performing artists. Our productions explore diverse narratives, immersive storytelling, and thought-provoking ceremonial experiences through a Native lens.
Content Advisory:
The use of sage and cedar smoke. This piece is family friendly.
Cast / Crew:
Written by: Kim Gleason, Michael Lente, Ria Thundercloud, Sheldon Blackhorse, and Stanley Shunkamolah
Directed & Designed by: Kim Delfina Gleason (Diné)
Stage Managed by: Laura Sandova
Costumes by: Luna Frank (Diné)
Choreographed by: Ria Thundercloud (Ho-Chunk Nation/Sandia Pueblo)
Featuring Actors:
Debbie Smallcanyon (Diné), Michael Lente (Laguna Pueblo/Paguate Village), Ria Thundercloud (Ho-Chunk Nation/Sandia Pueblo), Sheldon Blackhorse (Diné), Stanley Shunkamolah (Kiowa/Osage/Pawnee/Comanche), Lasha Kirker (Laguna/Acoma/Zuni Pueblo and Mexican/Hispanic Heritage) and Jordan Padilla-Lidy.
Native youth actors: Oliver Cordova (Diné) and Ciara Yannabah Gurule (Diné)
Womenâs Traditional Dancing by: Niko DeRoin (Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw)
Credit:Â photo by Kim Delfina Gleason
JULY 26TH & 27TH, A Lunar Rhapsody (Workshop)
by José Rivera
A captivating play about a group of strangers at a Brooklyn basketball court, unknowingly
manipulated by inter-dimensional beings during a lunar eclipse.
JosĂ© Rivera (Playwright) is a recipient of two Obie Awards for Marisol and References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot, both produced by the Public Theater. Plays seen at the Goodman include Cloud Tectonics, Boleros for the Disenchanted, Massacre (Sing to Your Children), Another Word for Beauty, Sueño and The Untranslatable Secrets of Nikki Corona, which appeared as part of New Stages. Other plays include Sonnets for an Old Century (Nuyorican Poetâs CafĂ©, Steppenwolf Theatre); School of the Americas (Public Theater); Brainpeople (ACT/San Francisco); Adoration of the Old Woman (Sundance Theatre Lab, INTAR, La Jolla Playhouse); The Maids (INTAR); The Kiss of the Spiderwoman (Menier Chocolate Factory, London); Each Day Dies with Sleep (Circle Rep, Berkeley Rep, Orange Tree Theatre, London); Lovesong (Imperfect) (14th Street Y, directed by the author); The Street of the Sun (Mark Taper Forum); and The House of Ramon Iglesia (Ensemble Studio Theatre). His screenplay The Motorcycle Diaries was nominated for 2005 Best Adapted Screenplay Oscarâmaking him the first Puerto Rican writer ever nominated for an Academy Awardâas well as a BAFTA and Writers Guild Award and received top screenwriting awards in Argentina and Spain. Other films include On the Road, Trade and The 33. Rivera co-created and produced Eerie, Indiana, (NBC) and was a consultant and staff writer on Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (Showtime). He has written 18 episodes of the Netflix series based on One Hundred Years of Solitude. Rivera wrote and directed the short films The Fall of a Sparrow and The Civet. His latest screenplay is A Song for the Recycled Orchestra. He has served on the boards of TCG and the Sundance Institute and was a Creative Advisor at Sundance Screenwriting Labs in Utah, Jordan and India. Rivera recently completed directing a zoom film production of Sonnets for an Old Century for Paula Vogelâs Bard at the Gate.