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Theatre Spotlight By Robert Woltman Fusing The Best Only five years old, Fusion Theatre Company stages quality fare in an offbeat setting. courtesy of Zygote Pro-Creations, Inc From the Fusion Theatre Company’s production of Anna Christie From Bedbound If an occasional train rumbles by outside Albuquerque’s Cell Theatre in mid-performance, the audience takes it in stride. It’s part of the quirky identity and a nod to history that characterizes both the city and the Fusion Theatre Company, whose home is a converted produce warehouse from early-Albuquerque’s railroad heyday. Dennis Gromelski, one of Fusion’s founders, fell in love with the trackside, circa-1913 building the moment he stepped inside, back in late 2000. He was searching for a shop space for his company, Zygote Pro-Creations, Inc., which designs, fabricates and manages event environments for corporate clients worldwide. Though Zygote’s head office had been in Albuquerque for several years, their shop facility was still in New Orleans, where Gromelski had started the business. The frequent commute, however, was finally taking its toll; Gromelski wanted to consolidate his operations. With a longtime commitment to historic preservation Gromelski knew that although the dilapidated warehouse was smaller than he’d wanted, it had potential — but not only for his business. Passionate about the performing arts, he saw its promise as a theatre as well. An outlandish idea to some, but Albuquerque can inspire such plans. Gromelski felt it when he first came in 1990. “I discovered that it was the kind of place where if you were serious about what you wanted to do, you could create new paths,” he recalls. That might have something to do with Albuquerque’s geographic grandeur. Sprawling across the broad, mile-high desert valley of the Rio Grande, flanked by the 10,000-foot summits of the Sandia M o u n t a i n s directly to From Summer and Smoke the east and a low mesa topped by five eroded, extinct volcanoes to the west, New M e x i c o ’ s l a r g e s t city allows Richard K. Hogle you to stretch — physically, p r o f e s s i o n - ally and artistically. Furthermore, A l b u q u e r q u e i s emerging from Santa Fe’s shadow as an arts destination in its own right. Here the theatre arts are thriving. According to Gromelski’s last count, there are 20 groups staging everything from musical comedies and cabaret to avant-garde, puppetry and improv. Fusion has distinguished itself as the city’s (and the state’s) only professional Equity company. Now beginning its sixth year, Fusion and the Cell have come a long way since the afternoon Gromelsky started poking around that dusty warehouse. He signed a lease in February 2001 and immediately started renovations. By September 2001 (two weeks after 9/11) Gromelski, his wife Jacqueline Reid and third co-founder Laurie Thomas had filed for 501(c)(3) non-profit status for Fusion, and on Valentine’s Day, 2002, they opened their first show, Closer by Patrick Marber. Since that time, the building’s transformation has continued. Zygote’s shop eventually moved to another space about a mile away, large enough for its own needs and for Fusion-related construction, which often takes advantage of leftovers and recycled materials from Zygote’s jobs. There is also enough room there for rehearsal space. The Cell, seen from its exterior with no bright lights or marquee, presents a low-key image. Patrons enter off the street, at the front end of the long, narrow, one-story structure that edges the sidewalk. Past the compact lobby, furnished with cushy sofas and chairs and local artwork, and up a short, narrow flight of stairs, is the performance space: an adaptable black rectangle with moveable stage and audience risers. A lighting grid hangs from the comparatively low ceiling. In the basement (rare in Albuquerque buildings) are the well-appointed dressing rooms and an almost luxurious greenroom with a bar and pool table. (Gromelski often jokes that the bathrooms often elicit more favorable audience responses than the productions. However, Richard K. Hogle 20 April 2007 • www.stage-directions.com
courtesy of Zygote Pro-Creations, Inc Fusion does Edward Albee with this production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf one patron did memorably remark: “Be proud. This was far better than the original production I saw in New York.”) A particular architectural feature Gromelski points to with pride is the theatre’s set of large sliding doors leading directly to the long exterior loading dock. <strong>Stage</strong> designs for some productions have placed the performers directly in front of the doors, pushed wide open to the often balmy Albuquerque night. The Cell’s flexible space and indoor/ outdoor accessibility via the loading dock, with its added roof, ramp and railings have made the theatre one of the most attractive multi-purpose venues in town. Music concerts account for 170 nights of programming per year, while everything from film showings to weddings to memorial services takes another 25. Noteworthy among those are “Conversations,” Screen Actors Guild-sponsored SRO events that have brought in stars such as Sir Ben Kingsley, Alan Arkin and Cate Blanchett to the Cell’s intimate, comfortable space for unscripted, candid discussions. But the core of the Cell’s schedule is the 90 nights per year devoted to productions that have solidified Fusion’s reputation for excellence. As Gromelski says, “What’s most important is what we put on stage.” Their success can be measured by responses such as that from critic Steven Robert Allen in the local Weekly Alibi: “During its short but impressive five-year lifespan, the company has focused on quality rather than trendiness and the results, quite frankly, have always been spectacular.” LiveArtsToday.com agrees, with its praise for Fusion’s 2005 production of Sam Shepherd’s A Lie of the Mind, as “by every measure of dramatic art...in a class by itself, again illustrating the highest standards of professional excellence for shows performed by Fusion.” With five years of presenting both groundbreaking and classic works that are strikingly well directed and acted, as well as staged with dynamic and imaginative design, Fusion continues to shine brightly in Albuquerque’s cultural constellation. Its professional commitment to art, to the local theatre community, and to the city of Albuquerque as a whole will assuredly continue to grow with its reputation. To learn more about Fusion, visit www. fusionabq.org. Robert Woltman has lived in Albuquerque for 30 years. He writes poetry and nonfiction and is a frequent contributor to the Albuquerque Sunday Journal book page. Gear Alert Check out the lighting and sound equipment used by Fusion Theatre Company. Lighting 8 12” ColorBlasters LED 6 Par 64 LEDs (RGB) 8 Par 36 LEDs (RGB) 8 6” Fresnels 1 2k Fresnel 4 ETC Source Four Ellipsoidals 35 Par 64s 12 Par 38s 60 Par 16s 4 Laser Media fiber optic motors 2 R40 Strip (3 Circuits) 1 Horizon Build-201 software 2 Behringer LC2412 4 2.4k x 8 NSI NRD-9000 dimmers Audio 1 24-Channel Behringer SL-2442FX-Pro 1 8-Channel Behringer UB1204PX-Pro 2 Peavey 2kW SP-4 4 JBL Eon-10G 2 QSC-RMX-2450 Amplifiers 2 Pioneer CDJ-100S Decks 2 Audio Technica ATW-202 Mics www.stage-directions.com • April 2007 21
Page 1: SALUTES NEW YORK CITY • A TALE OF
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Page 10 and 11: www.stage-directions.com Publisher
Page 12: By Iris Dorbian In The Greenroom th
Page 15 and 16: Barbara Hauptman, executive directo
Page 18 and 19: Light On The Subject By Kevin M. Mi
Page 20 and 21: On Broadway By Bryan Reesman Good C
Page 24 and 25: School Spotlight By Robert Woltman
Page 26 and 27: Vital Stats By Kevin M. Mitchell Fr
Page 28 and 29: Theatre Space By Solange De Santis
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Page 42 and 43: Special New York City Section Merce
Page 44 and 45: Resource Roundup Back It Up Looking
Page 46 and 47: Biz Talk By Jacob Coakley Once More
Page 48 and 49: The Play’s the Thing By Stephen P
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