Rio Grande Theatre’s Restored Magnificence
Renaissance Faire is Doña Ana Art Council’s fun(d)raiser
Marjorie Lilly - Deming Reporter
The Dona Ana Arts Council has been a very busy supporter of the arts in Las Cruces for years, and one of its biggest projects has been the restoration of the old Rio Grande Theater on the downtown mall.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/daac_img01.jpg align=left hspace=5>A woman taking a tour of the theater said her husband remembers the place well. “He used to come here when he was a kid to go to the movies,” she says. “He’d bring 25 cents – 10 cents for the ticket and the rest was for the popcorn and soda.”
“People used to be able to get in with a milk cap from Price’s Creamery,” says David Edwards, Program Coordinator for the Rio Grande Theatre and its parent group Dona Ana Arts Council. David moved to Las Cruces in 1965, when he was 12, and recalls when you could get in with a milk carton. “Everybody remembers the milk caps, they’d been doing it forever.”
Las Cruces residents have many memories of the Rio Grande Theater: They may remember their first date with their spouse, or the movies and vaudeville shows there. An oral history project about theater was conducted by Kevin McIlvoy of the NMSU English Department, and a CD made as a fundraiser .
When the original Rio Grande Theatre was built in 1926, it was the most outstanding of the three theatres in town. The restored theater is “the only remaining twostory adobe theatre in the southwest,” according to Edwards.
It has been restored for just a little over a year, with the gala opening September 16-18, 2005. The ceremonies including a special screening of the very first movie ever shown in the theater, Mare Nostrum, with Alice Terry and Antonio Moreno, with live organ accompaniment. The theater has been bustling with activity since that date, with lectures, readings, recitals, theater productions, rock bands, country singers, baile folklorico, modern, ballet, tap and jazz dance from the NMSU Dance Department, poets, and films.
There are free events, like the chamber music concerts every other Tuesday at 5:30pm, featuring the Las Cruces Friends of Chamber Music, and free gallery space for local artists in the front of the building. Story-telling for children takes place in the auditorium on Saturday mornings. The Arts Council is a non-profit organization, and all proceeds go toward promoting the arts.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/daac_img02.jpg align=right hspace=5>During the restoration many features of the theatre had to be changed, restored, or eliminated. Edwards describes how the stage lost its orchestra pit but was extended out at the front, and how the balcony was then tilted downwards so spectators could see the whole stage. There are acoustic panels now where elaborate tapestries once hung with representations of King Carlos of Spain, Spanish knights with falcons on their arms, and Aztec warriors.
“There’s not a bad seat in the house,” says Edwards, “but the balcony seats are especially good, I think, in terms of acoustics.” Originally there were rectangular vents on the lower walls plus imitation vents painted to make the place look well ventilated. Artist Alex Rosa restored decorative murals on the walls and re-painted all the vents, both real and fake. The arched ventilation spaces on the walls are now part of the sound system.
A whole new system of catwalks and a fly-loft above the stage were installed to drop scenery and curtains from above, and dressing rooms and a loading dock were added behind the stage. New restrooms with striking black-andwhite tiling were constructed, and there is a long ramp built according to ADA codes.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/knight_sword_stone.gif align=left hspace=5>Workers and DAAC directors were surprised when they tore down the flat, modern aluminum and plywood façade that had been there for years to find an ornate old façade that had been hidden. They discovered bas-reliefs of violins and leaves with the original paint still faintly showing, as well as rosettes and other decorative elements still intact. Ornate, colored art-deco tiles embellish the front pillars. The facade is still a work-in-progress until the old Main Street is restored in the current mall renovation project.
The DAAC now has offices on the second floor of the theater, overlooking the mall and the large mosaic piece by Anthony Pennock is being moved to another location. DAAC is a clearinghouse of information on the arts and brings performing artists to Las Cruces. It also promotes the arts in education and gets professional artists to train art teachers in the public schools.
Their largest fundraiser of the year is the Renaissance Arts Faire, on Nov. 4 and 5 (Sat. 10am-5pm and Sun. 10am-4pm). This year is the 35th Anniversary of the event, and special commemorative posters, T-shirts, and small stuffed red dragons will be on sale. A $5 donation is requested as an entrance fee.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/knight_with_shield_on_horse.gif align=right hspace=5>“It’s basically a juried art show,” says Edwards, with about 160 artists planned for this year. “We’re not really sticklers for authenticity compared with other Renaissance fairs in the country.” Even so several Renaissance re-enactment groups will be on hand. The group called the Merry Court of Sherwood will bring different cultures to the event with Peruvian, Native American and African musicians. “There will be constant entertainment,” says Edwards, and the usual “rats on a stick” made of chicken and “dragon legs” (a.k.a. turkey drumsticks) will be sold, besides other food. He expects about 35,000 visitors, and 350 volunteers wearing Renaissance costumes will be hard at work, or play, depending on the interpretation.
“Almost 100% of the money raised goes directly back into arts programs,” says Amy Johnson Bassford, DAAC Executive Director. It is one of the biggest bashes of the year for Las Cruces, and a good time will be had by all. For further information call (505) 523-6403 or visit www.daarts.org (http://www.daarts.org/)
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Renaissance Faire is Doña Ana Art Council’s fun(d)raiser
Marjorie Lilly - Deming Reporter
The Dona Ana Arts Council has been a very busy supporter of the arts in Las Cruces for years, and one of its biggest projects has been the restoration of the old Rio Grande Theater on the downtown mall.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/daac_img01.jpg align=left hspace=5>A woman taking a tour of the theater said her husband remembers the place well. “He used to come here when he was a kid to go to the movies,” she says. “He’d bring 25 cents – 10 cents for the ticket and the rest was for the popcorn and soda.”
“People used to be able to get in with a milk cap from Price’s Creamery,” says David Edwards, Program Coordinator for the Rio Grande Theatre and its parent group Dona Ana Arts Council. David moved to Las Cruces in 1965, when he was 12, and recalls when you could get in with a milk carton. “Everybody remembers the milk caps, they’d been doing it forever.”
Las Cruces residents have many memories of the Rio Grande Theater: They may remember their first date with their spouse, or the movies and vaudeville shows there. An oral history project about theater was conducted by Kevin McIlvoy of the NMSU English Department, and a CD made as a fundraiser .
When the original Rio Grande Theatre was built in 1926, it was the most outstanding of the three theatres in town. The restored theater is “the only remaining twostory adobe theatre in the southwest,” according to Edwards.
It has been restored for just a little over a year, with the gala opening September 16-18, 2005. The ceremonies including a special screening of the very first movie ever shown in the theater, Mare Nostrum, with Alice Terry and Antonio Moreno, with live organ accompaniment. The theater has been bustling with activity since that date, with lectures, readings, recitals, theater productions, rock bands, country singers, baile folklorico, modern, ballet, tap and jazz dance from the NMSU Dance Department, poets, and films.
There are free events, like the chamber music concerts every other Tuesday at 5:30pm, featuring the Las Cruces Friends of Chamber Music, and free gallery space for local artists in the front of the building. Story-telling for children takes place in the auditorium on Saturday mornings. The Arts Council is a non-profit organization, and all proceeds go toward promoting the arts.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/daac_img02.jpg align=right hspace=5>During the restoration many features of the theatre had to be changed, restored, or eliminated. Edwards describes how the stage lost its orchestra pit but was extended out at the front, and how the balcony was then tilted downwards so spectators could see the whole stage. There are acoustic panels now where elaborate tapestries once hung with representations of King Carlos of Spain, Spanish knights with falcons on their arms, and Aztec warriors.
“There’s not a bad seat in the house,” says Edwards, “but the balcony seats are especially good, I think, in terms of acoustics.” Originally there were rectangular vents on the lower walls plus imitation vents painted to make the place look well ventilated. Artist Alex Rosa restored decorative murals on the walls and re-painted all the vents, both real and fake. The arched ventilation spaces on the walls are now part of the sound system.
A whole new system of catwalks and a fly-loft above the stage were installed to drop scenery and curtains from above, and dressing rooms and a loading dock were added behind the stage. New restrooms with striking black-andwhite tiling were constructed, and there is a long ramp built according to ADA codes.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/knight_sword_stone.gif align=left hspace=5>Workers and DAAC directors were surprised when they tore down the flat, modern aluminum and plywood façade that had been there for years to find an ornate old façade that had been hidden. They discovered bas-reliefs of violins and leaves with the original paint still faintly showing, as well as rosettes and other decorative elements still intact. Ornate, colored art-deco tiles embellish the front pillars. The facade is still a work-in-progress until the old Main Street is restored in the current mall renovation project.
The DAAC now has offices on the second floor of the theater, overlooking the mall and the large mosaic piece by Anthony Pennock is being moved to another location. DAAC is a clearinghouse of information on the arts and brings performing artists to Las Cruces. It also promotes the arts in education and gets professional artists to train art teachers in the public schools.
Their largest fundraiser of the year is the Renaissance Arts Faire, on Nov. 4 and 5 (Sat. 10am-5pm and Sun. 10am-4pm). This year is the 35th Anniversary of the event, and special commemorative posters, T-shirts, and small stuffed red dragons will be on sale. A $5 donation is requested as an entrance fee.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/knight_with_shield_on_horse.gif align=right hspace=5>“It’s basically a juried art show,” says Edwards, with about 160 artists planned for this year. “We’re not really sticklers for authenticity compared with other Renaissance fairs in the country.” Even so several Renaissance re-enactment groups will be on hand. The group called the Merry Court of Sherwood will bring different cultures to the event with Peruvian, Native American and African musicians. “There will be constant entertainment,” says Edwards, and the usual “rats on a stick” made of chicken and “dragon legs” (a.k.a. turkey drumsticks) will be sold, besides other food. He expects about 35,000 visitors, and 350 volunteers wearing Renaissance costumes will be hard at work, or play, depending on the interpretation.
“Almost 100% of the money raised goes directly back into arts programs,” says Amy Johnson Bassford, DAAC Executive Director. It is one of the biggest bashes of the year for Las Cruces, and a good time will be had by all. For further information call (505) 523-6403 or visit www.daarts.org (http://www.daarts.org/)
.