Spotlight on the Lensic

Spotlight on The Lensic A New Subscription Season and More at Santa Fe’s Nonprofit Performing Arts Center

Balé Folclórico da Bahia performs at The Lensic.

PHOTO BY: Gabriella Marks

“The Lensic? I love The Lensic!”

Joel Aalberts has heard those words again and again since taking the helm as executive director at The Lensic Performing Arts Center last summer. “And everyone I meet has a Lensic story to share,” says Aalberts, whose height and signature bowtie make him easy to spot around town. “They rave about an amazing concert or watching their kids perform on our stage. People of a certain age tell me about first dates and kisses on our balcony, back when The Lensic was a movie theater!”

Joel Aalberts and Nancy Zeckendorf PHOTO BY: Kate Russell Photography

T

he Lensic has always been a place where memories are made. As only the second executive director at The Lensic since the 86-year-old theater re-opened as a nonprofit performing arts center in 2001, Aalberts takes carrying on that tradition very seriously. “We want everyone who attends a Lensic performance to have an experience they will long remember.”

Aalberts has been busy planning artistic programming for the upcoming year. He’s also focused on expanding The Lensic’s education programs and community ties, making sure people of every age and from every part of Santa Fe benefit from the theater space and the arts.

“With Joel here and settled in, we’re poised to strengthen and grow the programs we’ve put in place over these first 15 years,” says Nancy Zeckendorf, founding director and chair of The Lensic’s board of directors.

A NEW SUBSCRIPTION SEASON

This year, for the first time, The Lensic will offer a subscription package for its September 2017 to May 2018 Lensic Presents series— the series of music, dance, theater and performance events programmed by The Lensic itself. The subscription option will allow patrons to reserve the best seats in advance while enjoying the lowest prices of the season.

Lensic members, as always, will have exclusive early access to tickets.

“I’m thrilled that we’ve grown to a point where we can have a subscription series and events of this caliber,” says Zeckendorf. “We have the programming to rival what you’d see in cities five times our size.”

PHOTO BY: Kate Russell Photography

The full Lensic Presents season will be announced later this spring, but patrons can look forward to an exciting mix of Lensic favorites and exciting new performers, many of whom will be making their Lensic debuts.

FUN FOR FAMILIES

The Lensic will add more family-specific events over the next year, too. The theater kicked off 2017 with a Family Fun Day, welcoming hundreds of children for games, arts activities and a concert by folk-rock band Trout Fishing in America.

“Kids from all over the city were dancing in the aisles and in front of the stage,” Aalberts recalls.

“Parents were thrilled, and we were thrilled, too.

I think families will love what we have in store for them.”

TOP: Culture and community at The Lensic.

BOTTOM: Children dance near the stage at Family Fun Day.

PHOTO BY: Kate Russell Photography

EDUCATION PROGRAMS THAT BENEFIT ALL

Of course, The Lensic has a history of providing programs that reach young people in Santa Fe and beyond. The theater welcomes students from the Santa Fe Public Schools for free performances throughout the school year. More than 150 high school students and 10 college students have participated in The Lensic’s Technical Theater Internship program since it was founded in 2002, earning academic credit while learning skills like lighting, rigging and sound engineering. And the Future Voices of New Mexico film and photography program, which fosters filmmaking and photography talent in schools throughout the state, is growing in scope and popularity. The program received a stunning number of entries for its 10th annual awards ceremony and film screening, to be held at The Lensic on May 2.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

“It’s a very exciting time at The Lensic,” says Zeckendorf. “I think the Santa Fe community is going to love what we have in store.”

“We’ll continue to entertain, inspire and surprise audiences of all ages,” Aalberts says. “The arts have the power to bring us together.”

The Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W. San Francisco Street 505.988.1234 www.Lensic.org TOP: Buses bring thousands of students to The Lensic for free performances each year. BOTTOM: The Future Voices of New Mexico program supports student filmmaking and photography.