Dear friends of Ironweed,

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We hope you, your family, and friends are safe, healthy, and doing well. As we approach the end of a year that none of us will forget, it is sometimes hard to remember where we were when 2020 started. 

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Ironweed was celebrating our 15th year as a theatre company with a production of The Aliens by Annie Baker. Exquisitely directed by Lynn Goodwin, featuring raw, heartbreaking performances by Matt Sanford, Niko'a Salas, and Mickey Dolan, as well as textured and haunting design by Dan Piburn, Chadney Everett, Ben Barthell, Monique Lacoste, Kush Ferrell, and Paola Vengoechea Martini, the production garnered acclaim from audiences and the media, including Dean Yannias of Talkin' Broadway who wrote: "I encourage anyone interested in contemporary American theater to see this flawless production."

It was very disheartening for us and everyone on the production team  –  which also included Stage Manager Allison Goetzman, Dramaturg Dale Dunn, Graphic Designer Lisa Pelletier, Photographer Carrie McCarthy, and Artistic Team member Kate Kita – to close the production prematurely after seven performances due to the arrival of the pandemic in New Mexico. But we feel much gratitude for being able to open the production and share it with those that we did.  

At this time, when we are all facing difficulties on several fronts – loss, financial struggles, isolation, and overwhelm – Ironweed looks toward the break in the clouds when we can again gather and share a live experience. We remain open to the moment as to what that will look like, and what stories and experiences will resonate with all of us.

We are actively seeking ways of being an ally to other local theaters and theater companies like like Teatro Paraguas, the Santa Fe Playhouse, Theater Grottesco, NM Actors Lab, International Shakespeare Center, Almost Adults, Blue Raven Theatre, and others in town whose leaders are working tirelessly to maintain their operations and continue to move forward in these turbulent times. 

We have created a public “Ironweed Community Outreach” group page on Facebook as a forum to share ideas for connection, engagement, collaboration, and support. Please feel free to share thoughts, ideas, questions, brainstorms, and initiatives from other theaters, cities, and communities on this page. And if you don’t have access to Facebook, you can email us your thoughts, and we will share them on the page. 

And until that time when the clouds break and we are again able to safely gather, Ironweed is committed to exploring and discovering what experiences will be most meaningful, what connections most resonant, and what American stories most compelling to tell.
 

Thank you so much for being a friend of Ironweed, theater, and storytelling in Santa Fe. We are grateful for each of you and wish you, your families, and friends safety and health.
 
Sincerely,
 
Scott Harrison, Artistic Director,
and the Ironweed Artistic Team