Cleveland High School says goodbye to beloved theater tech teacher

RIO RANCHO — Often hovering over a soundboard, Keith Abrahamson loves to immerse himself in the state-of-the-art, 1,100-seat concert hall at Cleveland High School, where he managed many productions and taught even more students. But now he is trading in that setting for an acre of his home lawn he plans to turn into “paradise.”

Abrahamson, 66, a Cleveland instructor who also serves as director of the Concert Hall, announced he is retiring at the end of this school year.

Abrahamson, who has worked at Cleveland since it opened in 2010, said preparing for retirement was a slow process. But since the theater department is “as strong as it’s ever been” and the school hired his successor, he is comfortable retiring.

“It just feels right,” Abrahamson said.

Retirement for Abrahamson caps a decades-long career involving teaching and corporate sales.

He was a salesman based in New York and Los Angeles for 25 years before moving to New Mexico in 2006. Abrahamson, who graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in music education, started managing a music store in the early 1980s before starting his own business making custom shipping cases for the music and aerospace industries. When his company was not shipping radars for the U.S. Navy, it was shipping guitars to musicians like Talking Heads bass player Tina Weymouth.

Though he would not become a teacher until decades later, Abrahamson said dealing with customers in the sales industry taught him all he needed to know about how to approach students.

“In front of kids, I’m fearless,” Abrahamson said. “(Sales) sharpens your communication skills a lot. Instead of selling products, I’m selling ideas.”

Following his move to New Mexico, Abrahamson’s business proved to be no match for the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, so he applied to an opening at Cleveland.

Abrahamson taught beginner and advanced technical theater classes and another on music appreciation. Students who take these classes might build sets for high school plays or, if nothing else, “expand their playlists,” according to Abrahamson.

He also led the school technology and School of Rock clubs. The latter might sound reminiscent of the 2003 film starring actor Jack Black, but here, Abrahamson utilized his background as a trumpet player in rock, rhythm and blues bands.

Cleveland student Sani Doolittle, a junior who took Abrahamson’s theater tech class, said she will miss her teacher.

“I’ve always had a good vibe from him and I feel like I’ve learned a lot,” Doolittle said.

The most fun she said she had with Abrahamson was building theater sets, including for “We Are The Sea,” which required students to build a boat.

Abrahamson also taught Doolittle how to use a soundboard, which led her to consider a career in sound design.

Working the concert hall’s magic during piano and symphony concerns may excite Abrahamson, but he said he also takes pride in the impact the venue has on an unsuspecting group: parents.

“Parents focus on their kids and they realize: ‘Yeah, I can hear my kid!’ (and) ‘This is a nice room,’” Abrahamson said.

His successor, Douglas Dent, an English teacher at Cleveland, said the concert hall is part of what attracted him to the job.

“I envy Mr. A and his position. I envy the fact that he gets to teach in here,” Dent said. “It’s pretty awesome.”

Dent understands he has big shoes to fill.

“I don’t think (Abrahamson has) lost his edge,” Dent said, “but he’s ready to move on. From his perspective, it’s good timing. From my perspective, it’s a privilege.”

As Abrahamson prepares to step down, his name will live on through the halls of Cleveland High School. His son, John, teaches general education at the school.

Looking ahead at the “paradise” Abrahamson intends to create at home, he envisions an acre he bulldozed filled with a greenhouse and raised plant beds to grow fruits and vegetables. The project will bring him back to his roots — no pun intended — as a landscaper on a golf course when he was in high school.

“I want to do that for my house while I still can,” Abrahamson said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”