Crossroads, Players, R4 settle in permanent RR location; and for the next act...

RIO RANCHO — Here’s something the Rio Rancho Creative Crossroads, Rio Rancho Players Community Theater and R4 Creating have in common besides their ability to appeal to people needing a creative outlet in their life and the city they call home: a more permanent, shared space in Rio Rancho.

Rio Rancho Creative Crossroads Director of Operations Neal Shotwell, Rio Rancho Players Director Mel Sussman and R4 Creating Director Dr. Shelly Gruenig recently discussed plans for a warehouse space between Defined Pickleball and The Hype Hair Academy. They all sat at a table, surrounded by gear they had moved in, to talk about some of the potential uses for the space and how they might balance schedules.

{p dir=”ltr”}”Although we’ve been working on it three years, it feels like now the real work is just beginning,” Gruenig said.

She said until now, having a permanent space has been more of a dream than reality.

The goal, a continuous goal from the start of Creative Crossroads, is to eventually have a space built and owned for total permanent use, according to Shotwell. The new space gets all three creative leaders’ organizations closer to that dream, but her hope is that the community starts to see the value in having those resources available.

“And that’ll help launch us to the next step, which would be creating a larger space of our own,” she said.

Gruenig and Shotwell clarified that the creative outlets are not combining into one program and are just sharing the space. However, Gruenig hopes the shared space inspires people to check out other programs, calling it “cross-pollinating.”

“We can co-innovate together and collaborate. People can come in and be like, ‘Oh wait, there’s theater that’s meeting here,’ or, ‘Oh my gosh, what is this? What are all these robots?’” she said.

Shotwell agreed, saying the goal is to provide things for kids, young adults and families to do.

“I think we could have a lot of fun with just crossover stuff, like (Gruenig’s) kids can help us build sets and we can help them set up,” she added.

The challenge is scheduling, according to both Shotwell and Gruenig. For now, the choirs that are run by Creative Crossroads won’t be practicing out of the new space because the robotics meetings occur at the same time.

The “home base” aspect will be a welcome change for the theater program, according to Shotwell.

“All of our productions, you’ve had to chase us around town. Like, you don’t know where it’s going to be until you get the ticket,” she said.

Now, she said, people will know “where the Rio Rancho Players are.”

Sussman, though planning his first play for the new space, doesn’t quite know what his capabilities are yet.

“I don’t mean to be sarcastic or anything, but I don’t know yet, very honestly. Since we haven’t really experienced anything as of yet, it was extremely difficult to choose a play that we knew we could do,” he said.

One sure thing is the ability to build a stage and leave it. Usually, the players have to build up the stage before each performance and tear it down at the end due to the nomadic nature of their past plays, according to Sussman. But, he said, the plays were never lacking in quality and were always family-friendly.

For now, he is keeping things simple with the next play, “It Happened at the Airport”. The first act of two will be Sussman’s version of producer Tracy Wells’ “The Layover,” and the second will be a five-scene play by Scott Mullen called “Airport Encounters.” Both acts are meant to “uplift” the audience, Sussman said.

“They are both ensemble plays, which means I can use any number of cast members to fill the roles,” he said.

The casting call has begun, but the need for a diverse cast isn’t easily met, Sussman said. Right now, he needs more male players for the airport acts. One reason he chose the airport theme was the simple composition of it with costumes and setting. He also wanted the audience to feel like they were at the Albuquerque Sunport. It is also a play that accommodates Rio Rancho’s more senior players.

While the possibilities are numerous for the space, the effort from all parties sharing it is to have greater impact on the community by providing more opportunities to create.

“It’s doable. We can work together,” Gruenig said.

The timeline for the new space’s availability is not set yet, but the three leaders hope to be ready by the end of summer, beginning with a possible summer camp and Sussman’s play.