From the 98-year-old Rio Grande Theatre to the now-closed Video 4 originally opened as the Fiesta Drive-In in 1948, Las Cruces theaters are part of the city’s culture and character.
The buildings, the people and the stories they tell are the focus of the brand-new exhibition exploring the history of local theater and film. “Stage and Screen: 150 years of Entertainment in the Mesilla Valley” opens Feb. 2 and will run through April 20 at the Branigan Cultural Center, 501. N. Main Street. The exhibition explores theaters, drive-ins, cinemas and stages as well as long-standing programs in community theater and influential people in the industry.
For New Mexico State University graduate students Tracie Amend and Hamed Aziziangilan, it started as a project assigned by Jerry Wallace, NMSU history assistant professor and director of NMSU’s Public History Program.
“One of the things I really decided to prioritize last fall was creating a lot of internships and pathways where my students could go and get professional experience that would help them transition into a job out of college,” Wallace said. “I’ve been creating relationships around Las Cruces to be able to provide more internship options so the students can have some options and explore what they want to do with their public history degree.”
“We were drawn to this particular topic because of our eclectic backgrounds in the humanities,” said Amend,” who plans to defend her master’s thesis in art history in March. “The research uncovered a treasure trove of fascinating information. Our final presentation went very well, and I wrote a proposal for an exhibition at Branigan Cultural Center.”
“As cinephiles drawn to the untold stories of Las Cruces’ film culture,” said Aziziangilan, who also will earn a master’s in art history, “Tracie and I were incredibly fortunate to pursue our shared fascination under the wise mentorship of Dr. Wallace. Through his public history course guidance, a network of resources and overall backing, what began as a student presentation outlining the area’s forgotten entertainment history was transformed into a future exhibition bearing our stamp as co-curators.”
Visitors to the exhibition can look forward to seeing everything from movie posters, to clothing, to theater chairs and hundreds of photos. But visitors will also learn about the creative and influential people fueling the love of the theater.
Few could match the impact of Mark Medoff, Oscar-nominated and Tony Award-winning playwright and film director, who taught at NMSU for more than 50 years and was instrumental in the creation of NMSU’s Creative Media Institute. Rather than move to New York or Hollywood, Medoff stayed in Las Cruces to raise his family but continued to produce plays and films.
Orville Wanzer also was a local filmmaker and professor at NMSU who started and ran the NMSU Film Society with John Hadsell and is considered the father of the acid western. Another professor, Hershel Zohn, was the former chairman of NMSU’s drama department. Both men had an impact on the world of film and theater in Las Cruces, but Las Cruces also had an impact on them.
“This exhibition reflects the vibrant performing arts culture that has thrived in Las Cruces for over a century centered around treasured venues like the Fountain Theatre and the Rio Grande Theatre, which has introduced community members to diverse stories on stage and screen,” Aziziangilan said. “We hope visitors appreciate how spaces devoted to movies and theatres have fueled creative exchange and preservation of cultural traditions among generations of Borderland residents.”
“Cinemas are an important staple of the leisure culture and Americana in any town, and especially in small towns,” Amend said. “From an architectural perspective, the cinema as a building tells the origin story of the town, and this is definitely the case with both Las Cruces and Mesilla. Films, plays, and musicals tell stories to the audience and provide a communal, public experience. If the stories told are local or regional, then the performance media allow the audience to see themselves in real time.”
For those who can’t make it to the Branigan Cultural Center in person, Wallace will be putting the exhibition online by the end of the spring. The website will include a virtual tour, photographs, movie clips and more.
“We want to be able to showcase a little bit more,” Wallace said. “Through the website, we'll be able to add movie clips and additional information. For example, people who are curious about what an acid western is and want to learn more, can go to the website.”
Helping his students become co-curators of a local exhibition as part of their graduate studies is the perfect blend of scholarship and community outreach. He plans to create more of these kinds of real-world opportunities not only to strengthen the Public History Program at NMSU, but also provide a springboard to launch his students’ careers.
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CUTLINE 1: A movie film projector, circa 1930s, from the Fountain Theatre located on 2469 Calle De Guadalupe in Mesilla, New Mexico. This projector and other items are part of the exhibition “Stage and Screen: 150 years of Entertainment in the Mesilla Valley” which runs from Feb. 2 through April 20 at the Branigan Cultural Center. (NMSU photo by Chloe Dunlap)
CUTLINE 2: Poster from the 1950s horror film “Them!” that showed at various drive-in theaters across New Mexico. This poster and others are part of the exhibition “Stage and Screen: 150 years of Entertainment in the Mesilla Valley” which runs from Feb. 2 through April 20 at the Branigan Cultural Center. (NMSU photo by Chloe Dunlap)
CUTLINE 3: A poster and cast photo from the Las Cruces Community Theatre production of “When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder?” circa 1975, directed by and starring Mark Medoff. This poster and others are part of the exhibition “Stage and Screen: 150 years of Entertainment in the Mesilla Valley” which runs from Feb. 2 through April 20 at the Branigan Cultural Center. (NMSU photo by Chloe Dunlap)
CUTLINE 4: Bathing suit and program from the Las Cruces Community Theatre production of “Little Miss Sunshine” in 2022. These items and others are part of the exhibition “Stage and Screen: 150 years of Entertainment in the Mesilla Valley” which runs from Feb. 2 through April 20 at the Branigan Cultural Center. (NMSU photo by Chloe Dunlap)