Aaron Leventman never planned on staying in Santa Fe.
After nearly two decades in New Mexico, Leventman has made his own path in theater.
He’s the mastermind behind Almost Adults Productions, which focuses on LGBTQ+ plays.
“If I was going to stay in Santa Fe, I wanted there to be an LGBTQ+ theater,” he says. “I had written about young adults coming of age and dealing with identity. I thought it would be a great program and needed to have the company.”
Leventman says Almost Adults Productions has been providing creative opportunities for both beginning and seasoned writers, actors, and directors since 2015 with theatrical productions in Santa Fe.
Once a month on Zoom, Almost Adults has been presenting a series of LGBTQ+ short play programs bringing together talent and audiences from all over the world.
Since the inception, the company has done fully-staged readings.
During the pandemic, Leventman started a short play of programs on Zoom.
“We attracted talented audiences from all over the world,” he says. “We were included in South by Southwest’s mentor program where I mentored companies on how to do execute programs like this online.”
Leventman also keeps himself busy with local theater productions outside of his company.
He was cast in a musical from the New Mexico Actor’s Lab, but had to pull out of the production due to the pandemic.
As he focused more on playwriting, he participated in an intensive program at the Kennedy Center.
The result is the play, “Lovers and Survivors,” which takes a look at long-time survivors of the AIDS crisis. He wanted to take a look at the people with health issues and how the support of their long-time friends helped them survive.
The play will premiere at the Jersey City Theater Center during its festival in late May.
“It’s an event that’s going to be livestreamed,” he says. “I’ll also premiere it at the Theatre Walk in Santa Fe where we do 10-15 minutes plays. This will be happening around the same time in Santa Fe.”
As Leventman continues to grow his productions, here are a few things you didn’t know about him:
1 “In the early ’90s before online dating, I worked as an old fashioned matchmaker in New York City.”
2 “I once had dinner with Liza Minnelli at a mutual friend’s intimate birthday celebration.”
3 “During the recent quarantine I was selected to be one-time guest host on Turner Classic Movies.”
4 “I grew up with comedian Louis C.K. in Newton, Massachusetts. He used to tell the same kinds of jokes in elementary school as he then did on his TV shows.”
5 “I have detailed memories about the experience of seeing certain films from my childhood: when I saw it, who I saw it with, what theater I saw it at, and what candy I ate during the movie.”
Editor’s note: Venue Plus continues “In Case You Didn’t Know,” a weekly feature with fun tidbits about New Mexicans and their projects.
