A Theater Company Finds Its Home [] Caja Negra SMA

 After a career as a professional actor Mr. Jordan ‘retired’ to San Miguel. Over the years he has acted, directed and produced more theater than is possible to list in this article. His sold out one-man shows, the aforementioned House and Diary of a Madman, along with I Am My Own Wife and Wiesenthal are tour de force performances that left audiences on their feet. Alan’s commitment to support young professional Mexican actors and designers in multicultural productions are realized in his stagings of the aforementioned ‘Babylon‘,  Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Maiden but also the standing room only productions of An Act of God, and Deconstructing O.

With other venues in town, some may wonder why another theater? Alan doesn’t see the addition of another performance space in San Miguel as competition to other venues, but as a home for a resident theater company unconstrained by the conditions of working with limited availability to rehearse, build sets etc. with other bookings in a given venue. Caja Negra at Casa de la Noche isn’t a competitor with other venues, but a home for the resident artists of Caja Negra to freely plan, produce and perform their work.

As of this writing, leases and permits are signed and building is underway. But it is no small feat to outfit a modern cutting-edge theater: stage, seating, lights, sound, green room and other infrastructure. It costs thousands of dollars. Currently there is a PayPal fundraising campaign underway to underwrite the costs. We talked with Alan about the project.

MG: Are you nuts? What are you thinking? Building a theater?

AJ: (Smiles) It’s not so bad if I don’t think about it. It’s a big project. As the Artistic Director, I am the face of the project for now, but Caja Negra is many more people than me. Our core company of actors are the best; Christian Baumgartner, Rodrigo Demian, Clara Dunham, Jill Gottlieb, Sofia Leal de la Rosa, Ivette Pizarro, Sebastian Vallin, Erik Zavala and someone who looks like you. And our Design Director Francisco Coronado brings a visionary edge to our production value.

MG: And what’s the plan with “Covid”?

AJ: We don’t want to social distance our audience. That defeats the purpose of theater. The audience is an integral member of the performance experience, and it is precisely their sitting together that proves the maxim of a sum being greater than its parts. At the same time our seating is flexible and can accommodate cabaret style to free-standing spaced seating to traditional theater rows of chairs. No one knows the future, but our flexibility provides peace of mind for any condition. Our cast, crews and staff have agreed to either take a Covid jab, or prove negative testing. We’d ask the audience to do the same. We’re not going to check papers, it’s an honor system that strives for zero exposure of the virus during a Caja Negra performance. We’re committed to the health and safety of the community and the company.

MG: Fundraising is a drag. There are so many worthy causes. Why Caja Negra?

AJ: Theater isn’t a cause, it’s where causes come from. All the way back to the Greeks that we know, theater has been a way for the ‘artist’ to cast society back in the people’s face, to show human nature and the human condition; to show through a performed story the great human themes; justice, love, mercy, jealousy, vengeance and joy; theater allows a people sitting as one to hear and see their own story in a myriad of conditions and situations and learn about themselves in ways they may not have thought about before.

MG: And Caja Negra?

AJ: We believe theater, music and dance as art forms are part of what makes us human. And like many art forms, there are many levels of excellence in the execution of the art. There is room for all artists at all levels of expression. And then there are those you’d pay $50 a ticket for. Our personnel, production value and choice of material is of the highest caliber.

MG: So where can folks send their gold bars and do you take crypto?

AJ: Well for more info you can go here; Log In or Sign Up to View. And crypto hasn’t come up yet, but I’m sure it can be arranged.