The Tricklock Company heads to Santa Fe today to spoof the governor during the legislative session.
At noon, the company will perform "Elephant Murmurs" in the rotunda of the Roundhouse.
The play posits Gov. Bill Richardson spent his lost years between serving as secretary of energy and governor as an Elvis impersonator in southern New Mexico.
Richardson and other lawmakers will be in the audience, but state Rep. Mimi Stewart, who is bringing the theater company to the Capitol, said she isn't worried.
"The governor can take some jostling," she said. "It's healthy for all of us to take some jostling. It ought to be hysterical."
Stewart will also introduce legislation to get funds for the company's Revolutions International Theatre Festival to be a part of Albuquerque's tricentennial celebration in 2006.
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Stewart says the floor of the House is where she does her performance art.
"It's just like the stage," she said.
Stewart auditioned for the Tricklock Company's "Macbett" and landed a role as a lemonade seller.
"I got to know the Tricklock Company very well," she said. "I think they're an incredible asset to Albuquerque and the state."
That's why, Stewart said, she decided to take the company to the Capitol.
Joe Pesce, Tricklock's artistic director, will speak to legislators about the importance of funding the arts.
"Law enforcement, prisons and many other things we put our money on are only a Band-Aid for a larger problem," he said. "Arts are a part of education that elevate our culture and bring worldly, creative, passionate individuals who can see the world from multiple perspectives."
Pesce said you go right to the source when you fund the arts.
"The arts are not a luxury or an entertainment," he said. "The arts have been a backbone of Western society for thousands of years. You can't argue with history."
Pesce said he expects an overwhelmingly positive response to Tricklock's performance at the Capitol. He said everyone the group spoke to has been excited about it.
"New Mexico is an exotic place of many possibilities," he said. "Legislators want to embrace that."
In addition to the attention Tricklock is getting during this legislative session, Mayor Martin Chavez's office gave some funding to the company for its Revolutions festival.
Pesce said the mayor just found them. City councilors read about the festival and started attending shows. Chavez, he said, is a regular at the theatre.
"There are many progressive senators and representatives who are proud of the arts scene in New Mexico," Pesce said.
"Law enforcement, prisons and many other things we put our money on are only a Band-Aid for a larger problem,"
"Elephant Murmurs"
Tricklock Performance Space
Jan. 26 - 28 10 p.m.
