Albuquerque theater shuts its doors after two years

by Marcella Ortega

Daily Lobo

The jokes have come to an end at the Gorilla Tango Theatre.

"It is basically a series of events in Albuquerque," owner Dan Abbate said in reference to why the theater is closing. "The decision was made that our property was better invested somewhere else."

The theater, at 519 Central Ave. N.W., held weekly improv shows as well as comedies and dramas. It closed Jan. 2. Abbate, who opened another Gorilla Tango Theatre in Chicago last month, said Albuquerque wasn't receptive to improvisation.

"I'm not exactly sure why," he said. "I think they don't use it in the same way as in the entertainment markets. I think Albuquerque is a more suburban lifestyle where people will watch television instead of go out."

Abbate, who opened the theater in August 2004, said it was making a small profit at the beginning of 2006.

"We were on the positive side and looking to move forward," he said.

Abbate said by the end of 2006, however, the theater grossed less than it did during its first year.

The theater's training center director, Alex Knight, organized the improv courses taught at the theater. He said students complete six eight-week courses before they graduate.

"It was up and down, but every once in a while, we would get a chunk of students," he said.

Knight said students who started the program together would form improv teams.

"It is really important to trust your group," he said. "These people would work together so much that they would form a pretty good bond."

Gorilla Tango ensemble member Steve Lucero formed a theater group called Theater

Roosevelt with former improv students.

"We still want to do improv," Lucero said. "We just need to find a venue that is still doing it. Gorilla Tango was the only place where improv was constant."

Knight, who plans to teach private improvisation classes in the future, said he and other members are looking for a space to perform improv as well.

"It was the only place in town that you could see it and learn it," he said. "It was pretty much the only place where it existed."

Knight said the camaraderie of the theater members is what he will miss the most.

"We are staying in contact, but it's not the same," he said. "That's scary because some of the nicest, funnest, most open people I met at Gorilla Tango."

For now, Abbate said he will reinvest in his Chicago theater.

"Our first month in business in Chicago, we grossed more than our best month in Albuquerque," he said. "It is really kind of a shame. I was constantly hearing people say there is nothing good to do in Albuquerque. A lot of talented people don't get the credit they

deserve."