“TEATRO SERPIENTE,” a community theater company in Taos, New Mexico, is named for the giant adobe snake sculpted in the retaining wall of the property at artist Mandy Stapleford’s home in Des Montes. Her husband Jeremy Jones is a talented saxophonist and schoolteacher. Their combined creativity is palpable when walking onto the property: sculpture and fantasy are omnipresent: griffons and fictional biological forms are in the yard as well as in the art studio, fantastical miniature castles occupy end tables in the house, and a tiny casita is dedicated to the creation of a role-playing game setting with figures and miniature buildings and landscape pieces made of clay and fired in Mandy’s kiln. Thoughtful, curvilinear landscaping further creates a whimsical atmosphere on the grounds…. One day  in 2011, they were inspired, while gazing out from the courtyard at the natural amphitheater created by the shape of the property, looking south from the Hondo Seco Road: “Let’s build a stage!”

“Let’s build a stage!”

Jeremy, being part of a cadre of thespian-minded schoolteachers at Taos Charter School, gathered a group together to form the founding members for a summer Shakespeare company. Mandy and myself were also founding members, with my job to design the branding and marketing and collaborate on the production and set design of the plays.

The first production of The Merry Wives of Windsor was a grand success. We held auditions and rehearsed on the partially-built stage. The actors and their family and friends got involved: Erin and Mary made Shakespearian blouses out of old bed sheets and fashioned Elizabethan costumes from whatever fabrics they could harvest. Jeremy got a crew to help finish building the stage and construct props. Ladybug Farms prepared meat pies and other goodies from their organic vegetables and beef to sell at the shows, and Scott made mead and beer. The kids made flower crowns from dandelions. Parent actors and kids put on their costumes and joined the July 4 parade in Arroyo Seco to advertise the show. 

Hundreds turned out to see the six shows performed over two glorious midsummer evenings.

Hundreds turned out to see the six shows performed over two glorious midsummer evenings. It was truly a blast and a great way to get to know your neighbors. From the ticket sales, we raised money for the Neighborhood Art Project. A great time was had by all. 

Soon after, a full year’s roster of plays populated the schedule and our lives. The idea was to produce shows in rented locations throughout the year, to help raise funds for the next summer Shakespeare show at Mandy & Jeremy’s place. Some highlights included Picasso at the Lapin Agile, The Odd Couple, Beyond Therapy; and the summer Shakespeare shows As You Like It and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In later seasons, Teatro Serpiente’s spinoff project Gorilla Theater became a popular summer Taos event at the Taos Mesa Brewing stage, with the serialized theater soap-opera, Gorilla Romance, spinning off from that.