From left, Steve Berrier, John Reiser and Campbell Martin star in “Blanche in a Wheelchair.” (Courtesy of Duchess Dale) Stroll into a venue and catch some live theater.

That’s the premise behind the third annual Theatre Walk Santa Fe.
From noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, more than 20 theater companies will present short plays every half-hour at venues in the Rufina Arts District in Santa Fe.

Aaron Leventman

“I started with a program for one-act plays, and they were LGBTQ plays,” Leventman says. “They were about relationships and coming-of-age stories.”
Since then, Leventman has been writing plays, including “Blanche in a Wheelchair.”
The play follows a gay couple – two men in their 60s and 70s. One of them has developed an autoimmune disease and becomes temporarily paralyzed.
“His partner, Danny, decides to propose to him on their 24th anniversary,” he says. “They are going through this major health crisis, and Ted is a little resistant and chaos ensues.”
Leventman decided to write this play because in many plays in LGBTQ theater, there weren’t plays addressing issues for the elderly.

The characters weren’t always represented.
“I was interested in issues like disability and gay marriage,” he says. “I wanted to make it a comedy, though it was dealing with heavy issues.”
The play was selected to be part of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival, out of 900 submissions.
“It was initially staged in Queens,” he says. “I always wanted to put it on in Santa Fe. This will be the third performance and the first time in New Mexico. I’m excited to get people seeing it.”
Leventman is excited to be part of the event because it is showcasing theater in Santa Fe.
“I’ve been living in Santa Fe for 15 years, and the quality in theater has grown so much,” he says. “It’s a great town for actors, producers and directors. There’s also a huge diversity in content.”