Health, safety, and a successful reopening with Chelsea Antrim Dennis, Director of Production

Health, safety, and a successful reopening with Chelsea Antrim Dennis, Director of Production

Author: The Santa Fe Opera May 8, 2021 Duration: 31:21

What does it take to remain cool as cucumber water amid the intense technical demands of the world's grandest art form? Jane dishes about the drama with guest Chelsea Antrim Dennis, Santa Fe Opera's Director of Production. 

Trap door danger! Raging storms! Mid-performance fainting! Chelsea has navigated a few professional storms in her 16 seasons with SFO. Her responsibilities aren't limited to the action on stage; Chelsea is known as the voice of the Santa Fe Opera (her dulcet tones grace the pre-show announcement) and she oversees health and safety protocols throughout the opera's sprawling campus.

Jane gets the inside scoop on what infrastructure changes patrons, staff, and artists can expect at the opera this summer in response to COVID-19.

In her current role since 2020 (the first woman to hold the position in Santa Fe Opera history!), Chelsea supervises multiple departments including scenery, props, costumes, electrics, and wigs and makeup. She approaches the dynamic needs of each artisan under her supervision with a collaborative attitude.

Each production presents its own artistic and practical pieces to puzzle out. Chelsea maintains an incomparable ability to adapt when those circumstances tip beyond her control - including that time she lost consciousness in the middle of calling a live performance! True to form, she ensured that the show went on. 

Chelsea's no less determined to provide everyone with a safe and enjoyable experience this season. The tried and true masking, social distancing, and contactless strategies the company has put in place extend far beyond the audience spaces of SFO's majestic desert setting. "I think that everybody's so excited to be able to get back to work and are prepared to follow those in order to have a safe season."

Jane couldn't let her guest go without a rapid round of final questions. As expected, Chelsea remained calm under pressure!

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Destination Santa Fe Opera is a Santa Fe Opera podcast, produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Mixed by: Edwin R. Ruiz

Hosted by: Jane Trembley

Featuring: Chelsea Antrim Dennis, Director of Production, The Santa Fe Opera

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Learn more about the Santa Fe Opera and plan your visit at http://www.santafeopera.org.

We'd love for you to join us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok @santafeopera. 


Behind every curtain call at The Santa Fe Opera is a world of craft, history, and human effort. Destination Santa Fe Opera pulls back that curtain, offering a rare backstage pass to the artists, technicians, designers, and visionaries who bring the spectacle to life. This podcast is a series of intimate, revealing conversations that go far beyond the performance notes. You’ll hear from a costume designer about the weight and meaning of a single garment, from a singer unraveling the emotional core of a challenging role, or from a stage director mapping the journey from concept to opening night. It’s about the problem-solving, the collaboration, and the occasional happy accident that defines a season. Each episode connects you to the living, breathing process of opera, focusing on the people whose dedicated work transforms a New Mexico evening into something unforgettable. Listen for stories about musical discovery, artistic risk, and the sheer logistical marvel of mounting world-class productions against a backdrop of southwestern skies. Produced by The Santa Fe Opera, this series is an essential companion for anyone curious about the alchemy that happens when countless disciplines converge to create a single, powerful story in song.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 31

Destination Santa Fe Opera
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