Fall of 2013. Dan Pelletier is driving from his parents’ home in Auburn to Durham for final dress rehearsal for UNH Mask and Dagger’s production of Taming of the Shrew, of which he was a guest alumni lighting designer. He was in a rut. He wanted to stay in his home area of the greater Manchester area, but had been unable to figure out how to get his directing career off the ground. As he traversed 101 East, he asked himself “what exactly do I want?” Dan didn’t want to act, he didn’t want to stage manage, he didn’t want to assist anyone; he wanted to direct. But who would hire a twenty three year old talent with barely two full shows to his name to be the captain of an entire production? He knew he had to prove himself, and he knew he was an ambitious dreamer. The answer to his “what exactly do I want?” became clearer. He wanted to prove himself. He wanted to take on a great challenge. He set a clear goal – before his birthday in July, he wanted to present a fully produced night of original one-acts. He would raise all the funds, do all the marketing, and show the world “hey, I’m for real.”
Partnering with fellow UNH alumni who were in similar situations, Cue Zero Theatre Company was born, with a clear mission and goal on “creating opportunities” and a high focus on one word: “New.” These were the things that excited its members the most: doing things no one else was doing, doing the theatre they wanted to see, and most importantly: taking risks. Over the whirlwind next seven months, with nothing more than grit and determination, they raised the funds to rent out the Derry Opera House, and paired up two original pieces to form Project Zero.
Project Zero was a smashing success. Wildly well-received, the goal of proving themselves to the theatre community was achieved, and instantly the originators of Cue Zero went from unknowns to wunderkinds. CZT was briefly put on the back-burner as Dan and the others found success working with a multitude of groups across all of New Hampshire. With a brief revival in 2017 to produce for the new Hatbox Theatre, Cue Zero’s next major milestone would be in 2018 when it was decided CZT needed to cross off our next major achievement – put together a full multi-show season, join the New Hampshire Theatre Alliance, and start our “revolution.” Since then, Cue Zero has been innovating, risk-taking, and noise-making. Whether it’s performing Shakespeare in bars, cafes, and minor league baseball stadiums, producing world premiers by local playwrights, or creating opportunities for budding artist with similar ideals and ambitions, Cue Zero has stayed truthful to its roots.
Cue Zero has been noted for its successes – being named “Best ‘New’ Theatre” by New Hampshire Magazine in 2019, and racking up a number of honors from the New Hampshire Theatre Awards, including multiple awards for Outstanding Achievement in Performance, finalists for Performance, Sound Design, and Overall Production, and a large number of other semi-finalist honors. Most recently Cue Zero has been named the Union Leader’s 2024 Readers’ Choice Silver Winner for Best Live Theatre.
For more information, please check out CZTheatre.com