www.backstage.com: What is a storefront theater? Ask three artistic directors this question, and you’ll get three different answers. “Small, non-Equity house.” “Itinerant company.” “A theater in a storefront.” The only aspect that everyone can agree on? It’s a place where adventurous and often—though not necessarily—young talent take impressive risks.
“Storefronts are a place where artists can experiment with the full range of their potential,” says Deb Clapp, executive director of the League of Chicago Theatres. “It’s almost like it’s easier to fail here so it’s easier to take a risk. I don’t think artistic talent gets developed without risk taking.”
According to an undated study, the city boasts 250 professional theaters, but Clapp says there are probably closer to 300. Many renowned companies in Chicago, such as Steppenwolf (started by Gary Sinise, Jeff Perry, and Terry Kinney) and Lookingglass (co-founded by David Schwimmer), began as basement projects and have emerged as world-class, Tony-winning houses.
3 comments:
I enjoy the fact that there are smaller theaters who are proud to say they are smaller theaters. I think some of people's best work comes out when they accept where they are and their circumstances and run with it. Not, that these storefront theaters are in poor circumstance; I'm just saying that they are using their position and resources effectively. Theatre is a collaborative art, and those goes beyond the confines of one building. It sounds like these storefront theatres understand that and are thriving because they are working together to pool actors and resources. I commend them for being a great launching point for young new artists.
The Chicago storefront scene is remarkably strong - our 2012 directing grad Olivia Lilley just wrote and produced a piece for the Chicago area that quickly sold out and is getting good reviews. The Chicago area shows are bolstered, I think, by the legitimacy provided by the non-Equity Jeff Awards which mostly go to strong storefronts like TimeLine and similar. What's interesting is that there are two very disparate models - a seasonal productions model, like TimeLine or The Hypocrites, and the piecemeal project-based production model as described in the "putting up a show and getting consistently paid" interview. These special theatrical events are exciting and interesting, but lack a real central identity in places without an awards institution. I wonder if creating a "storefront theatre association" which provides resources and information to theatremakers may inspire one-offs to feel more secure in happening and help them get more publicity, thus creating a culture where there was not one.
Theatre is changing a lot, and a lot of new theatre is in this extremely non-traditional style. I think that small theatres that do experimental work are a foundation of theatre all over. These restraint-less theatre settings provide people an opportunity to express real talent and get noticed. It also provides an experimental platform for new types of theatre, some of which catch on. Experimental theatre is very important, and I'm glad there are people out there doing it.
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