Farewell Studio Roanoke; share your thoughts
Hi, this is Kathy again, posting while Mike is away.
Studio Roanoke Artistic Director Melora Kordos caused a ripple through the Roanoke arts community today when she sent out a letter to supporters about the community theater’s sudden closing. The small black box theater in downtown Roanoke opened in 2009 and showcased edgy and experimental pieces and had just wrapped its 2011-12 season. It was opened by Kenley Smith, who named the building after his father.
Here is the breaking news post; and we have a reporter, Jordan Fifer, working on this story through the evening to gather more details about the theater’s demise. If you have information, please email him at jordan.fifer@roanoke.com.
Here is the press release the studio sent out. It attributed a decline in private donations and the selling of the building that it’s housed in as primary reasons for the closure.
And, if you’re curious, here’s a link to Studio Roanoke’s Form 990 tax filing for the year ending in June 2011.
Finally, the studio is holding a sale of its items on July 28 & 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days to help “pay off current debt.” Some of the items include theater seats and a fog machine.
July 16, 2012 - 5:41 PM
It is sad to hear of any live theatre company closing. These sure are hard times. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to perform at Studio Roanoke once for the musical “Zombie Boyfriend”. Albeit unorthodox, the atmosphere at Studio Roanoke was fresh and exciting, and the community associated with the theatre was loyal and very intimate. Unfortunately, I feel that it was unlikely that the average theatre goer in Roanoke would appreciate the productions put on by Studio Roanoke. Here’s to the successes the theatre had and may the future of live theatre in Roanoke be brighter!
As a playwright whose work was performed there, and whose work was scheduled to be performed there again, I am saddened. I share my thoughts here:
http://dwayneyancey.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/thoughts-on-the-closing-of-studio-roanoke/
Sad to say, Studio Roanoke was the place I used to pass and think, “Hm, that looks interesting–let’s go see what’s going on there,” but never did. I regret that (lack of) decision now. Sorry to see you go, SR, and it’s ALL MY FAULT!
I loved that venue and their edgy work. Sad to see them go. Thank goodness we still have Gamut.
Sandra, thank you so much for saying that! Betsy, there is still plenty of time to come check Gamut out. Our FB page is GAMUT THEATRE and we hope you’ll come atone for your prior regretful behavior
Roanoke Mayor David Bowers today used his State of the City address to announce the formation of a committee to “to address the financial and organizational demands facing the sustainability of our many cultural and arts organizations in the future.”
Bowers went on to say “If we do not address the crisis, that some of our cultural organizations and museums are facing, then we will lose them and
their doors will close. It is imperative that we ACT/Now to build a sustainable foundation for Roanoke’s cultural economy.
Full text of the mayor’s speech over on the Blue Ridge Caucus politics blog:
http://blogs.roanoke.com/politics/2012/07/19/roanoke-mayor-david-bowers-2012-state-of-the-city-speech/#more-14397