4 days ago
All An Act Theatre looks for new venue after CSS board votes to end lease
Erie's theater community is reeling after the announcement that 'All an Act Theatre' must vacate its long-standing venue inside the Community Shelter Services building.
After 17 years of performances, 'All an Act Theatre Productions,' also known as A3 is being forced to find a new venue following a decision by the Community Shelter Services Board of Directors to end their lease.
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The theater company, which has been a staple in making theater accessible to the Erie community, was already facing challenges after a fire last year destroyed their 130-seat theater.
Rich Turri, Associate Director of Community Shelter Services, stated, 'They made the determination that they are going to end the lease with All an Act Theatre group effective immediately.'
David W. Mitchell, co-owner and artistic director of All an Act Theatre Productions, expressed his surprise, saying, 'After the fire that we had last April, we were told they would get us up and running as soon as possible. The expectation was that they were going to restore it, so we've been patiently waiting for 13 months,'
The decision to end the lease was discussed over several board meetings, according to Rich Turri. He explained that as a homeless shelter, there was no longer a need for a theater in their facility.
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Turri added, 'We felt like the best case scenario for All an Act was to let them know what we were doing so they could figure out their next step.'
Since 2007, All an Act Theatre has raised over $90,000 for Erie's homeless, which makes the decision to end their lease particularly surprising to the theater community.
While the future of the theater space remains uncertain, Community Shelter Services plans to repurpose the building to better serve Erie's homeless population. Meanwhile, All an Act Theatre is actively seeking a new venue to continue its productions.
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