HELLO FRIENDS
Obviously a lot has been going on at the Crowd in the last few days, and we wanted to provide a reference document to answer some of the common questions we’ve been getting and try to provide some answers.
WHAT HAPPENED?
We learned this weekend that the city believes our space does not comply with building codes. We do not want to take risks with our friends, patrons, producers, and performers, so we decided to cancel all shows in the space. It was not an easy decision for us to make, and echo the sentiment shared by much of the community - heartbreak.
WHATS NEXT?
The most truthful answer at this time is still unfortunately: we don’t know. We know with certainty we will not be able to continue operation at our Broadway location. The board met Monday night and talked. Our impulse is to continue in the direction we had already been exploring, moving to a new space with more resources available to support our community. For some time now, it’s felt like we might want to do more than what our Broadway space could allow and we would like to take the next step toward our forever home.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US
Frankly, we were blindsided by these events, and we’ve been just as shocked as many of you have been. We put so much of ourselves into the space, and are upset that we won’t be able to give our old home a proper send off. The outpouring of love, support, and appreciation has left us floored. Thank you to everyone that let this place become special to them. It’s been an incredible journey so far.
WILL THERE BE A GOODBYE THING?
We’re planning on hosting a Bring Your Own Toast (BYOT) night at Logan Square Improv on Sunday, March 15th at 8PM.
IS THERE A TIMELINE?
No, not yet. The move is something that we had decided on earlier in 2019, but our most optimistic timeline was October 2020. We can’t say yet whether these events have kickstarted or delayed our timeline. On one hand, one of our biggest bottlenecks with the move has been maintaining the general operation of theater in addition to pursuing developmental plans. On the other hand, we aren’t sure if this move was something we were capable of doing. Either way, a lot is up in the air and we are currently working on finding an equilibrium by addressing all of our immediate concerns. We've always valued transparency and community so please know that as soon as we have more information we'll get it out to you.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OUR STAFF
Well, without an operational business we don’t necessarily have ‘staff’ anymore, so our payroll will be suspended for the time being, and everyone involved has been notified. The silver lining, is that this was no ones primary livelihood, so we should all land on our feet. Our board will be meeting more regularly for the next few weeks while we continue to figure things out.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR PRODUCERS
A handful of other venues have offered to help our shows find a new home in the meantime, if you’re a producer reading this and need help finding a space please get in touch with us. Producers will get any deposit we have held refunded. We believe we’ve reached out to all of our producers, but its been a crazy weekend and we’ve been in crisis-mode for a long time.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE CO-OP
The Co-op has the benefit of being the Crowd’s most portable piece of programming, and over the seasons we’ve had shows occur all over the city. As such, we plan on running another season soon, and once we’ve solidified our game plan for our future we’ll communicate details about the Co-op. Due to its flexibility and sustainability, the Co-op will be the primary piece of programming we are able to produce while looking into new spaces, so it’s not going anywhere (for long). Get on our the Co-op mailing list here!
WHAT THIS MEAN FOR OUR PATRONS
For the time being, we’ll be continuing our Patreon, although expect some changes to happen in the near future, and know that any fundsunds contributed to the Patreon will be put toward the move and relocation. In the event we aren’t able to materialize our plan, we’ll be donating all of our assets to like-minded organizations and charities.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
We wish we had really concrete ways people could help us, but for the time being we’re still trying to get our feet back on solid ground. We will be putting together a capital campaign in the near future, and your support will be invaluable, and frankly necessary if this is going to happen. Short term things we’ve talked about doing that you could help with:
• Turning our Instagram and Facebook into meme accounts. So DM us memes.
• Adding more people to our board of directors or forming a larger associate board to hlp inform the direction of the Crowd and land us in a new home. If you’re interested, let us know.
• Putting together a yearbook with head shots, photos, and anecdotes. If you’ve got experience with something like this, we’d love to have a hand.
Until then, just keep the spirit alive. Get on our mailing list. This isn’t the end of the road, just a bump in it.
