[URBAN NOTE] "Storefront Theatre shuts down and looks for another space"

[rfmcdonald]

NOW Toronto's Steve Fisher reports on the closure, at the end of this month, of Toronto's Storefront Theatre, located on Bloor just west of Ossington. A nice venue that hosted shows I enjoyed, apparently the theatre's hold on its property was too tenuous to justify staying there. I hope they can find a place in this neighbourhood to stay.

Storefront Theatre, the Bloor and Delaware venue where award-winning work has been cultivated and produced for the past four years, has until the end of the month to vacate the premises.

The news was first delivered Monday night from the Storefront stage by company member Scott Garland, outgoing producer and co-host of the Sing For Your Supper playreading series (which co-hosts/producers Kat Letwin and Cameron Wyllie plan to continue, nomadically), and was confirmed this morning in a press release put out by Storefront.

The news may seem sudden, and is a definite blow to the six remaining shows in Storefront's 2016-2017 season (some of which may still be presented at alternate venues). But as Storefront Arts Initative's managing director Claire Burns says, a move has been in the planning stages for some time.

"The tenancy has always been shaky," says Burns. "We had a lease, but after the flood [in 2014], we moved to a verbal month to month agreement. For the past year, we really wanted to sign a multi-year lease, so we could invest in the space."

Storefront ran a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2016 to renovate, which would have included soundproofing to mollify the neighbours. But there was no point in beginning those renovations and bringing the space up to code (a necessary step towards a full liquor licence for the venue, which has until now made do with special event permits) if there was no lease to protect their investments, and said lease never materialized.

"So we have some money to start with elsewhere," says Burns, referring to the renovation campaign coffers, "though we're hoping to build on that."