Arlington Faces Challenges in Allocating Theatre Spaces

May/June 2007

Several artistic directors of Arlington-based theatre companies testified at an Arlington County Board budget meeting on March 27, encouraging further expansion of theatre spaces, which are currently so scarce that some companies may have to cut their schedules in the coming seasons.

Washington Shakespeare Company (WSC) has been told to vacate the Clark Street Playhouse in Crystal City in order for the building to be razed and the land around it developed. The County's plans to use Signature Theatre's old space on Four Mile Run as an arts venue that would have accommodated WSC and other small companies have been stalled due to the fact that the building needs about $5 million in renovations in order to be brought up to code. The necessary renovations of that space could take over a year to complete.

Now, WSC's only option is to join the already overstuffed pool of companies committed to producing a season in one or more of the County's existing venues: Theater Two at Gunston, Theater-on-the-Run in Shirlington, and the Rosslyn Spectrum.

"If more space does not become available, the addition of WSC to the current cluster of theater groups needing space means that all will have to cut back on performances and productions," said Jack Marshall, artistic director of American Century Theater. "This will create a ripple effect that will endanger all of them. Presenting fewer productions means less revenue and less opportunities for visibility. Shorter runs mean less time for word-of-mouth publicity, and fewer chances for new audience members to discover a troupe."

Arlington County's Arts Incubator program offers nascent professional theater companies performing space and gives them ample opportunities to develop a following, a subscriber base, funding, and eventually sufficient stability to allow them to become independent. Paradoxically, the glut of companies and the lack of space has made it difficult for Arts Incubator organizations to develop the resources and institutional strength that would allow them to "graduate."

Norma Kaplan, division chief of Arlington Cultural Affairs (ACA), said that the current space shortage is a byproduct of the Incubator program's success. "The program has brought so many theatre companies into Arlington, and at this point they're getting to be mid-sized and wanting to grow," she said. It's been difficult for the County to meet the demand, as real estate is expensive. But ACA has been seeking out potential new spaces, and Kaplan said that there are a number of viable opportunities that she hopes will be available within the next few years.

The artistic directors warned the Board that if the new spaces aren't acquired quickly, theaters will be forced to reduce their activities and offerings substantially and face a downward spiral, with losses of grants, ticket income, subscribers, supporters, staff and artistic personnel.

- Rebecca Mills