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Changes at the 14th Street Playhouse
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Changes are afoot at the 14th Street Playhouse, at the corner of 14th and Juniper in Midtown.
All three employees — the general manager, technical supervisor and business coordinator — were told Wednesday that their positions were being eliminated by their parent organization, the Woodruff Arts Center.
According to the Woodruff, the employees are being let go to lower costs and streamline services at the theater, a rental facility for everything from an upcoming teenage beauty pageant to the seemingly endless run of “Menopause the Musical.” The theater will now be run out of the Woodruff’s special events and rental management department. The Woodruff has owned the theater since the 1980s.
Contrary to rumors, however, a sale of the theater — on a prime piece of real estate across the street from the chic new W Hotel — isn’t in the works, according to Michael Flood, the Woodruff’s vice president of operations.
“Even if we were interested in selling it, it’s not a great market to do that,” he said. Instead, Flood said, “we think it will have a second life as a theater.” The Woodruff wants to keep it as an arts venue, he said, but also book more one-night corporate events and other short rentals. (They’d also like a film series. The theater got a new screen last year.)
True Colors Theatre Company, among others, has expressed interest in renting the theater for a few nights, he said. The Woodruff won’t do away with long runs, but will require production companies to be more flexible with their dates to allow for short rentals, Flood said.
The Woodruff hopes to increase the theater’s occupancy rate from around 60- 70 percent to 80 percent, he said.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Arts venues
Comments
By JeremiahWright
May 29, 2008 5:34 PM | Link to this
Get rid of all the gay-themed crap and I’ll start going.
Black Power!
By BPJ
May 29, 2008 10:29 PM | Link to this
The Woodruff’s need for some earned income is understandable. But this story underlines the larger issue, which is the abysmal state of theatre facilities in this city. The AJC ran a major story in the mid-90s (as part of the “Atlanta’s endangered arts” series) on the inadequacy of the city’s theatres; since then the construction of Theatrical Outfit’s new home is perhaps the only bright spot.
By Cassie
May 30, 2008 8:18 AM | Link to this
Seems to me that the leadership at the Woodruff is tenuous at least. A good lawyer does not necessarily make a good leader of an arts center. Why not give the job to somebody who is actually qualified?
By WWW
May 30, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this
Hey Jeremiah.
Stay home!
By ADL
May 30, 2008 12:34 PM | Link to this
Hey Jeremiah,
Bring the sexist, bigoted priest with you too!!!