SubUrbia Stays Put
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Turk says the buzz about SubUrbia convinced her the show, about a group of troubled teenagers who hang out in the parking lot of a local convenience store, could become a hit. Still, without evidence to support her hunch she wasn’t sure enough to ask Mazzonelli for a lease extension. Because of the first-rights lease agreement she thought she had with the Theatre Building, Turk wasn’t worried about losing the north theater space.
Mazzonelli left it up to Turk and O’Brien to cut a deal, and after several days of back-and-forth offers, O’Brien agreed to move the Beckett festival to the Theatre Building’s south theater, which has a significantly different stage configuration. In return Roadworks agreed to pay for an addition to the south-theater stage and to assist in creating a new stage design for the Beckett productions. O’Brien says the deal is worth between $3,000 and $4,000.
In an effort to build up its membership, the CAC has sent mailings to universities and arts organizations throughout the midwest and deposited brochures in art-supply stores around the city. However, Rakoncay says most of the members the organization has picked up through the years have come via word of mouth.
