The Living Room And Fishtank Theatre Team Up On New Space

The Living Room and Fishtank Theatre are opening a new KC Theatre hub in The West Bottoms

The space will serve not only as home to both companies, but as a safe and affordable venue for independent theatre producers

Theatre League is matching all donations up to $25,000 for the fundraising effort

Donation link: tiny.cc/acttwo

The Living Room and Fishtank theatre companies have joined forces to create an exciting new hub for Kansas City theatre at The Black Box!

Both companies originated in the Crossroads Arts District, and have for several years been home to both veteren and emerging local artists; developing scores of quality KC-original works as well as presenting bold, established plays. In addition to their mainstage productions they've offered countless classes, workshops, staged readings, community celebrations, and acted as supportive and affordable venues for new and niche theatre companies.

Changes in the landscape of the Crossroads have pushed both companies to explore new territory - culminating in The Living Room's announcement last Summer that it would be moving out of its 1818 McGee location.

Now The Fishtank and Living Room are proud to announce their joint venture to create a versatile new performance space, a "second act" for both companies that will strive to raise the profile of KC theatre as a whole.

The Black Box in the West Bottoms will serve as home not only to TLR/Fishtank productions, but will be made available as a place for arts education, events, and, importantly, as a quality venue accessible to theatre producers with small budgets. Too often small operations have to resort to performing in found spaces that weren't designed for live performance, which can be uncomfortable and limiting. As property prices rise throughout the city, this problem is being felt more and more acutely by theatre artists. The Black Box will provide a safe, professional, and welcome alternative.

If you would like to support this project, please consider contributing to the fundraiser, which is broken down below!

Who is running this campaign?
Shawnna Journagan (Executive Director, The Living Room)
Rusty Sneary (Artistic Director, The Living Room)
Heidi Van (Producing Artistic Director, The Fishtank)

What are the funds for?
• Covering transition costs for The Living Room (The Fishtank has already moved its operations)
• Moving and installing The Living Room's lights and seats into the new space
• Ensuring that young rental companies that FT and TLR have historically nurtured will have a safe, affordable, and well-equipped place to produce
• Building an exciting outdoor theatre patio
• Transforming an on-site storage shed into a fully-functioning workshop

The fundraising campaign is open now and will end with a celebration at The Black Box on April 5th, 2020. The Black Box is located in the rapidly-developing West Bottoms district - 1060 Union Ave.

Your contribution will go through Fishtank Theatre, Inc which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization. If your donation is sizable enough that you would like a tax letter, or you have other questions about that, please contact heidi@fishtanktheatre.com

You can make a contribution of any amount and spread the word via links below! The total fundraising goal is $50,000, and Theatre League is matching all contributions up to $25,000. Every little bit helps - and your contribution counts double!

"For ten years The Living Room has been dedicated to providing a safe space for young artists to feel at home, take risks, and have their work produced with the same professional production values as any established artist or published work would have. The Fishtank Theatre has shared that same dedication for just as long. We have also mutually believed in the collaboration of local artists and companies to work toward the common goal of strengthening the Kansas City theatre community as a whole. Although neither company could continue to afford to contribute to the growth of the Crossroads Arts District, we find the opportunity to begin this second act together incredibly exciting. We are doubling down on our support for one another and the great artists of Kansas City under one roof at The Black Box in the soon to be West Bottoms 'Arts District.'" - Rusty Sneary, Artistic Director, The Living Room Theatre.

Donation link: tiny.cc/acttwo
Facebook event: facebook.com/events/489450042006604/
The Living Room's Website: thelivingroomkc.com
The Fishtank's Website: fishtanktheatre.com