Catalyst Theatre Folds Due to Financial Troubles

The Washington Post reports today that Catalyst Theatre Company, the intimate, edgy experimental theater organization, famous locally for its productions of 1984 and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, is folding due to financial troubles.  

According to the Post, the company fell into debt after moving from their 50-seat home at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) to a larger space at the Sprenger Theater in the Atlas Performing Arts Center. While this past season's 1984 was a box office success, the subsequent productions of Brecht's Roundheads and Peakheads and a third production, Bruise Easy, did not fare well. 

The company closed with $20,000 in debt owed - some of which to Atlas PAC. Former Catalyst Artisit Director Scott Fortier, who has reportedly relocated to Boston, said that he will be sending out one final e-blast to subscribers and donors to make good on what is owed. 

Says Fortier in the Post: "Obviously, we were optimistic. We felt that we had outgrown CHAW and we wanted to take that next step, and it was a pricey one. . . . We thought that corporate sponsorship would be there, and [then] the economy tanked."

To read the full report on the company's closing in the Washington Post, click here.

Catalyst Theater Company had established itself as one of the most promising and exciting young companies on Washington DC's vibrant theater scene. They formed the company in the summer of 2001 to bring a different kind of theater to DC: "catalytic" plays from theater history mixed with newer works that embrace fresh perspectives and challenge conventions. Their inaugural production Georg Buchner's pioneering Woyzeck was hailed by the Washington City Paper for its arresting imagery and flair. They have since produced many seasons of stimulating, visceral and entertaining theater, including acclaimed productions of Endgame, The Learned Ladies, 1984 and The Elephant Man, which earned the company's first two Helen Hayes Award nominations. In 2005, the Theater Lobby honored Catalyst with a Mary Goldwater Award for consistent excellence.