Lexington Ky: AthensWest Theatre Organization shut, shut down
AthensWest Theatre Enterprise has announced that it has closed following 8 yrs and 17 stay productions.
Like all theaters, AthensWest was waylaid by the COVID pandemic, obtaining to terminate reveals and locate other ways to accomplish, such as radio plays on WUKY-FM 91.3.
With two successful productions this 12 months, it appeared AthensWest was back. But in a July 12 letter posted to the AthensWest internet site, Making Artistic Director Bo Checklist spelled out points had been not as good as they seemed and experienced to shut down.
“From our very first show, our intention was to construct a theatre that created productions of the best good quality and just one that set artists to operate,” List wrote, noting that it was an costly endeavor they corporation hoped would 1 working day reach sustainability.
“Unfortunately, we uncover that the hurdles separating us from fulfilling our mission responsibly and, once again, sustainably, are insurmountable. We are not able to preserve up with escalating fees, escalating duties, and escalating obligations, and do so in a way constant with our values. As this sort of, the very best course of motion is to shut even though we are equipped to do so mindfully and very well. We believe that that we end on a superior notice, very pleased of every single enjoy we produced and so pretty grateful for the neighborhood that invested in our do the job.”
Record stated it is probably another theater will emerge trying to run less than a very similar product to AthensWest and inspired help for that endeavor when it happens.
When it opened, the community firm obtained what had been a thing of a holy grail in the Lexington theater neighborhood: a professional organization working below deal with Actors Equity, the stage actors union, offering community and regional artists a stage to conduct in collaboration with neighborhood talent.
The similar year it opened, the Lexington Theatre Business also commenced beneath a related model, though it is focused on Broadway musicals when AthensWest mostly made typical and modern day plays geared to adult audiences like Shakespeare, even trying to give the Bard a Kentucky twist. Lexington Theatre Business is nevertheless executing, possessing just done a operate of “Disney’s The Minor Mermaid” at The Lexington Opera Home.
Loaded Copley is a previous arts writer and editor for the Herald-Leader who is now a Lexington-primarily based multimedia producer.
