12 AUGUST 1-7, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Curtain Close CURIOUS THEATRE IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE AFTER ANNOUNCING THE SALE OF ITS BUILDING. BY TONI TRESCA Inside the dimly lit auditorium of Curious Theatre Company, artistic director Jada Suzanne Dixon is refl ecting on the theater’s recent announcement that it will sell its building at 1080 Acoma Street, where it has been since 1998. “In our dream world, someone would be interested in the building, and we would get a sale and a lease-back that would allow us to stay in the building for a period of time,” Dixon explains. “My hope is that in the next six to seven months, fi ngers crossed, we will have a little bit more information and can be more specifi c about what the next steps are. It could be a sale, a lease-back, or we could become an itinerant company.” Dixon, who has led the company since 2022, has remained upbeat about the transi- tion, arguing that selling the historic venue was the best chance for the company to “remain in existence.” “I respect people’s feelings, and I do not deny that there is a lot of magic and meaning- ful aesthetics here,” she says of the building. “One of my favorite aspects of this space is the wide, empty stage, which is stunning. I love the beautiful stained-glass window at the very top of the building. “But the DNA of this theater company is not limited to the walls of this building,” she notes. “If we get stuck on the idea that Curious Theatre is limited to this building, we close the door to future possibilities.” On June 9, the company came to terms with the possibility that it would no longer be able to operate out of its home in the Golden Triangle neighborhood, which it has owned since 2008. The 9,500-square-foot space was originally built for the Swedish Evangelical Free Church in 1895 and later used by other churches before being converted into a per- formance space for a variety of companies. Curious Theatre bought the building from Zeppelin Development founder Mickey Zeppelin for $800,000, or about $85 per square foot. Now the property, which is not a protected or historic city landmark, is val- ued by the county assessor at $2.85 million. Dixon explains that the decision to sell the building stemmed from fi nancial ne- cessity as the cost of maintaining the aging structure became unsustainable. Although the converted church carries sig- nificant emotional and histori- cal weight, rising maintenance costs of around $9,500 per month strained the theater’s fi nances. “We made the correct decision to sell the building, because al- though it is our most valuable as- set, it is also our greatest liability,” Dixon says. “Even though we are a nonprofi t theater company, we still need to consider the business side of things. For me, if the options are to close the doors and never exist or to shift and exist, I will always choose the latter. Now, I’m not sure what it will look like — I don’t have it all planned out with a ten-year magic mirror — but this allows us to move forward while remaining open to all possibilities.” The sale is intended to provide the company with the fi nancial fl exibility it requires to navigate its future, as Curious was not able to meet its Fund the Future cam- paign goal. Curious announced the emergency fundraising campaign in March to cover a $250,000 defi cit and assist with season 27; the campaign closed on July 31. While it raised $119,346.12 as of July 29, roughly 48% of its stated goal, Dixon says that Fund the Future was “go- ing extremely well,” and that the theater’s recent 24-Hour Play Festival, a one-night fundraising event that featured six original plays, raised nearly $3,000. “We set an audacious, big goal of $250K, which I knew was huge, but if you’re going to run a Fund the Future campaign, why not go big?” Dixon says. “I don’t think I or anyone expected that we would meet that $250,000 — obviously, our fi ngers were crossed — but I’m thankful for every single portion of it. Every donation to Fund the Future, whether that’s $5, $10 or more, demonstrates some- one’s care and passion for this organization, and I could not ask for anything more.” The group’s current challenges are com- pounded by the departure of its two-year managing director, Jeannene Bragg, who recently became director of public arts for Denver Arts & Venues. “Jeannene has been a valued employee here at Curious, and obvi- ously, we wish her the best of success in this new opportunity,” Dixon says. “She has done a lot for Curious over the years, not just the last two years. We are in the process of reviewing fi nances and reimagining the entity, so I do not have anything concrete [in terms of her replacement], but we will be restructuring to help us carve out a strong path forward.” Curious Theatre has long been dedicated to producing socially relevant and provoca- tive theater, but that commitment has also posed diffculties in attracting broader fi nan- cial support and fi lling seats. “It’s the balance between mission and money,” Dixon notes. “We are committed to our mission and will not stray from it, so we need to fi gure out how to live it out and get people here. Do I want butts in seats? Heck, yeah...but I’m not going to sacrifi ce who we say we are and who we continue to strive to be every single day.” Now the theater also has to concentrate on exploring potential new homes. Venues such as Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, the Historic Elitch Theatre and MCA Denver’s Holiday Theater, which all have open theater spaces, as well as unoccupied offi ce space in downtown and RiNo, are being considered. Dixon says she has been actively communicating with community partners and is open to all possi- bilities. “If it can be mutually benefi cial, then it seems like a good thing to do, so doors are open for those conversations to continue,” she says. But despite the uncertainty surrounding how long Curious will be in the building, Dixon and her team are focused on prepar- ing for the company’s 27th season, which includes POTUS from September 7 to Oc- tober 13, Confederates from November 9 to December 8, A Case for the Existence of God from January 18 to February 16, Downstate from March 15 to April 20, and the recently announced world premiere of Estate, written by and starring Golden Globe winner Regina Taylor, from May 8 to 25. And the hope is that these will all be produced in the current building, if no one has purchased it; the theater is exploring options for a lease-back agreement if not a new location. Dixon says the team is carefully considering how to manage the proceeds from the building’s eventual sale to ensure long-term sustainability and avoid becoming “like those people who win the lottery but then go bankrupt three years later.” Although she knows people have toured the building, Dixon is trusting the theater’s broker, Blue West Capital, to handle the process. The public listing does not include a price, but describes the space as a “fantas- tic opportunity to own, redevelop, or sell leaseback to current owner,” located in the heart of the Golden Triangle neighborhood. As Curious embarks on this new chapter, Dixon’s message is clear: The essence of Curi- ous Theatre goes beyond its physical space. However, it is important to recognize that the road ahead will not be easy. If the company wants to continue operating, it must address its audience strategy, development, fundraising and donor engagement. The fi nancial realities are stark, and Curious will need to fi nd long- term solutions to these issues. Dixon concludes with a realistic perspec- tive: “We are acutely aware of the fi nancial challenges and that we will need to restruc- ture our organization in every aspect, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I’m looking at all of this as an exciting opportunity. I un- derstand why some people believe Curious is dying, but I fi rmly believe that it is about breaking open the organization’s standard operating model to be open to all of the amaz- ing possibilities that lie ahead. I recognize it’s going to be hella hard, but we are focused on securing our future fi nancially so that [we] are set up for success.” Email the author at [email protected]. CULTURE KEEP UP ON DENVER ARTS AND CULTURE AT WESTWORD.COM/ARTS Curious Theatre Company has been at 1080 Acoma Street since 1998. COURTESY OF CURIOUS THEATRE COMPANY
