Come hit the road along with us, help us dream big — and guide us to a new permanent home later on.
Long Wharf Theatre’s leaders delivered that message Friday to people who have questioned or been confused about the regional company’s dramatic new move.
LWT announced earlier this week that after 57 years stationed on Sargent Drive, it will become an itinerant company starting in 2023. That means instead of having a permanent home, it will stage plays at different locations throughout the community.
Board chair Nancy Alexander and Artistic Director Jacob G. Padrón appeared Friday on WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk” program to address the inevitable questions that have arisen (sample of some them here) following that announcement. (Show host Babz Rawls-Ivy sits on the theater’s board.)
Alexander conceded that financial considerations, specifically a decline in philanthropic support, contributed to the decision to leave the physical space LWT has occupied throughout its history. In recent years LWT has dipped into its endowment and taken out loans to meet its bills, “which long term is not a sustainable practice,” she said.
That said, this upcoming itinerant phase presents an opportunity for a needed rethinking of LWT’s approach to serving the broader community, not just “homogenous” long-time subscribers.
Padrón spoke of continuing in the spirit that marked LWT’s 1965 founding.He recalled a conversation he had with one of LWT’s founders, Jon Jory, about some reactions to the idea of starting a regional theater on Long Wharf.
“There were folks who said: “Are you crazy? A regional theater?’ This was 1965, when there were not a lot of of professional theaters. We are building on that history of innovation,” Padrón said.
Now, he continued, “folks say: ‘This has been my home for 50-plus years.’ I hear you. And I hope you come on the journey with us .. to build a boundary-breaking new American theater that belongs to everyone. We need everyone to be part of that journey.”
In the past LWT has discussed ideas with the city about possibly relocating downtown. That idea may resurface. Padrón and Alexander said this “itinerant” phase of the theater’s life may very well end with a new physical location again, albeit with a reimagined, updated mission.
“I can envision a time when we do have a permanent space … accessible to all of New Haven,” Alexander said. “Personally I would love to see a space identified as our central home and satellites and partners all around. But that’s a work in progress.”
“We are going to be with the community, build with the community, and allow the community to inform how we show up for our next iteration, our next space,” said Padrón. “I don’t think it will be indefinite. I think it will be for a period of time, and at the end of that process, we will have a home.
“Ideally, it will be downtown and accessible to those who have not come to Long Wharf Theatre. A beautiful 250-seat theater that will allow us to continue to do world-class theater,” with flexible space and a cafe “where people can exchange ideas and share stores,” along with an educational center for youth.
Click on the video at the top of this article to watch the full discussion about Long Wharf Theatre’s future on WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk.”
“Ideally, it will be downtown and accessible to those who have not come to Long Wharf Theatre. A beautiful 25-seat theater that will allow us to continue to do world-class theater,” with flexible space and a cafe “where people can exchange ideas and share stores,” along with an educational center for youth.