Play local, think global.

May 26, 2010 2:17 PM

Hey, the theater I am part of is going on tour this September. In order to make this possible we need to book some dates around the nation and Canada. Can anyone recommend some of the great DIY venues [warehouses, galleries, theaters, infoshops, communes] that we might be able to perform at on tour?

Perhaps it is asking a bit much, but does anyone have any info about where a traveling theater group could perform in the following cities...
Asheville, Austin, Chicago, Detroit, El Paso, Houston, Huntsville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Minot, Missoula, Montreal, Murfreesboro, New Orleans, Oakland, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Shepherdstown, Spokane, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Additionally, if you feel like divulging info about a nearby town that you think is a better place to play, please do. Hopefully this thread could serve as a resource to the many DIY Theater groups touring these days.

As an example of our style, here is a link to an FPP that links to a performance of ours .

Thank you so much and hopefully this doesn't violate guidelines.

posted by cloeburner to travel & transportation (9 answers total)

Near Philadelphia - the Keswick Theater in Glenside, PA
posted by GJSchaller at 2:22 PM on May 26, 2010

I would recommend coming to Madison instead of Milwaukee. Milwaukee might be bigger, but Madison has many theater groups/venues and a major university, along with a solid activist history, so you might find more success here.
posted by Madamina at 2:32 PM on May 26, 2010

In Chicago, we've got The Experimental Station and The Op Shop, both of which serve as both venues and resources for artists - so even if you don't end up performing at their spaces they might be able to point you to other good spots.

Both of these are located in Hyde Park, which is on the south side of the city. Since a lot of the cultural action in Chicago happens on the north side, it would probably be worth looking into north side venues as well (I don't know of any, though, because I basically never leave the two-mile radius around my apartment).
posted by bubukaba at 2:40 PM on May 26, 2010

If you're ever interested in making your way into New England, I'm a part of a cooperative that puts on stuff exactly like this. We'd love to have you guys perform at our space! If you need other friend connections in the area, we're connected with bunches of people in Boston/Providence/Northampton who do similar stuff.

http://firehouseworcester.com/
posted by thebigdeadwaltz at 2:53 PM on May 26, 2010

Two Seattle venues that I have worked with multiple times often rent their spaces to other groups (pending scheduling conflicts, of course):

Open Circle Theater (Downtown)
Hugo House (Capitol Hill)
posted by Skot at 2:58 PM on May 26, 2010

For Houston: DiverseWorks Art Space or Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex. There are many, many more, but that's a start. If neither of those work and you'd like other options, feel free to memail me.
posted by *s at 3:37 PM on May 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

Thank you everyone. We have the Northeast all booked up, but we'll definitely look at some other spots you've suggested.

These suggestions are great, we're big fans of playing live work spaces, like warehouses and other casual off-the-grid areas, so anything of that nature would be incredible.
posted by cloeburner at 3:49 PM on May 26, 2010

Durham, NC is quite a distance from Asheville, but you can find Manbites Dog Theater, which has a huge fondness for non-traditional spaces as well as its own theater building. There's a bit of a friendly network of small, local, offbeat, high-quality theaters in Durham to which Manbites can give you contacts, if that theater itself doesn't work out.
posted by amtho at 4:53 PM on May 26, 2010

Vancouver - The Russian Hall, The Anza Club, the Centre for Digital Media at the Great Northern Way Campus...recently a friend of mine did a collection of shorts in a downtown parking garage...there are many more, but there are lots of indie theatre companies in Vancouver vying for space, and it doesn't come cheap, generally--memail me if you need more deets.
posted by stray at 11:32 AM on May 27, 2010