Whole Art’s doors close after 35 years

By Laura Citino
Western Herald

Kalamazoo recently lost a bastion of independent philanthropy and community creativity when the Whole Art Theater, located in the Epic Center on the Kalamazoo Mall, closed after over 35 years as a staple in the local theater scene.

The board reached a decision just before Christmas to end the theatrical operations of the Whole Art Theater, and to dissolve the group as a nonprofit organization.
All employees were released before the end of the year.

“Due to the harsh economic times that are severely affecting the arts, the Board of the Whole Art Theater had no choice but to make this decision,” read the official statement released by the Whole Art Theater board.

Out of the dissolution of the Whole Art Theater comes Studio 246, the new home of favorites of the Whole Art’s roster, such as the slam poetry duo Kinetic Affect, and improv comedy troupe Crawlspace Eviction.

Named for the address of the Whole Art’s old studio space, Studio 246 thrives in the spirit of artistic collaboration and shared ideas. The studio also gains a new theater company from the former marketing coordinator of the Whole Art Theater, Carol Zombro, as well as local actor Adam Carter.

The company, now dubbed Fancy Pants Theater, will pick up where the Whole Art left off by bringing independent, unique, and challenging theater to Kalamazoo.

Appropriately toned down from the Whole Art’s frequent and varied productions, Fancy Pants Theater will produce just four works for the remainder of the 2009-10 season.

Offering plays that might be deemed a bit “grittier” than other local theaters — show topics range from the seedy underground of the fashion industry, familial relationships, and politics.

“The goal [is to create] a safe forum for all people to come together and explore society through staged art,” read the fledging theater company’s first press release.
The end of the Whole Art Theater was not necessarily surprising to local Kalamazoo citizens and patrons of the arts. It might come as no surprise that the theater community recognizes the poor economy as the main culprit.

“I’ve just gotten used to hearing about neat things around here closing down,” said Amanda Cooper, a sophomore at Western Michigan University.
“Everything from restaurants to bookstores to theaters, if it’s not completely necessary, it’ll probably close. Especially with the Whole Art, it’s hard to imagine how any nonprofit organization could stay open nowadays, with the economy the way it is.”

After seeing Crawlspace Eviction perform her freshman year on campus and then becoming acquainted with the group’s true home at the Whole Art, Cooper has always made a point to attend Whole Art shows, especially the over-the-top musicals like “Bat Boy” in 2008 and “Evil Dead: The Musical” this past fall.
“I like anything that makes me laugh,” Cooper said. “The Whole Art always made theater so fun and ridiculous.”

Cooper thinks that closing down such a well-known establishment, such as the Whole Art, is the opposite of what Michigan towns should be doing.
Instead of saving money, she said, it will only cost more in the long run.

“I don’t think it’s a good sign that the Whole Art is closing,” she said.
“The seats were always full when I was there. It doesn’t send a good message to the community if something like theater, that really enriches our culture, goes on the chopping block. That’s the sort of thing that makes people move towns, or out of the state.”

Others are more optimistic, if cautiously so.

“It is a whole phoenix-out-of-the-ashes situation,” said Sam Lowe, a junior at WMU studying economics and business management. “One theater company closes, another rises up to take its place. [Studio 246] still has to prove itself, granted, but it’s there to carry the torch. I’m curious to see how it ends up.”

Lowe, a patron of both independent theaters like the Whole Art and Kalamazoo Civic Theater, and local music establishments as The Strutt and Papa Pete’s, sees the Whole Art closing as a part of the business and economic cycle.
According to him, it can simply depend on whether the glass is half full or half empty.

He sees the quick construction of Studio 246 and Fancy Pants Theater as a good sign, and cause for hope in bleak economic times.

“Traditions are all well and good, but money is always going to be the bottom line,” Lowe said.
“You can be pissed off and yell at the economy all you want, or you can do something about it yourself.”

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=13968

Posted by heraldstaff on Jan 24 2010. Filed under A & E. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

http://HeraldStaff