Gorilla Theatre lives — but needs help.
According to Managing Director Bridget Bean, co-founder Aubrey Hampton left no money to the theater in his will when he died in May. He did provide that the administrators of his estate could release funds to the theater if they wished, which they have done, doling out enough money to keep the theater running till December 31. But other financial pressures have made them leery of promising any support beyond that point. And so Bean is beginning efforts to raise badly needed money from corporations and persons.
"I was under the impression that we were going to be in his will," says Bean. "But when I think back, I'm not absolutely sure, I don't remember verbatim any conversations we had. I do remember having a lot of semi-conversations like, 'You're not going to forget about us, are you Aubrey?' And he would sort of smile and nod and laugh … And the reality of it, of course, was not quite like that … The Gorilla Theatre does actually feature as a beneficiary in Aubrey's trust, but way down the list. And the way that various things have conspired and come out, means that really we get nothing."
A moment later she corrects herself: the trust is, in fact, paying for utilities and rent and her salary to the end of 2011 — all totaling somewhere between $40,000 and $50,000. But it's not chipping in on any of the costs of producing plays. Since Hampton and his company Aubrey Organics were typically contributing $250,000 yearly to the theater's operations, Bean has a long way to go to make up the loss.
Her plan, under the circumstances, has three elements: to appeal to individual and corporate donors, to schedule inexpensive plays in the immediate future, and to try to bring a crowd to Aubrey-Fest, the three-night celebration of Hampton's works (play extracts, songs, puppetry, magic) from Sept. 15-17. How much does she need to raise? "To keep the theater going in its present building, and to keep me employed full time, and to do the kind of productions that we were doing, we'd really need to raise between $100,000 and $200,000," she says. In search of these funds, Bean will go to an "A-list" of people "who we know to be philanthropists, and who we know to like the Gorilla Theatre," and a "B-list" which is "the thousands of ordinary people who like the Gorilla Theatre, so we're going to be going to them for moderate-sized donations." And then there are the corporations, "starting with Gorilla Theatre patrons who we know have businesses, and then just following leads from that." There's already a website button one can click in order to donate.
As to the rest of this year's productions, the two-character play The Seahorse (with Bean in one of the starring roles) will play from Oct. 13-30, as a co-production with the Revolve Theatre Company, which will carry all the production and publicity costs. That play will be followed by Jonelle Meyer in the one-woman The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, from Dec. 1-18, co-produced with director Chris Rutherford. Macbeth, originally announced for the fall, has been cancelled due to its large cast and reputation for bringing bad luck. The annual Young Dramatists Project will return, though, says Bean — whatever else happens.
Come the end of the year, Bean will decide whether Gorilla can afford to stay in its present space or will have to migrate. "There's also an advantage to moving to somewhere with more seats, because that way we get a healthier proportion of our money coming from ticket sales," she says. Another alternative is to fold up shop for a few months and then rent a space for the March production of the three-character The Whipping Man, a Civil War drama about race and religion written by USF graduate Matt Lopez. Bean says she's talked to people at Stageworks, the Shimberg Playhouse and elsewhere about terms and availabilities. But she's also preparing for the worst: she's applied for other jobs. After all, when January 2012 comes around, she may not have an income.
Will someone — or, more likely, many someones — rescue Gorilla Theatre? You can help by sending a check to Gorilla Theatre, 4419 N. Hubert Ave., Tampa, FL 33614. Or go to the Gorilla website (www.gorilla-theatre.com) and click the big yellow button that says "donate."
Gorilla's given us 20 good years. Now it's our turn to produce.
This article appears in Sep 1-7, 2011.