by Jonathan Abarbanel
The move of the Artistic Home to a new, larger space in Pilsen (reported in PerformInk Aug. 3) has fallen through. “There were some issues we couldn’t come to terms on, so we had to walk away from the space,” says company co-founder and artistic director Kathy Scambiatterra with some regret.
She noted that the deal was in the final stages of negotiation. The breaker, she reports, was over an option the Artistic Home wanted to extend beyond the original five-year lease. “If we were going to invest all that money (in a build-out), we wanted the option,” she says.
The Artistic Home still is in residence at 1420 West Irving Park Road until Nov. 1, enough time to allow Scambiatterra and other teaching staff to complete their fall term of classes, but not enough time to stage a show. As of that date, the space will become the Chemically Imbalanced Theatre, the troupe having signed a three-year lease. Scambiatterra says the transition already is in process and that all parties—even the landlord—are working in a helpful and friendly way. “I’m helping them get into the space; they’re helping us get out of the space.” For the last several years, Chemically Imbalanced has produced at the Cornservatory on a rental basis.
Scambiatterra is hopeful that the Artistic Home will secure a permanent space within a few weeks. “We’re looking in Logan Square a lot right now,” she says. She and her co-founder/husband, John Mossman, report that the
Department of Cultural Affairs Office of Artists Cultural Resources and the League of Chicago Theatres have been helpful in the space hunt. If the Artistic Home can’t find a suitable space by late autumn, Scambiatterra says they will look for short-term rental space for classes and to produce a season.