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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

CoastLine: Mounting Challenges for Community Theater in Wilmington

The Red Barn Studio, created by award winning actress Linda Lavin and Steve Bakunas, has gained a national reputation for the quality of its productions.
Harry Taylor Photography
/
N.C. Arts Council
The Red Barn Studio Theater in Wilmington, created by Linda Lavin and Steve Bakunas, is now for sale and widely expected to cease operation as a theater.

The Red Barn Theater on Third Street in downtown Wilmington, launched by Linda Lavin and Steve Bakunas, is now on the market.  It’s widely expected to cease operation as a theater.  Thalian Association, the theater company that has rented the space for the last several years, is moving out in a matter of months.

Another small Wilmington venue, the Brown Coat Theater and Pub, closed its doors in October. 

And City Stage, an iconic venue in the Masonic building on Front Street in downtown Wilmington, also recently shuttered.

All this – while a newer venue – and largest in the area -- the Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College – opens its doors bringing offerings this area has not been able to attract before. 

Today, we’ll explore the evolution of Wilmington’s theater scene – the business behind the recent closures, and whether a rising tide does, in fact, lift all boats – or whether the death knell has sounded for smaller theatrical companies in Wilmington.  And how many metaphors we can mix in 50 minutes…

Guests: 

Justin Smith, Artistic Director for Cape Fear Theatre Arts, Founder and former Artistic Director of City Stage at Level 5

John Staton, Arts and Entertainment Editor and Writer for StarNewsMedia in Wilmington

John Staton's recent piece on this topic, published in the StarNews Thursday, Feb. 23,2017: 

3 closings shock Wilmington’s theater community, but in face of challenges new opportunities emerge

Steve Vernon, Artistic Director of Big Dawg Productions on Castle Street in Wilmington.   

Rachel hosts and produces CoastLine, an award-winning hourlong conversation featuring artists, humanitarians, scholars, and innovators in North Carolina. The show airs Wednesdays at noon and Sundays at 4 pm on 91.3 FM WHQR Public Media. It's also available as a podcast; just search CoastLine WHQR. You can reach her at rachellh@whqr.org.