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The Daily Orange'The little theater that could': Downtown's Redhouse moves forward despite financial setbacks
By Chase W. Wright
Posted: 5/7/08, 8:19 PM EST Section: News
"We're pretty good at begging, borrowing and stealing things people are no longer using," Tarbox said. "Theater people are able to make things look pretty grandiose when the budget may be only $100."
Tarbox recalled the time he found an old, moldy sofa at an underground market, which he bought for about $2. With a little cleaning, some new fabric and a few hours of his time, Tarbox turned the sofa into a prop for one of Redhouse's many performances. The old sofa is one of Tarbox's proudest finds.
It certainly takes more than donations from a wealthy board of trustees to keep a local, nonprofit theater sustainable.
"Time is really the only cost most small theaters have," Tarbox says.
Now in its fourth administration, Redhouse has found creative ways to market itself and sell tickets to shows. Word-of-mouth is spreading. The four colorful chalkboards that list the theater's upcoming events invite outsider's intrigue, as do the two mannequins posing atop the roof of the three-story art house.
Just don't come in when the red light outside the building is on. That's Redhouse's signal for when artists are at work.
cwwright@syr.edu
Tarbox recalled the time he found an old, moldy sofa at an underground market, which he bought for about $2. With a little cleaning, some new fabric and a few hours of his time, Tarbox turned the sofa into a prop for one of Redhouse's many performances. The old sofa is one of Tarbox's proudest finds.
It certainly takes more than donations from a wealthy board of trustees to keep a local, nonprofit theater sustainable.
"Time is really the only cost most small theaters have," Tarbox says.
Now in its fourth administration, Redhouse has found creative ways to market itself and sell tickets to shows. Word-of-mouth is spreading. The four colorful chalkboards that list the theater's upcoming events invite outsider's intrigue, as do the two mannequins posing atop the roof of the three-story art house.
Just don't come in when the red light outside the building is on. That's Redhouse's signal for when artists are at work.
cwwright@syr.edu
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