The morbid among us can add another item to our nasty little lists–Golden Fish Theatre in Bellevue has announced its financial ruin and dissolution. Golden Fish, we hardly knew ye. In fact, we didn’t know ye at all since we didn’t see anything ye did. But in a final spasm of generosity, the theater gave the rest of its assets (some $3,000) to another company in dire trouble: Theatre Babylon.
The financially solid company stands to lose its home, the great and tiny Union Garage. The venue, which has hosted dozens of small companies, needs over $100,000 of renovations required by a quartet of city bureaucracies: seismic, fire, barrier-free access, and energy conservation.
Last March the fire department turned up for an inspection just before a performance of the gut-churning Blasted. “Someone told the fire department there’d be several hundred people showing up,” said Babylon artistic director John Longenbaugh. “I have a sneaking suspicion that, as often happens, somebody confused the Union Garage with the Garage.”
The boys in yellow arrived, noted some minor violations, and added that as a venue with more than 49 seats, the Union Garage would need a Certificate of Assembly. Lots of meetings and handwringing later, Babylon got a contractor to bid $167,000 for the renovations. With volunteer labor and scrounging, they hope to whittle the cost down to a still-mountainous $105,000.
This crisis has come just as Babylon looked ready to heighten its profile. Since Longenbaugh took over as artistic director last fall, Babylon seemed bound for its goal of semiprofessionalism. The Countess, their season opener, had the highest attendance for any Babylon show. In January the company wrote its first monthly checks to its senior staff. Most memorably for audiences, in June Babylon brought us Wreckage, Lauren Weedman’s fantastic new solo show.
Babylon’s prospects aren’t entirely bleak. In the last few weeks the itinerant company Annex Theatre has entered into what Longenbaugh called “serious and speedy negotiations” with Theatre Babylon to assist with the fundraising effort. In exchange, Annex would share the renovated space. Longenbaugh said the companies are still working out the details, but that he feels “very optimistic” about the prospective partnership.
“I’ve been in town for 10 years and have seen a lot of companies go down in that time,” Longenbaugh said. “This is different–we’re a tight little ship that has survived 11 years without grants. And I think after the great die-off of the mid-’90s, people have come to value small, 99-seat theaters.”
That remains to be seen–the proof is in the donations. Babylon’s revival likely depends on small and midlevel donors. If you value 99-seaters, you can donate via theatrebabylon.org or mail checks to the Union Garage at 1418 10th Avenue, 98122.
