On Thursday, Nov. 21, Theatre Washington, the capital area’s professional theater advocacy group, published an open letter to the executive director and board of directors of CulturalDC, urging them to “honor the roots of the SOURCE Theatre and prioritize keeping the black box space dedicated to the performing arts.” The letter is signed by President and CEO (and former City Paper publisher) Amy Austin and the Theatre Washington staff and board. As of 5:20 p.m. on Thursday, nearly 300 people have cosigned, including artists, technicians, and supporters from a variety of fields, as well as staff and leadership from Olney Theatre Center, Mosaic Theater Company, Theater Alliance, Arena Stage, and Studio Theatre.  

CulturalDC, which has owned the Source Theatre on 14th Street NW since 2006, informed tenants that they would be selling the 120-seat black box theater in September. According to its mission statement, CulturalDC, a nonprofit that dates back to the late ’90s, supports artists and “provides unconventional space for relevant and challenging work that is essential to nurturing vibrant urban communities.” The venue has served as the home base for several performing arts organizations, including Constellation Theatre Company and local opera company IN Series, as well as a site of CulturalDC’s own performance programming. A public listing by Congressional Commercial lists the asking price at $5,800,000. 

The listing links to several documents, including one where CulturalDC is cited as “desiring that the property transfer to a like-minded organization or operator, such that it remains within the arts community.” But Theatre Washington’s letter expresses concern that the listing also “provides documents suggesting demolition plans and retail layouts, an emphasis on the multifunctional nature of the building’s current zoning, and a desire to sell within calendar year 2024.” The letter also asks CulturalDC to “work in collaboration with the DC theatre community, on a slower timeline, to ensure the preservation of the SOURCE Theatre as a performing arts venue.” 

In a call to action, Theatre Washington notes that if a public sale moves forward, the space will likely be sold to a developer and the city could lose “one of the last viable black boxes for itinerant theatre companies in the DC area.” A fair concern considering at least two local companies—Theater Alliance and Synetic Theater—lost their longtime homes in the last year or so. And despite CulturalDC’s stated hope of keeping the space devoted to the arts, the listing also notes:

“The Property is the home of Source Theater and has served as a hub for creativity, innovation, and community engagement, housing three resident theater organizations and providing rehearsal, educational, and performance space for countless arts organizations for nearly two decades.” But, it continues, “CDC is the Owner and occupant of the Property and the entire premises can be delivered vacant upon transfer of title or otherwise as mutually agreed upon.”

According to the letter, Constellation, which has been a company in residence at Source for 18 years, “has made a fair market offer, based on due diligence research, to purchase the building.” For 14 years, until 2022, Washington Improv Theater had also called Source home, but it left the space amid controversy after its lease was not renewed. 

Theatre Washington’s letter concludes by pointing to CulturalDC’s purchase of the Source in 2006, which the letter says was made possible by significant support from the D.C. Council, the Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the DMV theater community at large. “We are grateful for your stewardship of the SOURCE Theatre since then and are now asking you to honor the spirit that allowed you to purchase the space and commit to a sale that allows for its continued operation as a theatre.”

You can read the full letter at theatrewashington.org.

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