Construction Begins!

Friday, at long last, construction finally began.

this pic is also in the demolition gallery

I can’t tell you how excited I was to actually see work happening after almost 6 years of planning. This really has been a long road. I spent about three hours Friday morning putting up some signage in the front window and nominally meeting the subcontractors, but what I was really doing was watching the bobcats chew up the theatre like fucking tissue paper. I tell you, strike with one of these bad boys would take an hour. The above photo is from the old bailiwick shop after about an hour of work by one guy. Now, I did a clean up of this space in the early nineties, and it took three of us TWO WEEKS.


Here’s a video:

I mean seriously. How cool is that? (What you don’t get to see is the way five seconds after I took this video, the pile of platforms in front of collapsed toward me, taking out a part of the stairs and the work lights as I scrambled back. Also fun!)

I suspect demo is going to be one of the most exciting part this entire process since it’s so fast. And so full of possibility. The changes are dramatic. Here’s a picture of the space after only two days of work:

I must confess it was a little weird tearing down the stages that I had my first directing breaks on. Like so many others, I worked for Bailiwick Repertory. As an artistic associate from 1993 through 2004, some of my first full-scale directing experiences were at this theatre. First, in the directors fest while I was in college, and then in productions I still remember fondly like Henry VI: Blood of a Nation, and now then again. I’ve spent countless hours in this building working and seeing work. Watching it get cleared away was a curious mixture of glee and remorse. Watching demolition did reinforce my determination to transform this buliding into a truly beautiful place for the whole community to enjoy. Removing a theatre and not replacing it with an even better one sounds like a ticket to hell to atheistic ol’ me.

Lastly, here’s a video with really crappy sound I took on my iPhone showing where everything is going to be. For more pics, take a look at our gallery.