At last...

It's hard to believe we've finally reached opening. Seven years is a long time, and the last 16th months has seemed even longer. But, we're finally ready. As I type this, it's late, about 2am, and I'm sitting in the house of Theater 1. The space is dark and quiet but it doesn't feel empty. It feels anticipatory. When the building was under construction, being here at night was unnerving; I felt like a trespasser. It wasn't our space, it belonged to the construction workers and the city inspectors and the general contractor and the engineers.


But now it's ours. As soon as the stage and seats went in, the building was transformed into the familiar. If you haven't been in a theater late at night, it's really a very singular experience. All day, the theater has been a cacophony of activity. The construction crews have been installing doors, the electricians wired theater two's dimmer lines in, painters have been painting our brand new doors, the occupancy inspector for the city has walked through the building, five people are laying carpet tile everywhere and we've had five hours of rehearsal in the middle of all this ambient noise and activity. For the last three weeks, there have been crews working on the building for 18 hours a day. Deliveries, arguments, scheduling conflicts, power tools, paint fumes—all those things disappear late at night.

Empty theatres never feel dead to me. There are the ambient building noises, of course, the whisper of the air through the heating ducts, and the creak of the metal in the lighting fixtures as they cool down. When it's quiet, I can't sit in one without dozens of previous audience experiences flashing through my mind, or a hundred moments that haven't happened yet. There is a hush in the air like in a church. Not silent, but expectant.

All this money, all this effort to create such a delicate thing: an empty space filled with the future.

And we are bringing you a truly remarkable play. While our plans to build a home have been in progress for eight years, Spin has been in development for nearly nine years. Penny's work is erudite, funny, warm and remarkably insightful. I cannot think of a better introduction to Theater Wit than an evening in the company of this multilayered and intricate comedy.

This was my scheme, but it was certainly not my doing. Over 150 people have worked on making this building a reality--from donors to masons. This building and the quality of their contributions will make this space a reality for decades to come. I think that their time, skills, money and devotion to this project is awe-inspiring.

Welcome to Theater Wit.