On The Hunt for a New Home

"What is past is prologue."
- The Tempest

After our replacement at East End Centre in September 2018, the Gaslight Board of Directors has been hard at work searching for potential new homes for our company. In the process, we explored nearly every vacant store front in Downtown Wilkes-Barre, most of which were dead ends either due to three main factors: 1. the space simply did not meet the needs of an arts venue; 2. it was in disrepair/wrapped up in issues; and/or 3. landlords were absentee or unreachable. We're willing to revisit any of them though if new information turns up!

We also conducted searches in other parts of Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, and Luzerne County but have been struggling to find the right fit of "space needs / affordable / available." We have two leads we've been working for the past few months, both with their own challenges. The lesson here: it is surprisingly difficult to find the right space with a landlord willing to support an arts venue and arts budget. And it's even more frustrating to see so many vacant store fronts in our region that could be great (and would give landlords monthly income!!), if only we could be given a chance.

But have no fear! We are hard at work searching and reaching out to everyone we know for leads and introductions. While we welcome suggestions on venues, please know the list of our requirements is complex (included below). In the meantime, we've taken a much-needed break but are still strategizing our "relaunch" and brainstorming ways we can remain active until then; hopefully, in the next month we'll have more news to share on that. While our roots are that of a nomadic company, we hope to find ourselves again in a long-term venue as it is more efficient and less stressful on our Board. We thrived on our pop-up theatre approach for many years but have since amassed a great deal of equipment, set pieces, and costumes that must travel with us.

We're still very much hopeful to return soon and bring you only the best programming of underproduced and original works! Please reach out with suggestions to [email protected] and check our Facebook page for more updates!

Venue Needs

• If a store front or flexible building: open floor plate to accommodate black box staging and audience set up
• If an existing performing space: medium-sized stage with audience ranging from 30-50 seats
• Ceilings at least 10' tall
• Dedicated lobby/box office space
• Green room space to accommodate casts ranging from 4-15 people
• Adequate technical capacity for lighting and sound
• Parking
• Air conditioning and heating
• Two bathrooms (to meet code requirement of intended capacity)
• Back of house storage
• Easy load-in / load-out access; handicap accessible

Venue Wants

• Central location to bars, restaurants, and/or other cultural establishments
• Parking lot or access to parking garage
• No columns
• Dedicated office space (1-3 rooms) to be used for administrative business and storage
• Easy and clear place for signage / marquee area
• A landlord who supports the arts!