creative writing prompts #14
creative writing prompts, the website, is responsible for this assignment.
moving from one place to another, and one house to another, is a big task. write about one of your most memorable house moves.
///
august 2002: company 13 acquires use of the space at 5440 harford road. the space is named ‘the top floor theatre.’ renovations and cleaning begin.
january 2003: first show, “tape”, held in the top floor theatre. between the years of 2003 to 2006, approximately 12 shows per year hosted by company 13 in the theatre space.
spring 2004: ‘operation reach out’ program introduced. originally a method of diversifying income for the theatre space, it invited other local artists to perform in the space when the theatre company had no shows of its own. performance types ranged from other theatre company’s plays, to live music, film screenings, and stand up comedy shows.
january 2006: company 13–a grassroots community art space from its inception–dissolves, citing bankruptcy and burnout, as well as interpersonal conflicts.
february 2006: one of the volunteer managers of company 13 and the top floor establishes the hamilton arts collective (”the hac”) with a fellow former company 13 member and a handful of other friends, including a representative from maryland nonprofits. ‘operation reach out’ is adopted as a main programming model, and invitations go out to performers to bring their works to the hac. the members’ personal funds are used to pay for rent, equipment, and renovations.
march 2006: the herring run artists network (”hran”) joins with the hac. the second floor of the building housing the hac (initially used as a storage space) is converted to an art gallery in the coming months. hran supplies the human power to complete renovations and decoration of the second floor space. the group pays rent to the hac, and the hac maintains all other bills, non-profit paperwork, and logistical concerns.
summer 2006 - summer 2007: the hac experiences tremendous growth in notoriety and popularity. “first fridays in hamilton” is established, with new art showings happening on the second floor followed by live performances in the hac performance space on the third floor. other partnerships are established, including baltimore improv group, mt6 records, city neighbors charter school, imaginary voyage, and hole in the wall cabaret.
may 2007: the first ‘hamilton art crawl’ is held. this is a multi-day arts and creativity festival of events, including live performances, art events, restaurant & bar specials, and other community events. the hac is the centerpiece location and primary venue.
july 2007: hamilton arts collective closed due to lack of proper zoning. calls made out to the various performers and community citizens for support in the zoning and permit process. several dozen letters are received, and used as corroborating materials in the zoning appeal. the hac experiences an unexpectedly smooth zoning appeal.
august 2007: operations resume as per normal in the third and second floor spaces of the hac.
december 2007: hac closed by police department for lack of use & occupancy permit. a childrens play–a duo-gendered version of “twelve angry men”–is moved to the basement of a nearby church that same evening.
board members appeal to the fire department, and an inspection is made of the 87 (or so) year-old building occupied by the hac. a list of necessary renovations is disbursed to the hac, which must be completed prior to reopening the doors for performance. at this point, it’s recognized that performances will no longer be taking place on the third floor, due to fire department-cited safety concerns.
2008: various strategic meetings take place with the hac board members. the third floor is converted to a collection of eight private artists studios to be sub-let. a nearby ground floor space is rented and converted into an art gallery for hran; once again, members of hran supply the bulk of the labor involved in gallery renovations. the second floor is targeted as a future performance space. renovations begin in earnest when one of the hac’s board members uses personal funds to compensate for construction and labor fees.
spring 2008: hac programming shifts to service-based equipment use and rental. volunteers from the hac transport the hac sound system to other venues that lack a sound/p.a. system of their own, and operate sound for their events.
programming continues in the hran gallery, now named “the hamilton gallery”. community meetings, free board game events, and featured artist showings are all open to the public, and most are free of charge.
the second ‘hamilton arts crawl’ occurs, featuring a restaurant/pub crawl, arts & crafts fair, and live outdoor music show stretched over a weekend in may.
summer 2008: the first hac-sponsored show occurs at a private residence at 3000 wisteria avenue, less than a block away from the hac. the home/venue is nicknamed “falafel house”. the show is recognized as a success, and future shows are envisioned.
september 2008: all artists studios completed. primary renovations of the second floor are completed, and an appeal for a second fire department inspection are made.
the first meeting of ‘the northeast network’ occurs. this is a community arts initiative that plans to coordinate events in the northeast section of baltimore city. any members of the community are invited to participate, and shows are scheduled for later that year.
october 2008: another show occurs at falafel house, the first of three “gypsy cab” events.
///
Discussion Area - Leave a Comment