An Update: What We’ve Done
Thank you for supporting us through our journey to the Next Stage. We are making huge progress at our new theater at 1300 Altamont Avenue.
Construction is well underway – new plumbing has been routed throughout the space (and underneath concrete!), audience risers have been built, the stage is almost complete, walls are framed and new duct work is winding its way through the building.
We should be finished with major construction in early- to mid-December – but that’s too late to produce “Scrooge in Rouge” in Altamont.
So we will have one more stop in our journey to the Next Stage.
Richmond Triangle Players’ area premiere of “Scrooge in Rouge: The English Music Hall Christmas Carol” will open, as planned, on Wednesday, November 18, at Theatre Gym in the Empire Theatre complex, at 114 W. Broad St. It’s a wonderfully intimate venue that will give you a sense of what your theater-going experience at Altamont Avenue will be like.
What We Need
Right now, we need your help to identify people who believe in our 16-year history, our mission, our vision for the future, and who want to see us get to The Next Stage – our own dedicated home. Tough times or no, this can be done if everyone pitches in to help!
We need $50,000 in new gifts to cover the remainder of the construction costs that will make the building operational -- new electrical and safety lighting, ADA compliant bathroom facilities, heating & air conditioning, safe entrances and installation of the stage.
What You Can Do
Become one of 50 people donating $1,000 each – with payment in full now, or five payments of $200, or any other combination you can think of. Not able to give $1,000? Please consider $500, $250 or whatever you can do. And pass the word -- if you and your friends can donate now, we can get this done!
Click on the button below, or call or email Mike Gooding (231-7194), Phil Crosby (342-7665), or another member of our Board of Directors and tell us what you can do NOW to make this happen!
With your help, we will make it
to The Next Stage!
STAGE LEFT: “All you need is two boards and a passion.”
It’s 1992. Three Richmonders — Steve Earle, Michael Gooding, and Marcus Miller — survey the local theater scene. Where are the new plays, they ask? The today ideas? The edgy work that is throwing sparks from stages in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles? Where is the work exploring the gay experience that is transforming the arts landscape? And what are we going to do about it?
They need a stage. The upstairs space at Fieldens, a private after-hours club, is made available. Friends pitch in and turn it into an awkward but intimate performance venue, Fieldens Cabaret Theatre. The stage measures 12 by 16 feet with kitchen track lights for lighting. Audiences are seated in 60 mismatched folding chairs.
Harvey Fierstein grants permission to stage his trio of one-act plays and Forget Him, his never-produced coda. They call it Safe Sex. They stage a benefit for the Fan Free Clinic. It’s a sell-out.
Richmond Triangle Players is born. The theatrical landscape of Richmond and Virginia would never be the same.
STAGE RIGHT: If we didn’t do it, who would?
Richmond Triangle Players “has broken new ground.” — Richmond Magazine
Always provocative and committed to challenge, RTP brought in new directors, offered opportunities to aspiring playwrights and to artists with passion and a message seeking expression.
As audiences and consciousness expanded, different plays followed. They examined the gay experience in many forms — breast cancer, diversity, aging and dying, and, always, relationships and alternative lifestyles.
RTP’s first professional production was The Lisbon Traviata. The AIDS crisis informed early productions such as As Is, Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, and Lonely Planet. A 1995 revival of Boys in the Band brought down the house.
Miss Gulch Returns: “Richmond is more fun than you think. You just need to know where to look.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch
Pure entertainment — belly laughs and a subtle message — energized many successful runs, from Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and Key West to Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly. Musicals were huge crowd-pleasers.
Kiss of the Spider Woman: “The latest gem from Richmond Triangle Players… They never fail to amaze, putting a big show on a small stage with seemingly effortless ease.” — Out & About
Audiences loved The Ten Percent Revue, Fairy Tales, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Breathe. Hilarity reigned with Miss Gulch Returns, Southern Baptist Sissies, Sordid Lives and The Stops, which took four top awards, including ‘Best Musical’, at the National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival.
With 2008’s Visiting Mr. Greene, a marquee production for the Richmond Acts of Faith theater festival, RTP extended its reach and voice to a broader audience, with moving post-curtain dialogues about tolerance, family relationships, acceptance and love.
Fifteen years, more than sixty productions and 600 performances: the magic, the daring, the humanity and the artistry of Richmond Triangle Players have challenged and changed Richmond’s theatre landscape.
Richmond Triangle Players “gives Richmond audiences an opportunity to grow.” — STYLE Magazine
Success and growing audiences tell us that the time has come for a new home.
The intimacy and atmosphere of the Fieldens space played a unique role in RTP’s history and artistic identity — as have its discomforts. Amenities are few. There is no working elevator, and the steep stairs to the second-floor restrict access for many older or disabled patrons, as do the rudimentary restrooms. Heating and cooling are problematic. Options are limited.
THE NEXT STAGE: 1300 Altamont Avenue
Inspired by the vision outlined at RTP’s 15th Anniversary Gala in September 2008, a patron offered to acquire a permanent home that the company could afford: 1300 Altamont Avenue in Richmond’s historic Scott’s Addition.
1300 Altamont will be a 4,000 square foot performing arts facility that will accommodate a 90-seat theater, a graceful lobby, a generous bar, catering capability, and comfortable restrooms. Its design will be accessible to all.
The new facility will be available to the Richmond community for art shows, cabaret performances and private parties. It will be a safe and welcoming gathering place for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Most importantly, this exciting new venture will enhance understanding, acceptance, and appreciation of the unique and irreplaceable role that Richmond Triangle Players plays in the artistic, cultural and social life of the Richmond metro area.
EPILOGUE: A unique opportunity for a unique theatre company.
Richmond Triangle Players is a successful nonprofit professional theatre company with a unique mission, a diverse and devoted audience and a national reputation for excellence. Grounded in the gay community, RTP’s audience has diversified as Richmond’s cultural and social horizons have broadened. RTP’s business and financial management have always been conservative. The company has always paid its bills and never run a deficit.
“Now it is time to take our audiences, our community and our vision with us on our journey to our new home.” — Richmond Triangle Players
However, its audiences and its ability to compete for foundation grants have been hampered by its inability to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act at it’s the old location. The time is now. RTP has outgrown its first home both artistically and logistically.
An exceptional new venue has been found for Richmond’s unique theatre company, Richmond Triangle Players. With your support, the vision and the adventure continue.
RTP’s Board of Directors has done its due diligence on feasibility and affordability. Significant renovation will be needed to create a functional theater. Rental costs will be below market rate; RTP will assume normal utility and other monthly costs. A Richmond architectural firm has produced conceptual drawings for the theater space. City zoning officials confirm the proper permits can be obtained. Board members and supporters have volunteered their legal, renovation and business expertise.
The cost of the project is $500,000, including: Architectural and Engineering: $ 44,500; Demolition and Construction: $ 375,000; Capital Campaign and Contingency: $ 80,500
In line with RTP’s record of fiscal responsibility, we are also seeking support to meet projected operating (non-capital) costs for three years after the move to 1300 Altamont. Those costs include rent, utilities, insurance, and other operating costs, and are expected to total $60,000 per year over the next three years. A pledge to The Next Stage campaign and a commitment to Annual Fund support will ensure a stable future for our wonderful new performing arts venue.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Your gift to the Next Stage campaign is crucial to turning the vision into reality. First, please consider a contribution to the Richmond Triangle Players Annual Fund to support our expanded mission and ensure its financial stability. Then consider making a generous pledge to The Next Stage capital campaign. 
The following table shows the size and number of gifts required for us to raise $500,000 to turn 1300 Altamont into a great performing arts facility. In addition to your pledge, payable over three years, you may wish to consider a planned gift, such as a bequest in your will, a gift of appreciated property or securities, or a charitable gift annuity.
For more information on planned giving, please contact Michael Gooding at 804-231-7194 or email wmg@rtriangle.org. Every gift of every size is deeply appreciated and will make a difference.
