HUGE Improv Theater, a Minneapolis comedy hub for nearly 20 years, to close in October
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The board of HUGE Improv Theater announced it will close permanently at the end of October due to financial reasons.
“The reasons are complex, but they ultimately boil down to money,” said a statement from the board posted on Facebook.
The nonprofit has been a hub for improv and comedy in Minneapolis for nearly 20 years.
“Like many other people are, I’m heartbroken by the news,” Jada Pulley of Minneapolis says.
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Since 2017, Pulley, an “Improv Evangelist,” has been part of the HUGE community, as a student, volunteer, performer and house manager. Pulley is also a producer for the annual Black and Funny Improv Fest and the Queer and Funny Improv Fest, which they hosted at HUGE.
“HUGE has been not only an institution, but just a force of good and community in my life. Most of my friends are improvisers that I met in these hallowed halls,” Pulley says. “I haven’t really come to terms with it fully. I’m still processing, but I know that it’s not just going to be over. We’ll have to find another place or places to go.”
The Queer and Funny Improv Fest was scheduled for Nov. 2-3 at HUGE. The theater is only maintaining programming through the end of October, so Pulley is looking for a new venue.
“I’m scrambling to find a new venue in time to have it at the planned date since we’re having people coming from out of town,” Pulley says. “I basically have a lot of feelers out to different theaters.”
Closure comes after co-founder, artistic director resign
The closing announcement comes less than a month after the co-founder Butch Roy and artistic director Becky Hauser resigned amid concerns about diversity and inclusion raised in an open letter by John Gebretatose, the theater’s co-executive and diversity and inclusion director.
The board’s Facebook post, however, stated that this did not affect the decision to close.
“We want to be emphatically clear: The open letter raising concerns about diversity on HUGE’s stage is not the reason for this closure. HUGE was already in a precarious financial situation, and there simply isn’t a viable way forward,” the statement said.
“Our struggle to find sufficient stable funding in no way diminishes the amazing work that HUGE has produced and supported over the years, and more importantly the diverse and enthusiastic community it has fostered. We know work still lies ahead to ensure that improv in the Twin Cities is truly a space for everyone, and we look to our community to continue these vital and challenging conversations.”
Board chair: $100,000 raised earlier this year is not enough
Board chair Amy Derwinski says HUGE held a fundraiser in May that raised about $100,000, but it was not enough to cover expenses, especially after a move to a new location on Lyndale in Uptown that came with unexpected construction costs.
Shelter, a Minneapolis architecture and interior design firm, worked with HUGE to renovate the new space.
The Shelter website states: “Key upgrades included an expansion of the theater itself, the addition of dedicated classrooms and improved stage accessibility. Additional features such as a state-of-the-art sound booth, a live music area and projector screens were integrated to elevate the performance experience. In the hallway connecting the lobby to back of house areas, a photo gallery wall showcases the theater’s evolution and the diversity of groups that have performed at HUGE over the last decade.”
Derwinski says that HUGE is unsure what will happen to the space, but they hope another arts organization will be interested.
“The bottom line is we knew we needed to move out of our old space,” Derwinski says. ”We had a late start in the new space because of construction delays and from that point in order to make a go of it we needed everything to align and that hasn’t happened.”
The theater plans to maintain its fall schedule through the end of October, which includes shows and fall term classes. After that, Pulley says the improv community at HUGE will scatter, but hopes it finds a new home.
“I’ve talked to improvisers from different states or around the world and people know HUGE theater. They know [co-founder] Jill Bernard. We really had something special here,” Pulley says. “And honestly, a nonprofit artist-led improv theater that made it for 20 years, or 13 years in the building, that’s wild. Congratulations to them and to everyone who got to be a part of it.”
