REDUCING RESTRICTIONS FOR THEATERS

November 17, 2005

Small theaters may soon get a break

The Chicago Sun-Times

By Fran Spielman;
The bureaucratic red tape that has served as an impediment to smaller live theaters in Chicago would be swept away, thanks to a new "performing arts venue" license advanced Wednesday by a City Council committee.

Three years ago, a City Hall crackdown targeted small theaters that had failed to fill out a 20-page application required to obtain a "public place of amusement" license.

"My theater was one of those. We were caught up in a lot of red tape for a long, long time. It nearly buried my company," said P.J. Powers, art director for the Time Line Theater Co.

"This new license is going to make it so much easier for small neighborhood theaters to thrive and stay alive and give the opportunity for the next great Chicago company to start up in some small venue."

Ald. Helen Shiller (46th) said she introduced the ordinance with three goals in mind: streamline the process; clearly establish where small theaters can and cannot be located "so low-density communities are not overwhelmed"; and allow schools, churches and Park District facilities to have live theater as an "incidental" use.

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