MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: The Mission Theatre Closes (Even The Best Productions Can Go Under) - Part I

Uhhhh...what happened?

Recently I listened to this WGN segment discussing how TJ & Dave's "theatre inside a theatre" The Mission was closing at the end of the month.  I was sad to see that another performance space dedicated to the artforms I love close, but at the same time I thought, "Wow.  It took this long for it to  happen?"

Let me explain.

iO Chicago Expansion Doubts

When iO Chicago lost its well-worn space in Wrigleyville (the tourist magnet of a neighborhood located around Chicago's beloved Wrigley Field), I was very dubious about its future.  I had heard owner Charna Halpern had plans to go even bigger with her theatre beyond the two theatres that operated in the old space with 4 stages, a huge bar, and a lounge that tied it all together.  With the economy on a rebound and the fact that Chicago's popular comedy scene has been beyond a saturation point where everyone was struggling to draw audiences, the thought of having a new sprawling comed-o-plex seemed to me to be the wrong thing at the time.

Then I heard about having a seperate theatre called The Mission located inside the iO building. My first reaction was, "Uhm, sooooo, basically it's a stage where TJ & Dave decide what productions go on it?  Is it really a separate theatre or is it just an extension of iO with TJ & Dave programming it."  I thought it was a horrible idea.  The Mission was going to use the same ticketing system/box office iO, was located at iO, and surrounded by iO community.  Sooooo, how isn't this an iO endeavor?

TJ & Dave themselves are household demi-gods of the improv community and are respected actors in their own right but other than the frequent Sonic commercials showcasing their talents, who outside of our make-em-ups bubble knew these guys by name?  The TJ & Dave lore would be enough to draw those of us in-the-know but actors alone cannot keep a theatre running.  I found this arrangement really odd and unnatural.

Believe it or not, I was actually rooting for iO and The Mission to be successful.  Having more opportunities to produce original work was good for everyone in the scene and even though there were doubts on my side, I obviously am not operating at a theatre-owner level (yet) so there are probably economics and politics beyond my purview that could contribute to its success. 

I Was Proven Wrong - For The Most Part... 

Everything iO had planned for pretty much came true.  The space was gorgeous, the bar/lounge was incredibly comfortable and inviting, and the stages were superb.  The place was alive with activity both from a training and production perspective.  People really liked being there and loved calling it home.  However, one area never seemed to get a buzz was The Mission. I never heard anyone else talk about The Mission.  With everything else going on in that building, I had no reason/want to go check out a Mission show.  My feeling was that either it was doing so well that a non-disclosure Fight Club-like rule had been implemented or people had yet to really discover it. My curiosity never got the best of me to go check it out.  I couldn't even tell you what the mission of The Mission was.  I just chalked it up as "TJ & Dave's theatre".

After listening to excellent and very candid interview,  it looks like The Mission suffered from the same problems many improv/sketch-related productions:

• Lack of cohesive marketing/confusing brand identity.
• Trying something "new" in an over-saturated market.
• Not having the buy-in from the non-actor community.

It was refreshing to hear discussion regarding the business side of theatre for a change.   This painful but needed part of the industry is an often looked over aspect of many black-box productions.  In Part II, we'll delve into each of these issues affecting all of us starting from The Mission's vantage point.