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Former Performance Network staffers Logan Ricket, Carla Milarch and David Wolber presided over a town hall meeting on Wednesday night at Hathaway's Hideaway.

(Jenn McKee | The Ann Arbor News)

Though a wake implies a death - and Performance Network Theatre's fate is uncertain, after the professional company's Board of Directors suddenly 'suspended operations' on Thursday, May 22 - that was nonetheless the general mood of a town hall meeting on Wednesday night at Hathaway's Hideaway (310 S. Ashley in Ann Arbor): for approximately 60-70 theater artists and supporters seemed happy to see each other, but sad about the reason they were gathered together.

When PNT's Board closed the theater's doors (at 120 E. Huron St. in Ann Arbor) last week, in the midst of a run of "Richard III," they stated in a press release that they'd "determined that the theatre is not currently financially viable." While Board President Ron Maurer isn't providing specific information about the company's current debt load, former PNT associate artistic director Carla Milarch has estimated that the company owes various creditors - including the State of Michigan, the IRS, and a bank loan guaranteed by a group of community supporters - more than $250,000.

PNT's Board is reportedly willing to listen to a proposal from the company's former artists, led by Milarch, about either a buyout of its assets from a newly-formed theater company, composed of PNT alumni; or the Board members agreeing to step down when/if artists could raise enough money to cover the IRS/State taxes and the loan, allowing the artists to move forward with a new staff and board under the name Performance Network.

Since PNT's shutdown on May 22, Milarch has launched a Facebook page for a group called Theatre Nova, so at the start of Wednesday's town hall meeting, Milarch stated, "We are an independent group. Aside from being former staff members, and having consulted with associate artists of Performance Network, we are acting on our own volition. This is not in any way an official action of Performance Network. We don't speak for them, and we can't speak for them."

Milarch also said since the theater’s sudden shutdown, "it's become very clear that there's a great deal of passion, a great deal of commitment, and a great deal of love for Performance Network and for the notion of having a resident professional company in Ann Arbor. So our primary purpose is to keep theater alive in Ann Arbor, and this is why we've organized tonight."

The 90 minute meeting covered a lot of ground, but here's a glimpse of some key points and new information.

* Former PNT managing director (for the past 2 years) Erin Sabo was not at the meeting, but when a question arose about her role in this new effort, Milarch said, "My understanding is that she is moving forward on her own individual path and that she couldn't be here tonight. I don't know what her future intentions are for involvement. She did send her regrets. … I don't know what her plans are for the future, but we haven't had a lot of communication since Thursday."

* Former PNT artistic director David Wolber said, "From January on, there were a lots of things where we were seriously looking to try and make major cuts - not just in production budgets, but staffing. … Though we never made an official announcement, I made the decision at the end of March to step down as artistic director. I had personal plans to move to California, so I was doing that, and Carla was going to be put in as interim artistic director. … So the plan was that by July 1, I would be gone, and that would be a reduction in staff as well."

Attendees at Theatre Nova's town hall meeting to discuss the future of professional theater in Ann Arbor, following the sudden closing of Performance Network.

• Regarding PNT, Milarch noted, “If it closes down and is dissolved, everything is due right now. If you are maintaining operations and moving forward, the bank - the credit line, for example, which is 90,000 - that's a monthly payment, as long as you’re current, of $3,000 a month. But as soon as you shut down, then it's all due.”

• Milarch estimates that in order to continue as PNT, $250,000 to $300,000 would need to be raised, while the seed money to launch a new venture would likely require an amount closer to $200,000.

• Shutting the theater down in the middle of a production run inevitably hurt PNT's standing with Actors Equity. “Some other things about moving forward as Performance Network – a short conversation with Actors Equity leads me to believe it would be a difficult contract to negotiate, and what we’d get would not be as forgiving as those we’ve had in the past, because we shut down a production in the middle of the run,” Milarch said.

• The theater's current location is no small consideration. “Performance Network was getting an absolute steal on the rent,” said Milarch, noting that while the market rate is $22 a square foot, PNT was paying about $3.50 per square foot. “ … It was a sweetheart deal the DDA brokered nearly 20 years ago And it’s locked in through 2020 for Performance Network.” Of course, a company under another name would not be covered under the same lease.

• When asked how they might convince people that the same debt problems wouldn’t arise again, whether as PNT or a new company, Milarch said, “I have some ideas. … One of the major problems that we have had as an organization is the fact that we continually bring in new money to pay old debts, and we're in this vicious cycle of, we'll take subscriber revenue to pay old debt, then we've got to find money to produce the new season, then we forecast ticket sales, but the forecasts don't pan out. … We're very operating capital poor. We do not have a cash reserve.”

• Regarding refunds for subscribers who’d already paid for 2014-15 season tickets, Milarch said, “There's no money to pay people back, no money to produce a season of plays for you to see. We have to either ask everyone to accept a loss of money that you paid, or we figure out a way to produce some semblance of a season.”

* A local video production professional has offered to make a Kickstarter video for the cause – once they determine what course to take - for free.

* The idea of partnering with a local university – theater students and business students – was suggested, but hasn’t yet been explored.

* Daniel Walker, a former PNT staffer who helped usher the company to professional status in the ‘90s, said, “It really seems to hinge on this lease in the building. … If you do not control the lease in the building, … to get anything like that building again, empty, is a half million dollars. … If becoming Theatre Nova means not retaining control of the building, then you’re not looking at $200,000, more like $750,000.” Walker suggested that they might negotiate a reasonable rent with the building’s new owners if they were willing to surrender the office and rehearsal space to retail tenants, or try something like “a restaurant with a theater in it - that might be real attractive.”

* Another attendee said, “There seems to be a lot of focus on this building, but in 6 years, your lease expires. So in 6 years, you're likely to not get that building renewed on favorable terms, because you've got a for-profit venue in there … who won't want to rent it for 3.50 per foot. … So I wouldn't get hung up on the building.”

* There was some discussion about whether fundraising would be more challenging as a new entity than as Performance Network.

* PNT’s next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for June 18.

* Milarch concluded the meeting with a call to action regarding the formation of a task force. “I would love to have group of people come over to my basement, Theatre Nova world headquarters, and continue to hash through this and explore what are our options. This can’t be a siloed situation. We need you all.”

Jenn McKee is an entertainment reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at jennmckee@mlive.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.