Kickstand Comedy Launches a Kickstarter to Renovate the Former Brody Theater

CHELSEA PETRAKIS

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Our current issue has a piece on Kickstand Comedy , the improv comedy theater that started in the basement of the now-defunct Velo Cult in 2014, lived above the Siren Theatre for several years, and, at the end of February, took over the former Brody Theater location. At the end of that piece, we teased a Kickstarter campaign to fund renovations to the space. And now that campaign is live!

Wow! They've already reached $8,000! I knew you liked them. It doesn't hurt that there's funny video—I would expect nothing less—and a slew of incentives to grab up. They've got enamel pins. They've got a pretty unfuckwithable Kickstand t-shirt. You can even go "full hoodie" on this place. Wow, I hope that isn't a euphemism for something gross.

Kickstand has plans for their new space, aside from rennovations. They're planning to use their $25,000 goal to also:



• Provide at least four nights of pay-what-you-want comedy programming and community events a week

• Provide supportive classes, shows, and scholarship opportunities for women, people of color, and the LGBTQIA+ community, and move toward providing resources for people with disabilities

• Create a super-visible sign outside our building so that walk-in audience members can see us all the way down Broadway!

• Continue to develop and grow our community partnerships with the Portland Art Museum, XRAY.fm, Outside In, Open Signal, and many more

• Hire inclusion and diversity consultants as we build and evaluate our organization and programs in our new home from the ground up

• Figure out where the heck all the pipes in our basement go

• Build bigger, better, gender-neutral bathrooms

• Help us finish building out our kitchen and offer GOOD local pizza made in fancy ovens.

And there are some really cool stretch goals Kickstand seems on track to meet:



• Unlocked at $30k - BIG NEWS: Movie Madness and the Hollywood Theatre have come on board to partner with us to build a unique full-service VHS themed bar and lounge, but we need a little extra $$$ to make it happen. Hang out and grab drinks before, during, or after shows in a super fun space you helped create!

• Unlocked at $35k - Help turn our broken walk-in freezer into a state-of-the-art podcast studio! Got a great idea? Give a little extra and help us build the studio. We can't wait to make some great shows for our community partner XRAY.fm

Honestly that freezer podcast studio sounds FUCKING TERRIFYING, but I'm probably being a baby. That just means more podcast studio time for you, my walk-in freezer-loving friends.

All the stuff happening around Kickstand Comedy is so exciting! I keep thinking back on the interview with Chris Williams, Kara Moore and Dylan Reiff where Reiff summed up their intentions, saying "All the choices we make, we want to make intentionally around people feeling welcome. We want people feeling like they could be here in the audience, there on the stage, and they could be where we are in the organization. We want to make choices that reflect those values. And not only promote it and encourage it, but be proactive about how this organization grows from its fabric up. If we can be intentional now, it'll seed how we can be later."