In February of 2025, I happened to be walking home from the library, when I noticed a sign for a play being presented that afternoon by Theater Alliance. The play, "Garbologists," was held in a pop-up black box in the bowels of a brand-new apartment building. This summer, in Waterfront Park, Theater Alliance presented a Woody Guthrie musical. Now, with the grand opening of the Revada Arts Center, Theater Alliance is no longer relagated to pop-ups or the great outdoors.
I met with Theater Alliance's executive artistic director Shanara Gabrielle, a magnetic and passionate advocate, to tour the new complex. We discussed her dreams for this collaborative concept which also includes two other partners, the innovative opera company, INSeries and 4 Eye Film Center (named after the address, 4th and I streets).
We began the tour in the lobby, or as Shanara put it:
"This is the "radical hospitality hub," this will be our co-working and artist networking space as well as our café and community space. We'll have community meetings, really nice coffee and a bar also in the evening. This is also where we hope, when people come to a show, that they want to stay and have a conversation afterwards....that's one of our greatest hopes, that you leave with more questions than you came with."
Nicole Lacroix: During the week, Thursday-Sunday noon to 10 pm, the hub is open to both community and artists...it's a third space where you can bring your computer, get a cup of coffee or tea and absorb the artistic vibes.
There's a grille above the bar on the mezzanine level, where you can watch the labor that goes into producing the plays and operas.
Next, Shanara took me through a portal into the main performance space, the fully-equipped Black Box which seats 140.
Shanara Gabrielle: It's the entrance into your story...every time you come, it's a different set up...[we] want the audience to have a very fresh experience every time they arrive.
NL: The center is 9000 square feet, "every square inch" of which, as Shanara said, is dedicated to making art. She took me through to Theater 2, a film screening room with stadium seating which also doubles as an intimate space for smaller performances. We walked by rehearsal rooms, a green room, a costume shop and spanking new restrooms, a major relief for theatergoers who remember having to use the preschool next door!
Back in the conference room, we talked shop:
SG: We launched our capital campaign in July of last year, so it's15 months of raising money to make it happen. We started to build 5 months ago and it's now open and complete tomorrow.
NL: I'm thinking it took 5 months to renovate our kitchen, which gives you an idea of Shanara's dynamic leadership. She continued:
SG: Theater Alliance has the lease on the building, so we're the owner of the space, and we did the capital campaign and raised all the money to build the space. There's a financial responsibility that Theater Alliance has both to the developer and to the Southwest community (for space-use requirements). So, after that financial structure, the thing we want to do is internally create a collective cooperative structure for how the space works. That's when Theater Alliance brought INSeries and 4EYE Film Center as our core partners. (although there is a second tier of 3 smaller organizations to come later in the year.)
NL: Theater Alliance has been active for 25 years, first in the H Street area then in Anacostia, and now in SW Washington in a flourishing location a block from the Waterfront Metro, near theater, music, Nationals Park, Audi Field, the Smithsonian and a plethora of restaurants.
SG: We're thinking what an arts district looks like: down from the Mall to the Rubell, to here, to Arena Stage, to Pearl St. to the Anthem-- you've got a little walking path of arts here, and we're very excited to connect with other organizations.
NL: Is this a new model for the arts?
SG: I really do think it is a new model. I think the thing that makes us different is a couple of pretty radical financial ideas.
Everybody pays the same rate. It's the square footage divided by the amount of time that you're going to use it over time. There are no price hikes. We're all contributing to the cost of the rent the same way. I think Theater Alliance came at this from a place of abundance, where we said, "hey, we're taking on the capital campaign, we're taking on the financial risk, but we want this space to be shared." There's a revenue share model. Rentals are never required for us to meet our bottom line. If there are rentals, it's a bonus for everybody and everybody shares the revenue profit; we consider that a part of the mutual aid principle. It's a collaborative decision-making between the leadership organizations. I do think it's a little bit of a radical model; it's definitely based on some solidarity economics and mutual aid principles.
NL: What would success mean for you a year from now?
SG: 300 nights a year you come in and see a piece of art that you didn't expect to see. That is our dream vision.
This is my first leadership role in a nonprofit organization. I've been an artist, a freelancer, I'm an actor and director, but I think that gives me a perspective that I hope this place is for artists...we built it for artists, to create work in, to collaborate in to cross-pollinate ideas. And that's part of the spillover between the art spaces and the community spaces, it should start to feel interwoven. We believe the arts are a central tenet of a thriving society. Part of the purpose of this building is to be a central tenet in this community--a thriving D.C. arts ecosystem.
NL: I asked her what she was looking forward to most in this grand opening weekend, and she became emotional
SG: The staff is amazing, as well as the donor and patron community that has come out in full force. It is not an easy time in the arts, it's not an easy time in D.C., and we have had such a robust experience with support and advocacy, everything from grass roots donor community to the large philanthropic community, everything from government funding to even working with the developer, there is so much gratitude for all the pro bono help we've gotten. Yes, I'm looking forward to saying thank you to everybody and sharing the space with them.
NL: And we're looking forward to the grand opening festival which kicks off Friday and continues through Tuesday... and most of all, for the opportunity to discover some thought-provoking performances from Theater Alliance, IN Series and 4 Eye Film Center, and just to hang out and absorb the creative vibes with a nice coffee or glass of wine. What a gift to the neighborhood, what a gift to Washington area art lovers.
Revada Arts Center shared by Theater Alliance, INSeries and 4Eye Film Center
Free Opening festival, October 23-27
340 Maple Dr. SW
www.RevadaArtsCenter.org
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