The Barn

12/03/2014

UPDATE: After a sit-down with the city planning department we have finally accepted that the current location is untenable; after we adapted our mission to fit the zoning that we were told that we could operate under, we were advised that we still couldn't play. While we could operate as a video production facility, we are not allowed to have talent or crew in the building. It's okay to edit there; maybe one guy typing scripts. But no script reading or rehearsals.

The city does not want us in that spot; although they reckoned that if we kick down with the $3,000 to $5,000 "application" to be rezoned... to which it's been implied they'll say no and there's no refund so f**k that noise. Same game; end game.

And we still didn't get a solid definition of what "assembly" is, either.

Fu***ng bureaucrats.

So what we've done is throw as much as we can into storage and are looking for a more suitable location that fulfills the original mission of The Barn. We've put up with too much bu****it to quit now; we're just taking a breather. And now we have a better grasp on what NOT to do. ;)

What we're looking for is something in the 20' wide by 40' long floor space. High ceilings for the lights. Ideally, somewhere walking/biking distance from the center of town and in the $500-800 a month range.

10/18/2014

We need someone on the side of artists and other locals. ;)

10/16/2014

The damnable thing about this whole episode is that we have supposed members of our community who are willing to torpedo the rehabilitation of a neighborhood eyesore/start-up of a rec center in order to score petty shots at the landlord. Which ultimately accomplishes nothing.

Drive to build a community theater detoured.

10/13/2014

Amy Olson does a great job of summing up what's going down...

When a place is zoned “Commercial,” I’ve always assumed that means it’s zoned for the exchange of goods/services for money, but does it also cover the second definition—does the government have the right to regulate socializing?

10/11/2014

The Barn is dead, long live The Barn!

As you may have noticed, things have ground to a halt. The city is very, very determined that The Barn cannot continue on this site. Very determined, in the kind of way that's about to get ugly and expensive really fast. Zoning and use permits, building permits that cost more than the repairs. In the grand scheme of things the details are unimportant, other than we will lose this battle if we stand our ground.

Fortuitously a member has stepped up and offered us another location in the neighborhood, and it's better in every way, and even more suited to our vision of what The Barn is all about. And it already comes with its own stage. I hate to abandon the (original) Barn, but…

We're looking at opening up the new Barn on the 1st of November. More details to follow...

10/10/2014

A subscriber-funded workshop and performance space for the local struggling artist. The primary goal for The Barn is to serve as a community headquarters for artistic expression, with a minimum of outside exploitation. The intent is simply to keep the doors open and pay the utilities while offering a low-cost alternative entertainment source for the community.

10/06/2014

MOVIES HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

:(

10/06/2014

Hopefully we hope to have certain issues resolved by Saturday Nov. 1st for DíA DE LOS MU***OS. Or as Clint Howard would say... "Day of the Dead."

I'll be programming classic Mexican horror films from Noon 'til Midnight but I more than welcome any help/suggestions in filling out the day's events. ;)

10/05/2014

Just wanted to clarify what the fundraiser is about and what we hope to give you with The Barn. The Barn is meant to offer starting artists (of all stripes) a FREE space to hone their craft, before an audience. This isn't meant to be a business, so we're not charging a cover for anything...hopefully we get enough of a subscription base that we can pay the rent/utilities/maintenance, and that's good enough. No one is looking to make money off of this. I figure if we can get 175 folks subscribing at five bucks a month, that should do it. :)

However...

We need to get the building up to speed before we can really open our doors. We're showing free movies on the big screen right now, but we need to install 50 amp wiring before we open up the stage. That's about $300 just in materials. We'd also like to finish insulating/sheetrocking the joint and other incidentals.

So the current fundraiser is to try to raise $1,500 to cover October's rent (it's the 5th already...GAH!), utilities and to finish up the main floor. We're already almost up to $500, so a $10 donation from just 100 more members of this group will set us up.

And thank you to everyone that has donated already — some very generously. Your faith is

Taken from the pair's 2008 album Sunday At Devil Dirt and performed live at the ABC Dig Music office. Catch the rest of the set at abc.net.au/digmusic.

10/02/2014

Greetings! As you may or may not know, the game plan of The Barn has been to be a subscription-funded artist resource and to provide entertainment for its members with no further cover. At this point there are over 300 members in our group, which means that if just a third subscribes we can more than get by with a $10-a-month membership donation.

We’re still a work in progress, of course. We have the stage up and a movie screen to provide free shows (check out the HELLAWEEN line-up!) but we need to upgrade the wiring before we can install the stage lighting (which we already have pledged to us). We also need to finish insulating/drywalling the second half of the building to minimize the noise impact on the neighborhood (we managed to bring in the first half for about $400). We’d also like to get the bathroom out of the Stone Age and up to ADA. And then there’s utilities…

We’ve already provided rehearsal space for a handful of shows and we’re open to meetings, private screenings and workshops. We have all sorts of plans for when the stage-lighting is ready, of course. But first, we have to pay the rent and utilities and your contribution is greatly appreciated:

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10/01/2014

SUNDEAD the 5th!

All three EVIL DEAD movies! THE EVIL DEAD starts at 4:30PM, EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN is at 6:00 and ARMY OF DARKNESS marches at 7:30PM!