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After nearly 50 years on the local and international stage, Dell’Arte International is facing closure.

Dell’Arte has “suffered terrible financial hardship” in recent years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and “subsequent loss of support,” according to an Oct. 6 news release. “Critical cash flow issues” have forced the organization to “lay off nearly all staff,” prompting a campaign to save Blue Lake’s world-renowned theater company and school.

“Live theatre is fast becoming an endangered species, and it’s my heartfelt wish to play some part in its recovery,” Board Chair Libby Maynard said in a prepared statement. “My health does not currently permit me to play an active role in that recovery, but I am able to put money towards it. So this is my challenge to the community – help us raise at least $125,000 by the end of the year to keep the lights on and the doors open as the organization builds towards a more sustainable future.”

We’ll update this post when we know more.

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Press release from Dell’Arte International:

Blue Lake, October 6, 2023 – Dell’Arte has been a source of laughter, inspiration, community and commerce in Blue Lake since 1974. We’d love to celebrate that in our upcoming 50th year, but we may not have a choice. The organization is currently unable to overcome critical cash flow issues and must lay off nearly all staff, while a small group working at greatly reduced hours continues to offer classes and workshops to the local community. The always-popular Holiday Show is also slated for cancellation unless much needed funds are donated to sponsor a production.

Like almost every theatre company in the world, Dell’Arte has suffered terrible financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent loss of support, major national and state-wide changes in philanthropy and funding and significantly reduced audiences.

Libby Maynard, outgoing Chair of the Board of Directors of Dell’Arte International and co-founder and executive director emerita of The Ink People Center for the Arts, has seeded the Save Dell’Arte campaign with $5000.

“Live theatre is fast becoming an endangered species, and it’s my heartfelt wish to play some part in its recovery,” says Maynard. “My health does not currently permit me to play an active role in that recovery, but I am able to put money towards it. So this is my challenge to the community – help us raise at least $125,000 by the end of the year to keep the lights on and the doors open as the organization builds towards a more sustainable future.”

Dell’Arte is turning to its community in Humboldt and throughout the diaspora of Dell’Arte alumni around the world. We seek your help to survive and thrive into our 50th year and beyond. A new generation is preparing to meet the audiences of today. Dell’Arte’s Leadership Council (Alyssa Hughlett, Tony Fuemmeler, and Julie Douglas) are eager to bring entertaining and sharp-toothed new theatrical work to our stages and summer festivals, begin a new line of training programs for the actor-creator, and celebrate its artistic legacy and 50th Anniversary.

Head of Training Tony Fuemmeler adds “Dell’Arte is not a fixed entity with a timestamp in renaissance Italy (or 1970s California). Dell’Arte has been evolving from the beginning. It is meant to evolve. We must be awake. Over the coming decade, humanity (and Humboldt County) will be navigating unforeseen evolutions in the ways humans strive, encounter conflicts, and ultimately find meaning in our participation in the world. Humans need a story in which to locate themselves in, and tools for finding its expression. The need for Dell’Arte as a dynamic, ongoing destination for research, training and performance through the undeniable lens of the body in space remains as potent and vibrant as ever.”

Donations can be made online at www.dellarte.com/support-us, or by mail to PO Box 816, Blue Lake, CA 95525. Donations can also be made by calling 707-668-5663, but please note there are limited office hours. 

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About – Dell’Arte International Dell’Arte International is the North American center for theatre training, research and performance of the actor-creator. We are a committed community of artists who, for almost 50 years, have modeled and shared in a sustained, ensemble artistic practice. One of our deepest values is engendering the relationship between art and place, artist and community, expressed through training and performance at the highest levels and in partnership with local communities. Dell’Arte alumni can be found performing throughout the world, from Cirque du Soleil to Shakespeare and everything in between.