Stable Ground: Urbanite Theatre hits its stride

Urbanite Theatre is preparing for the opening of its third season. Things kick off with the regional premiere of “Dry Land,” and the weeks before opening night are filled with the usual organized chaos — set build-outs, rehearsals, ticket sales — typical preparation.

From the outside, things appear to be business as usual. But behind the scenes, the start of the third production season marks a significant milestone for the burgeoning black box theater company. Slowly but surely, things are starting to fall into place.

The checklist of accomplishments synonymous with success continues to grow: As of July 1, all four of the theater’s administrative members will be employed full time; the theater has secured a permanent 1,500-square-foot workshop and set storage facility, as well as a two-bedroom apartment for cast housing. It just signed a 10-year lease in its current location.

Co-founders and co-artistic directors Brendan Ragan and Summer Wallace are hesitant to rest on their laurels — but the ambitious venture they set out to establish two years ago is finally coming into its own. They’ve found stable footing.

“For the patrons, nothing is going to appear any different,” says Ragan. “The tree is going to look the same — but the roots are much deeper now.”

QUALITY FIRST

Looking back, Ragan and Wallace are able to laugh about some of the more stressful moments of starting the company.

“It’s funny to talk about it now,” says Ragan, with a laugh. “But we sank everything we had — and a little more — into our first production. If ‘Chicken Shop’ didn’t sell any tickets, we had seven people on contract to pay. We were going to have to get creative.”

Luckily, the show was a resounding success. They sold out the entire run of performances for the American debut, and today the stress and uncertainty surrounding the debut production is an amusing anecdote. It was a valuable lesson Wallace says they carry with them today: Never skimp on quality — even when it’s financially or physically demanding.

The night before the show opened, she and Ragan were on their hands and knees at 3 a.m., hand painting newly heightened stage platforms.

“A few days before the show opened, we realized the sight lines were bad,” says Wallace. “The third row couldn’t see. We had to rebuild the platforms at the very last minute, and the freshly cut wood was still exposed.”

“We could’ve left it,” adds Ragan. “And it probably wouldn’t have been the end of the world. But we were going to do everything in our power to present something killer. You only get one first impression. If we had cut corners, I don’t think people would have bought into our concept so quickly.”

SMALL VICTORIES

When Ragan and Wallace announced their plans to open their contemporary black box theater in 2014, they admit they were met with some early skepticism. People weren’t sure why Sarasota needed a new theater company in the first place. And how were these two young entrepreneurs going to make it work?

“Being outsiders, we were able to see things from a different perspective,” says Ragan. “We didn’t see a deficiency or something to complain about — we saw an opportunity. There wasn’t hesitation about ‘Should we do this? Will it work?’ We were excited, and we wanted to fill a niche before someone else did it first.”

Both partners had previous experience in the industry, but there’s no better way to learn the ropes of running a business than to be thrust into the deep end of the entrepreneurial pool. The two say they abandoned any sense of ego and opened themselves up to learning from others. They added a bookkeeper and an accountant to their board and were willing to ask for help when they needed it. They were dedicated to accomplishing their goal — and doing it right.

“For me, it was go big, or go home,” says Wallace. “We had a big vision, and we were ready to do whatever it took to make it happen.”

Along the way, they learned everything from basic electrical and carpentry work to the finer points of taxes, grant applications and budget preparation.

“I never thought I’d be able to say I’m a QuickBooks aficionado,” says Wallace.

It’s been a learning curve that’s paid off. There was no moment of clarity, when the two felt like they could suddenly breathe easy. Wallace jokes she’ll likely never feel that way.

In her eyes, it has been a series of small victories: selling out the entire run of their first show; increasing their season subscribers from 230 to 600 — and now 820; and this year’s operating budget rising to $385,000, compared to $220,000 last year.

There’s a lot they still hope to accomplish. They hope to employ a full-time box-office employee; there’s lighting and other equipment on the wish list, and they’re currently crowdsourcing funds, with a goal of $350,000 to help create an endowment fund.

But the victories are adding up, and Ragan says he’s grateful to be able to pursue his passion in a more stable, sustainable way.

“It’s been incredibly rewarding and exciting,” he says. “It’s so rare to be able to take charge of your own work — and actually make money. You can usually do one or the other. Not a lot of people get to do both. As we become more stable, we’ll be able to focus more and more on what we love most: putting on great shows.”