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- Dana Haidar
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MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: The Citizens of the Universe production of Uncle Vanya, part of the Story Slam output
The scene at 1401 Central Ave. lacks its usual bustle. Charlotte's prince of gels, Eric Winkenwerder, has hauled away all the lighting equipment from the Story Slam Arts Center. Jimmy Cartee, the gonzo leader of the guerilla Citizens of the Universe theater company, has been carting off the stage, the set for an upcoming production, and sundry Slam viscera in his trusty pickup truck and distributing them to various holding sites around town.
"Yeah, it looks so sad here now," says Bob Nulf, the stalwart spokesman for Slam's administrative team. "What we've seen as the new theater district in Charlotte seems to have a cold, and I hope it's not the plague."
When Slam couldn't meet its monthly rent — $3,000 for its lobby, makeshift theater, and suite of offices in Plaza Midwood — property owners John Rudolph and Herman Moore gave the occupants 30 days to vacate. There are no hard feelings on either side (Rudolph and Moore are, in fact, fans of the enterprise) and plenty of pride in the variety of artistic activities that have slammed into the 1401 storefront: theater, music, readings, rehearsals, and the inimitable Dr. Sketchy, a wild gumbo of art studio and burlesque.
The place has been humming for 15 straight months, every week and every weekend. In theater alone, the output has included Cartee's COTU (ranging from Uncle Vanya to Trainspotting), workshops by the esteemed Machine Theatre, and the astonishing PlayPlay for toddlers, which leapt from Central Avenue to Spirit Square with a jubilant Wee last month. Slam's shutdown occurs six weeks before COTU's A Quiet Evening With Sid and Nancy is scheduled to open for Valentine's Day.
Nulf still hopes that will happen. In fact, he and Mark Woods — founder of NC Shakespeare, former producing director at Charlotte Rep, and Slam's founder/acknowledged Vision Keeper — are vowing that Story Slam has more life in it. If not at 1401 Central, then somewhere else.
"From my perspective," Woods insists, "we only have one choice, and that is to continue. I've said from the very beginning, in front of every audience I've been in front of, 'We don't know what we're doing.' Six months into the process, it became pretty clear to us what we're supposed to do."
He brought a cartload of playscripts and movie scripts from his New River Dramatists project up in Healing Springs to the table and invited the Charlotte arts community to make Story Slam their front porch. The results have been amazing — even to Woods, who labels Slam one of the most extraordinary wake-up calls of his life.
"It never occurred to me that there were so many people out there with so many great ideas and so much passion for their ideas," Woods marvels. "I didn't know! The kind of people we've had the joy and the thrill to participate with on this journey, put them in a room together, shake it all up with PlayPlay — I'm telling you, man, it rains gold. It's a beautiful thing, and that's what we should be doing."
So Woods and Nulf, who came here back in the late '80s to be development director at Spirit Square and helped raise $1.3 million for its renovation, are rolling up their sleeves. Bringing together bankers, real estate people, architects, arts patrons and developers who can have the conversation that can put Slam on a solid footing.
Top priority for Woods and Nulf, at 1401 or at a new site, is more space. In its current 2,000-square-foot configuration, fire marshals will only allow 49 people — including the performers. That cannot generate sufficient income to pay the rent, the actors and the gas company. Blueprints have been drawn that bring down the walls at 1401 and increase seating to the 200-225 range. But again, there are other Plaza Midwood commercial sites that may be riper plums — or yield a riper deal.
"There are plenty of people out there," Woods affirms, "including John and Herman, who, under the right circumstances, might be able to make the big dream come true."
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Derek Hough - Symphony Of Dance @ Ovens Auditorium
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ARTS RENAISSANCE, a GALA supporting the ARTS in South Carolina @ the Columbia Museum of ART
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The Piano Guys @ Ovens Auditorium- Fri., April 26, 8 p.m.
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