Orlando Shakespeare Theater. (Photo by Aidan Carmody)
ORLANDO | Orlando Fringe will depart Lowndes Shakespeare Center by the end of August, citing an unacceptable rent increase and dissatisfaction with Orlando Shakes as a landlord.
Leaders of Orlando Fringe and Orlando Shakes, including the presidents of the nonprofits’ boards, will be meeting June 25 to discuss the future of the relationship between two of Central Florida’s most significant cultural organizations.
Fringe leaders told Orlando Sentinel they have found new office space nearby on Virginia Drive.
“After a long negotiation process, we did not feel that the terms of a new lease were good for us,” said Fringe artistic director Tempestt Halstead. “We had to think long-term about what fits in our budget as a nonprofit.”
Representatives from Orlando Fringe and Orlando Shakes are scheduled to sit down and discuss how their partnership will look going forward, including how Fringe will continue to use venues in the park. The annual Fringe Festival attracts upward of 60,000 patrons each May to Loch Haven Park for nearly two weeks of short plays, musicals, concerts and other shows. That arrangement will be on the agenda at today’s meeting.
The split with Orlando Shakes comes after a change in the theater’s rent formula, which is now a per-square-foot rate plus fees and 10% of utilities. Fringe leaders say that would drive their bill to roughly $98,000 next year. Orlando Shakes offered a counter-deal around $82,834, but warned they’d lose about $50,000 in rent without a new tenant.
Any new renter Orlando Shakes finds to take over the former Feringe space would require approval from the city of Orlando.
Orlando Fringe will relocate to 634 Virginia Drive, a slightly smaller space of 1,300 square feet, but with costs comparable to what the organization currently pays Orlando Shakes. The organization has a three-year lease there, Orlando Fringe managing director Melissa Fritzinger said, with options to extend it.
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