Orlando's Renaissance Theatre shares emotional update on current closure of the non-profit theatre company

Donald Rupe, the Co-Founder of Renaissance Theatre Company has given an update the enforced closure of the theatre company.

Renaissance Theatre Company, the non-profit theatre company located at 415 E Princeton St, Orlando has shared a brutally honest update on its current situation after being displaced from their building and performance space on September 19 after the City of Orlando condemned the building for safety and permitting violations connected to its sets for its annual Nosferatu production.

Now nearly two month on, with the building remaining closed, founder and artistic director of Orlando's Renaissance Theatre Company, Donald Rupe has given an update on the situation, sharing that most of the Rens activity remains suspended until they can get back up and runnng again.

Rupe shared that they have submitted what they hope is the permit that will allow the theater company back into their building sooner rather than later, and with the shutdown going on much longer than expected, The Ren, together with its employees are facing major financial losses.

Since being shut down on September 19, The Ren have canceled 34 performances, losing roughly $488,000 in revenue, with employees losing out on about $218,000 in wages due to canceled events and shows.

Rupe hopes that they can go ahead with their holiday productions, working on making up lost revenue in the months ahead, "Our hope is that we will still be able to proceed with our holiday offerings, and we are preparing for The Office Holiday Party Musical Extravaganza Show and our holiday after-party in hopes that we will get to open those shows on December 5th as planned. However, we don't feel comfortable selling tickets until we have a guaranteed place to perform."

Rupe also offered an insight into the process they are having to negotiate in order to get back up and running, "So far, we've done everything the city has asked us to do as quickly as possible, but we have found this process to be slow and painful. There are really great people in our city government who are helping us navigate things and expediting where possible, but the fact that we are unable to operate while we make these adjustments has been disastrous for our business. We wish there was a way for us to open and operate while we go through this permitting process; attempts at temporary permits, hiring a fire watch, event permits, or any other option to continue to run our business have failed, even as the city requirements are quite costly (the upgrade to our fire alarm will cost $40,000 alone)."

The Renaissance Theatre Company co-founder also wanted to point out that he does not believe that the actions of the City of Orlando are politically motivated and went so far as to praise city officials who have been helping with the process. "A lot of people have asked, and I want to publicly state that we do not believe our shutdown is politically motivated in the least. In fact, I think that many people in the city would like to see us swiftly open."

However, with efforts to reopen quickly dragging on, Rupe revealed that If it weren't for the generous support of Ren Co-Founder Chris Kampmeier, they would have had to cloes the doors permanently already. "Chris has been joined by 350 other generous donors, who together have given over $55,000 in donations to help keep the Ren afloat. These donations have helped to keep our staff paid despite our substantial loss of revenue."

To help, fans of the Ren can still donate at rentheatre.com/donate or through the upcoming Collaborative Campaign for the Arts through United Arts.

Never miss anything happening in Orlando again, we've got you covered with the latest and best things to see and do throughout Central Florida. Get the Latest Orlando News now!

Contact Us:

You can contact us here. To advertise with us, click here. To list your upcoming event, submit it here.

Newsletter:

Sign up for our newsletter and stay in the loop with all the latest news from Central Florida delivered daily to your mailbox.

Social Media:

Join the local conversation on X, Facebook, and Instagram, plus, for extended coverage, catch the latest on our YouTube channel.