Licensed to Kill (in a good way)

By Justin Sondak in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 17, 2005 6:04PM

Small theaters may have a friend in City Council. Yesterday a Council committee advanced a theater-friendly proposal, moving one step closer to ratifying the much touted Performing Arts Venue (PAV) license and relieving small companies who can’t or won’t navigate municipal bureaucracy.

When the City started cracked down on smaller companies performing without a license circa 2002, it made life difficult for troupes like WNEP, who shut down and end up relocating. Tired of looking like schmucks for quarreling with the noble folk doing work on a shoestring, City officials hammered out a compromise for artists more concerned about getting to next season than meeting the standard set by subsection X, page 52, third column.

The new license promises to streamline the application process, to allow theater in “incidental” spaces like churches and Park District facilities, and to charge only $1 per venue seat. The City would also regulate where performers can set up camp so that a neighborhood won’t be overwhelmed with artsy types fleeing pricier Lakeview rents.