When theSan Francisco Neo-Futuristsperformed their first show of 2023, they were in a beautiful new black box theater with three wall-mounted PTZ cameras, just in case they wanted to live-streamfrom multiple angles, and touchscreensthat control lights and other effects. The space has a bright, inviting lobby with snazzy exposed brick walls and a green room that can morph into a conference room, complete with ceiling microphones for ease ofZoom meetings.
By 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13, “The Infinite Wrench,” the Neos’ ongoing medley of very short plays, had left its mark on 447 Minna St. The stage’s floor was scattered with spaghetti noodles, smashed vegetables and ice, mushy bananas that had been squeezed between the toes of mononymous performer Jeb, and quite possibly some driblets of raw egg.
The contrast between fancy digs and scrappy art epitomizes what 447 Minna, which is owned by the nonprofit Community Arts Stabilization Trust, is all about.
CAST, whichacquired the South of Market buildingby donation from Brookfield Properties in 2018, works to get artists and arts companies into long-term affordable real estate. One of its properties,CounterPulse, at 80 Turk St., is rent-to-own. Another is the Luggage Store Gallery, whose leaders decided not to purchase their property at 1007 Market St., but the space is deed-restricted for the arts in perpetuity.
At 447 Minna, tenantsPush Dance Company,Women’s Audio Missionand the Neos aren’t interested in owning, so now CAST has taken on a new role of more active property manager, booking short- and long-term rentals at below-market rates. The entire first floor, which includes the black box theater, can be used for as little as$90 per hour.The Neos estimate that they’ll save $7,000 out of a $140,000 annual budget compared to what they paid at their last home, PianoFight.
“It sounded too good to be true,” Neos Co-Artistic Director Willie Caldwell said of first learning about the space, from Richard Ciccarone of the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District, “so we thought we’d check it out. And here we are.”
On their own, the Neos probably couldn’t get the cash, the savvy or simply the time to find such a favorable real estate situation. “CAST can fill in that blank in terms of how to navigate the real estate landscape and terminology,” said CAST Director of Events and Programs Matthew McTire. Then artists can focus on making art.
The renovated property at 447 Minna St., which has been open for one-off events and office space (including for CAST itself) since March, joins a rapidly changing downtown landscape for the performing arts. In December,Exit Theatre shut its Eddy Street doorsafter 40 years on the Tenderloin corridor. The same month, PianoFight Artistic Director Rob Readytold The Chroniclethat attendance at his theater is down 65% and that he’s having a hard time finding enough acts to keep the three-stage property open. Those developments might make an onlooker wonder whether another small venue nearby is what the city needs.
“We still continue to hear that artists need space — and affordable space,” said CAST Director of Marketing and Communications Catherine Nguyen. “Whether or not that is long-term tenancy may be changing,” she conceded.
Trott雪莱,演员既是的支持者its board president and through the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, where she’s chief program officer, pointed out that a venue’s need and importance can transcend short-term market trends.
“We’ve seen cycles,” she said, referring to her own time as a working artist during the dot-com bubble. “Obviously, this is a different kind of cycle. Everybody’s questioning their business models.”
Still, she added, “I don’t think that we’re ever going to be in a position where space becomes obsolete.”
CAST was created in 2013 in part to learn from what arts philanthropy missed during previous economic downturns. One lesson: Rent subsidies aren’t enough.
“If you’re just giving arts organizations additional money to pay their higher rents, you’re not solving the problem. It doesn’t reduce the threat of displacement; it just delays it,” Trott said.
Real estate opportunities don’t often last long, she added. If CAST doesn’t take a property off the speculative market and permanently deed-restrict it for the arts during the hot second when it’s available, then the city might never again have the chance to make it a cultural asset.
The cultural asset of 447 Minna was already on vibrant display at the Neos’ opening night. In their “menu” of short plays, they poked fun atChatGPT村上春树的小说,Grindr遇到panicked San Francisco weather broadcasts about the city’s historic rainfall. They bared their real-life anxieties about selling out to the man or spending too much time stewing over past and future choices. They devised feats of extraordinary invention, including making performer Sam Bertken into a mop. In one scene, they held a ritual for the space with the formality and swagger one might use to christen a sea vessel.
Outside, the once-desolate Minna Street looked like part of a bustling neighborhood — a tidy park right next door, dive bar the Tempest conveniently inviting theatergoers for a postgame, all with a new venue as the anchor.
“The Infinite Wrench”:Written and directed by the San Francisco Neo-Futurists. Ongoing. 75 minutes. $13-$19. 447 Minna St., S.F.www.sfneofuturists.org