More About The Move by Virginia Wall Gruenert


I don't know who wrote the following editorial in the Washington Observer-Reporter.  Frankly, I was surprised to see it. The writer is very complimentary to Off The Wall, which is very nice, but one glaring error perfectly sums up one of the main reasons we are leaving Washington: he/she doesn't know where we are.  He/she is not alone.

We are not located in the former VFW building (which stands empty), and we never were.  We're in the building next door.  If having Off The Wall on North Main was in fact "a matter of pride for city residents," I think this piece of information might have been fact-checked, not to mention that our Washington audience base would have been much higher than 20%, and many members of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce (of which Off The Wall has been a member since 2007) would not have been visiting us for the very first time at a networking function last month.

We know who are friends are locally, and we value them. The Washington County Community Foundation awarded us a $10,000 grant for continued excellence, and we have a small but extremely loyal core of Washington-based patrons who recognize and appreciate outstanding theater.  But we also know that there are many who will bid us good riddance, mostly those who have never seen one of our productions, and we accept that.  It's their loss.

We are definitely, not "possibly", opening our doors in Carnegie in October.  As has always been true, all are welcome.

Curtain closing on local theater

6/8/2012 7:06 AM

Downtown Washington has suffered yet another blow with the impending departure of Off the Wall Theater.Following an event staged by Washington Teen Outreach, the theater will close its doors June 24 – and reopen, possibly in October, at a location in Carnegie.
The theater staged its first production in the former Veterans of Foreign Wars building five years ago. Few thought it would last long, but it did, bringing professional actors and gutsy productions to a cozy stage in an unlikely town. Its success here was due entirely to the hard work, artistic dedication and investment of founders Virginia and Hans Gruenert.
The Gruenerts are moving the theater from a building they rented to one they will own, which they’ll be able to rent to other theater groups and performers between Off the Wall performances. It also will put Off the Wall closer to its core audience.
Having the theater on North Main Street for these last five years has been a matter of pride for city residents and a spark of hope along a street with too many vacant buildings.
Washington needs to attract more businesses like Off the Wall Theater, and it needs to work harder to keep them here. Copyright Observer Publishing Co.

I don't know who wrote this editorial in the Washington Observer-Reporter.  Frankly, I was surprised to see it. The writer is very complimentary to Off The Wall, which is very nice, but one glaring error perfectly sums up one of the main reasons we are leaving Washington: he/she doesn't know where we are.  He/she is not alone.

We are not located in the former VFW building, and we never were.  We're in the building next door.  If having Off The Wall on North Main was in fact "a matter of pride for city residents," I think this piece of information might have been fact-checked, not to mention that our Washington audience base would have been much higher than 20%, and many members of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce (of which Off The Wall has been a member since 2007) would not have been visiting us for the very first time at a networking function last month.

We know who are friends are, and we value them. The Washington County Community Foundation awarded us a $10,000 grant for continued excellence, and we have a small but extremely loyal core of Washington-based patrons who recognize and appreciate outstanding theater.  But we also know that there are many who will bid us good riddance (mostly those who have never seen one of our productions), and we accept that.  It's their loss.

We are definitely (not possibly) opening our doors in Carnegie in October.  As has always been true, all are welcome.

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