In this world, in these times, a stimulus package is needed.

I’m talking about a package to stimulate the “creative economy.” Because we artists need to get back to work! These are hard times, but that’s okay. Artists deal with hard times always. That’s just the way it is. Artists get pushed back and knocked down. We pick ourselves up and get back to the canvas. We return to the studio. We light the stage again.

My partner, Helene M. Rasanen, and I founded Arts Equity in 2005 because we believed then, and more so even now, people need to make an investment in and take a stake in the arts. We poured ourselves into the Main Street Theatre, and for three years we produced “serious theatre with adult themes.” That’s what Jack Booch recently said this community is missing, writing in these pages (see “Here There and Everywhere,” 1/15/2009). Maybe Jack was talking about our absence.

When we lost our theatre last year, it hurt. But that is back-story to our current script. If you have the time, I’ll spell out the details. But, for now I just want to state that we did leave a legacy. For one, we created from scratch a functioning theatre at 606 Main Street. Stop by sometime. It’s a lovely performance space carved out of and then built into an old hardware store in downtown Vancouver. Magenta, a community theatre company, operates there now. We wish them well. Believe me, we do. We wish all the artists who live and work and try to survive in this art-starved city the very best.

The truth is, the legacy we left stretches further than just the space we left for another company to fill. For three years Arts Equity put on theatre that challenged our patrons. We invited people to participate in and enjoy great works of comedy and drama. We tried to fill Jack Booch’s prescription by presenting works from “the annals of avant garde and classical theatre.” During the three years Arts Equity operated in the Main Street Theatre, we staged plays by Nobel Laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners. And we kept local arts people busy. We generated work for 70 actors, 21 musicians, 8 designers, 7 local playwrights, and 8 directors. If you visited Arts Equity at the Main Street Theatre, thanks for coming. We survived as long as we did due to your support. If you didn’t catch our act there, sorry you missed Act I. But read on, please.

We believe that now is the time to implement our own stimulus package, one for the arts. Arts Equity is re-organizing and re-energizing. If you know me even a little, you know I dream big. That hasn’t changed. But I’m taking a new tack. In our next incarnation, Arts Equity is taking small steps toward what we are calling “sustainable theatre for Southwest Washington.” We mean to develop a venue that can survive and thrive by presenting a variety of experiences for discerning and diverse patrons in Southwest Washington. When we call it “sustainable theatre,” we also mean to adopt and promote ecologically minded practices in any space we are developing.

These are the kind of events I have in mind: We will work with a group of students from WSU Vancouver to produce taped live radio theatre. This project, designed around the First Friday Art Walk, will showcase “new writers for a new soundscape” on am580koug.com. Cara Cottingham, a local multimedia electronic artist, will join us as an artistic associate. We love the idea of linking up with college students and giving them a canvas on which they can present their ideas.

Carolyne Haycraft, MFA, is going to head up our kids program. We’re not talking about kids as actors—there are several local organizations providing that kind of experience already. This is theatre for kids, not by kids. Ms. Haycraft, a director and educator, will develop and direct productions that “create wonder and capture kids’ imaginations”. We envision this as a Saturday morning program. On Sundays, we’ll speak to an audience that wants to tap into the “transcendental qualities of music”. Local Actor-Director Tony Bump will collaborate and direct this Sunday morning series. We think there’s an audience in this city that will meet for Sunday brunch, convening to celebrate the performing arts.

We’ve been talking to performers with great followings in this region. You’ll see the tap-dancing musician Shoehorn. He’s a magnetic orchestra of one, a beat/rap poet of the streets and on the stage. We’ll feature artists like pianist Thomas Rheingans in an intimate setting that our audiences are used to. Our collaborative relationships with other composers like Jack Gabel of Cascadia Composers will add to our musical lineup.

And I hope this is no surprise: We will stage the kind of productions that Arts Equity does best—theatre that is passionate and exuberant. There’s an audience for serious adult theatre in Vancouver. These are the patrons we seek.

So, keep any eye out for the re-entry of Arts Equity onto the local landscape. You can keep track of our progress by accessing our website at artsequity.org. And if you feel the passion that we want to express, you can join us. Joey LeBard is our local casting director. We have spots on our Board of Directors and collaborative partnerships to build with diverse parts of our community. We have a mountain of work as we prepare a new venue for performing in Vancouver. Join us now or join us later. We invite anyone willing to take a stake in the arts to do so.

It’s your Vancouver.

Llewellyn Rhoe is co-founder of Arts Equity.