Two years after Austin theater collective Rude Mechs was forced out of its long-time East Austin home, the Off Center, the celebrated group announced today that it has found a new, if much smaller, headquarters — at least for the next three years.
The Rudes have signed a three-year lease on a 1500-square-foot studio space at 5305 Bolm Road. They are now the tenants in one the studio bays in the light industrial building known as Bolm Studios and the original home of visual arts organization Big Medium.
Earlier this year, Big Medium ceased to oversee the studio rentals at the Bolm Road property. (Big Medium manages the studios at its current home, the Canopy complex on Springdale Road). There are several individual artists studios at the Bolm Road complex as well as indie art spaces Magic the Gallery and Fancy Fancy.
The Rudes plan to use the new-to-them raw warehouse space — which they’ve dubbed the Crashbox — as a classroom for its teen programs, a rehearsal studio and a micro venue for small shows. They’re in the process of fixing it up, installing HVAC and improving the floors, and once it’s ready, they’ll make available to others too.
“The plan is to make the space available to the community at truly affordable rates for rehearsals, small performances, meetings, craftworks — you name it,” the Rudes write in a release.
There’s a community drop-in event 5 to 7 p.m. June 14. Then on June 15 and June 22, at 5 p.m., there’s a staged reading of “Fixing the Last Henry,” the latest from the Kirk Lynn’s Fixing Shakespeare project.
For more information see rudemechs.com
