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THEATER Upstart Ashland theater to close doors after failure to get proper permits Thanks for the Memories Theatre Company didn't get proper permits Comment By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 20, 2015 at 4:02 PM Updated Apr 20, 2015 at 6:19 PM By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 20, 2015 at 4:02 PM Updated Apr 20, 2015 at 6:19 PM » Social News An upstart Ashland theater company is shutting down after failing to get proper approval to use a warehouse space to stage plays. Thanks for the Memories Theatre Company had its performance of the musical "Company" shut down by Ashland Fire & Rescue on Friday evening. The company had been running into trouble since at least March for its plays in a building at 722 Jefferson Ave. Founder Peter Wickliffe said Ashland Fire Marshal Margueritte Hickman had warned him Friday during the day that the space was not approved to stage a play in front of an audience. "She said, 'If you proceed, we'll shut you down.' I said, 'All right. You'll have to come in and shut us down.' It was a major disappointment for all of us. We were all hoping against hope it would be OK," Wickliffe said of the cancellation of the performance in front of about a dozen audience members. "It was the definitive nail in the coffin," he said. Hickman said the theater company needed to go through a process to have the building's use changed from warehouse and storage space to allow the assembly of crowds. The process includes submitting an architect's drawing. During the process for building use changes, the city and fire department make sure safeguards are in place. Those can include the proper number of exits, a fire alarm, a sprinkler system and exit signs, Hickman said. "We don't want to end up with a situation where there's a fire and people in the building can't get out or don't know how to get out," she said. "We don't want a tragedy." Making a building suitable for crowds can sometimes involve costly changes. Another business that wanted to use the Jefferson Avenue space for a nightclub found the changes wouldn't be economically viable, Hickman said. She said fire officials warned Wickliffe early on that the space wasn't suitable without going through an approval process to get permits. Wickliffe said Thanks for the Memories Theatre Company will hold a performance of "Company" in Phoenix Saturday, but will call it quits afterward. (For information, visit www.tftmtheatre.com or its Facebook page.) "After 'Company,' we will go ahead and shut down the theater and cut our losses," he said. "I'm pretty drained at this time with dealing with this." In March, the theater company had to relocate its production of the historical mystery play "Anastasia" from the Jefferson Avenue building to rented space in Pioneer Hall on Winburn Way in Ashland. The company said at the time it had to move the play because it hadn't yet received final approval from the Ashland Building Department for permits. Wickliffe said theater companies need their own buildings. Using a rented space requires them to work around the schedules of everyone else who uses the building. Small upstart companies also must set up chairs, curtains, lights, props and sets before every performance, then take it all down with only a handful of people. He said while Ashland has enough space for play readings and simply staged performances, it lacks adequate spaces for new theater companies to have full productions. Hickman said all prospective new businesses and nonprofit organizations need to do their homework when it comes to finding appropriate space. "This is a challenge for many small start-up businesses," she said. "We really encourage people to do their research when they look into a space to move into. Sometimes the owners or property managers may not even know the allowable uses." Hickman said she's talked to others who want to start theater companies. They have had difficulty finding spaces with high enough occupancy limits to make productions economically feasible. She has suggested to some they pool resources and try to share building space. Wickliffe, who works in marketing for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, said he wanted to launch Thanks for the Memories Theatre Company to provide another venue for artists and designers. "I was pursuing it from a passionate perspective and a dream perspective and not enough of a practical perspective," he said. Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-776-4486 or [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous .   By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 20, 2015 at 4:02 PM Updated Apr 20, 2015 at 6:19 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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