Mirrorbox Theatre in Cedar Rapids raises enough money to move forward

CEDAR RAPIDS — The shows will go on at Mirrorbox Theatre in Cedar Rapids’ Time Check neighborhood, after an emergency plea for donations raised $13,500 by Friday’s deadline.

That’s not quite half the $30,000 the nonprofit theater’s founder, Cavan Hallman, and the board of directors were seeking to cover two months’ back rent; plus the November and December rent; ongoing utilities of $5,000 per month; and $12,000 to stage “Die Hard … Is A Christmas Movie.”

But the money raised does allow Mirrorbox Theatre to pay the November rent, and enact a payment plan to pay the back rent.

“It supports our ability to stay open through 2024 and to present programming,” Hallman told The Gazette, “and to give us time to plan so that we can have this adapted, sustainable plan for our nonprofit moving forward.”

Hallman said he is confident last season’s popular “Die Hard” will be staged during the holiday season, but a murder mystery fundraiser, “80s Opening Nightmare,” planned for Saturday is being postponed to January.

The theater’s ongoing improv soap opera, “The Rapids — Season 6,” will be staged at 7 p.m. Nov. 13, and Hallman plans to announce more offerings by the end of the week.

The decision to move ahead came from the board, in conjunction with the building’s landlords, OFB LLC real estate. Both groups had to approve a modified offer, Hallman said, and fundraising will continue. Donations can be made online at mirrorboxtheatre.com.

“As a board, we’re coming to some determinations about what we’re able to offer through the rest of the calendar year,” Hallman said. “And at the same time, we are collaborating with a lot of energy to just build this plan for the future.”

Those plans include looking at the roles of the working board members, as well as different ways to use the space to support the organization and its “function within the community to its fullest extent,” Hallman noted. “And also making sure that our mission and our programming are aligned with both what the community wants, but also filling a gap where others might not be programming things.

“There are a lot of tasks ahead of us, but truly, it’s all about that collaborative process, both among the board members, and between the board and the landlords,” Hallman said.

“It’s in all of our best interests for there to be a successful theater in the Time Check neighborhood. The landlords are invested in other commercial properties in the neighborhood, and we’re a big part of that piece of this vision for a thriving Time Check in the northwest side. They did communicate the seriousness of the situation, but at no point were they trying to bully us,” Hallman said. “ … They were expressing the seriousness of the situation.”

Hallman, 45, of Cedar Rapids, is grateful for the way the community has rallied around the theater, established in 2018 to present Iowa premiere plays “as dramatic reflections on contemporary culture,” performing in black-box spaces around Cedar Rapids and online — and even in a parking lot — during the pandemic.

In 2022, Mirrorbox renovated and moved into 1200 Ellis Blvd. NW, once home to an auto body and brake alignment shop, as well as other small businesses. The space offers flexible performance configurations and intimate seating for up to 130 patrons.

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“We’re not done fundraising, because the need is still there,” Hallman said. “Nonprofits like ours in the arts and so many other industries rely on the generosity of the community, so we are still actively fundraising.

“That being said, the outpouring of generosity from the community was incredible. The posts that people put on social media and talking about why Mirrorbox is important — why it’s important to have an arts hub on the northwest side, and our unique place in the community — it was really, really special to see that.

“We couldn’t — and we can’t — continue to survive without the community support. So we’re really grateful for that.”

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