SoDo Theatre, located at 111 S. Walnut in Downtown Champaign, will soon close. The space has been home to many theatre performances and groups over the years, just take a scroll through our Arts section and you’ll see evidence of that.
Per this report by ChambanaMoms, and further confirmed in an email newsletter from Class A, the space will soon become a “bar and axe-throwing venue” and has been fully leased:
Over the years, Class Act has shared the SoDo with many other users, but soon the the vast space will be completely occupied by a bar and axe-throwing venue, according to Jacki Loewenstein, Class Act’s artistic director.
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“With the closing of SoDo, we now have four ‘homeless’ theatre companies: Class Act, Zoo Improv, Twin City Theatre Company and Prompting Theatre,” said Loewenstein, who is also a board member at Station Theatre and is active with Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company. “And, of course, SoDo will no longer be available to the occasional renters from the community. So…we’re all brainstorming alternative spaces for classes, rehearsals, and especially performances.”
This follows The Art Theater’s recent closure in Downtown Champaign (and now it is for sale), and as we’ve seen, venues and spaces are going away in Champaign.
We have requested a statement from SoDo Theatre, and will update this post when necessary.
Top photo from Google Maps.