Vpstart Crow theatre group takes its final curtain call

Vpstart Crow Productions, a theater group based in Manassas, VA, has announced its closure.

Board President Cory Okouchi was quoted as saying, “This company has been a huge part of our family for many years - my wife and I met during ‘Julius Caesar’. It was a very difficult decision to let it go, but the waning community support over the last several years has made it impossible to continue. I am thankful for the opportunities and friends I’ve made, and I look forward to keeping up with everyone in their future endeavors.”

According to a news release, financial issues played the key role. Despite the efforts of private and business donors and some funding from Prince William County, the group’s debt was an “albatross.”.

“The downward trend of live performance attendance vs. movie-going, many other live theater options, and a thinning pool of production personnel helped to create the decline of the group,” the release said.

Additionally, where other theater groups have theater space they can rent as a means of income, Vpstart Crow has always rented their performance space. Initially, performances were held at the Cramer Center in Old Town Manassas, but in the past few years their home was at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on the Prince William Campus of George Mason University in Manassas.

Rick Davis, Executive Director of the Hylton Performing Arts Center, where Vpstart Crow had performed in the past few years. was quoted as saying, “We are sorry to see the end of the journey for Vpstart Crow, but we understand and support the Board’s action,”

Davis added, “Around the country, the last several years have been very difficult for theater companies, with many smaller groups, and some large ones, making this same difficult decision.”