Attic Inc. are just one of the groups that utilize the Communication Arts Center on the UWO Fox Cities campus. August 9, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) –UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities is closing its campus next spring, and with that comes concerns about the future of the Communication Arts Center.
Members of Attic Theatre, Inc., a performance group that uses the center, say they’re worried.
“Where is Attic going to end up? And then like, kind of, oh my gosh, where else am I going to kind of go?” said Aura Alumbauagh, a stagehand with Attic. “Do I go to different community places? What other community places are there?”
Alumbauagh also said the theater is a crucial part of their community.
“Community theater is really big because it brings people who don’t have that opportunity to go big and get out there. It just is also a good pastime for people,” she said.
Attic Inc. has been using the CAC for 14 years, and facing a closure means they’re without a main venue to perform. If the county boards decide to close the facility, actor Brian Zimmerman says Attic is looking at taking their shows on the road.
“Next season we’re going to be doing Attic on the move, that’s been advertised. So we’re going to be looking for theater venues just like any other theater group that perform in cafes, and art galleries, and sometimes smaller venues than this,” he said.
A petition on Change.org to keep the Communication Arts Center has nearly 1,000 signatures, and cast and crew hope it brings awareness to the center.
“We are trying to show to the county governments that there are people here that are willing to put their name on the line, to show them that we really want this to happen,” Zimmerman said.
UW-Oshkosh officials say they are early in conversations and negotiations leading to the June 30, 2025 transition at UWO Fox Cities.
Zimmerman is hoping for the best. “I hope that the county governments can sort through things and find it beneficial and feasible to keep it within the community and provide that outsource, outsource joy to the community at large.”
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