Performance venue House of Yes will shutter its Maujer Street space at the end of August after failing to come to terms with its landlord, whom group members say has insisted on doubling the rent.
When House of Yes, which owns and runs Skybox, a school that teaches aerial performance arts — and has famously staged racy versions of “Peter Pan” — moved into the Williamsburg space four years ago, the rent was $4,500 a month. Currently, the venue pays $5,000, but now Yes-men say the landlord is seeking more money than they can afford.
“It didn’t make any sense from a business perspective,” said Anya Sapozhnikova, founder and director of the House of Yes. “There was no way we would make a profit or even break even.”
Sapozhnikova said the performance company had been considering moving to a bigger space, but members hadn’t expected to start looking so soon. House of Yes heads Sapozhnikova, Kae Burke, and Elena Delgado will now look for a larger venue somewhere in North Brooklyn, near either the L or G trains to ensure their fans can easily come to a show.
“We are just starting a massive hunt in this area,” said Sapozhnikova. “This is where our base is, so we want to stay close to home.”
This is the second time House of Yes has had to search for a new space. In 2008, a toaster caused a house fire at their original Ridgewood home and venue. The group lost all of their belongings in the fire.
Sapozhnikova said the House of Yes plan to hold a fund-raiser before the end of August, but nothing has been planned yet.
Reach reporter Danielle Furfaro at dfurfaro@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2511. Follow her at twitter.com/DanielleFurfaro.
