Feature: UPFRONT! at At ShadowBox Live

When comedian Tanya Lee Davis came to Columbus, she didn’t need a humongous stage to perform.

The 3-foot-3 stand-up, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the shortest female comedian, found the perfect spot at the UpFront Performance Space (503 S. Front Street in downtown Columbus). The performer sold out her two shows at the 62-person stage.

“It was awesome,” said Brandon Anderson, who manages the space with wife Noelle. “I've never heard of her, but the world has. She's been touring the world, living her truth, and making people laugh along the way.

“That was the pinnacle of what UpFront is all about. We had a space, and she had a show. We were able to allow her to do her thing and reach people she wouldn't be able to reach otherwise.”

The performance space, which runs in conjunction with Shadowbox Live, was created in 2011 under the name the Backstage Bistro. Over the last few years, however, it has undergone a facelift to become a place dedicated to meeting the needs of independent artists in the city.

Kode Switch, an all-Black improv troupe of 18-24 year-old first time performers, and storyteller Joe Banks, creator of Rudy Would Listen: Stories Behind The Noise, are among the artists who use the space. One of Anderson’s favorites was C.A.M.P.Y. Columbus, which presented a musical based on the 1996 movie THE CRAFT and featured the music of Britney Spears.

 “We’ve done lectures, improv, and musicals all in the same week,” Anderson said.

When Shadowbox Live first opened their theater, the plan was to have a restaurant with a small stage next to the larger stage as a way of bringing in income. The bistro proved to be too time consuming and too expensive to maintain, so the Andersons began reimagining the area into a 62-seat cabaret that could host events independently from the larger stage.

“We've just wrapped up phase one of construction,” Anderson said. “We were able to soundproof the space. Now we’re able to do things like host bands and music we couldn’t do before because the sound would bleed in between the two venues.”

UpFront offers use of its stage for free to groups with three stipulations. Organizations must first meet with Shadowbox Live officials to see if they are a “good fit.” Secondly, the group must have 30 percent (18 of the 62 seats) of the house sold 72 hours before the performance. Finally, the groups must use Shadowbox Live’s bar and kitchen for its customers. Groups keep their box office receipts; Shadowbox Live receives all the profits from drink and food sales.

“Columbus is on the brink of a population explosion,” Anderson said. “There’s an influx of people coming into Columbus from different cities and they’re looking for a place they can see a show they wouldn’t see anywhere else.”

Shadowbox Live CEO Stacie Boord sees UpFront is a way of “serving a community of artists who don’t have a home.”

“We understand what these new artists are going through because we’ve been there,” Boord said. “When we started out, we had no idea what the hell we were doing. It took the generosity of others to give us free space to work on things.

“It’s been incredibly rewarding to be able to offer a space that is a theater … where they can present their art. We feel like we're giving back to those who helped us when we were starting out.”

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