- Video shows a look inside what will soon be the brick and mortar location for Monster Box Theatre.
- Since relocating to Jackson, the theatre has traveled around various venues across Jackson to perform.
- After years of working to get their building up to code, they hope Jackson's Fix 36 program will allow them to open sooner.
- The Fix 36 program sets businesses on course to correct codes over a course of 36 months, so that they can open sooner.
- Monster Box Theatre says that they hope to open their theatre December 21.
A historic city, like Jackson, has a lot of old buildings. One of them being on the corner of Washington and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
"Jackson was a really great place with opportunity for cultural improvements and the arts, so this seemed like a great community to settle down in," Tahra Gribbin, Managing Director of Monster Box Theatre, says.
Monster Box Theatre relocated to Jackson during the pandemic, with the hopes of opening a space of their own. Since relocating, they have been performing various shows at different venues all over Jackson. However, none they've been able to call home.
"Having a location where we can do and control all of our own shows, set pieces, and what we put into it is going to give us the ability to really expand what we're doing," Gribbin says.
According to Gribbin, Monster Box has owned the building they've been trying to open for about two and a half years. For a while, it seemed that getting their theatre up to code had no end in sight, continuing to push back opening day. Now, thanks to the City of Jackson's Fix 36 program, their first curtain call may soon be a reality.
"We're going to be able to open our doors and allow people to come in, before we fix all of the things we have to get done," Gribbin says.
"A lot of people have the dream of starting a small business and have the money lined up, but they don't always know what they have to do to revitalize a space," Aaron Dimick, City of Jackson Public Information Officer, explains.
Dimick says Fix 36 allow businesses to open faster.
"They can hire people, they can make revenue while they work towards full code compliance over a period of three years," Dimick said.
With that being said, all safety standards must be up to code before a business can open.
Gribbin hopes Fix 36 will allow Monster Box more time to finish projects like the concrete work, siding, and an ADA-compliant bathroom.
"Once we can start welcoming the public in and hosting things in our own space, then that'll make it a lot easier for us to generate the revenue and get the rest of the things done to get the building open in a more full capacity," She says.
For years, neighbors have watched Monster Box perform improv comedy shows, and in their new space, they plan to continue that, while also putting on musicals, radio plays, and shows by local playwrights.
With the help of Fix 36, Gribbin hopes that Monster Box Theatre will be open December 21.
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