YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Rust Belt Theater Company has been forced to change the dates and venue of its next show because it has been locked out of its current home by the building’s owner.
“Whose Drag Is It Anyway,” a drag and improv show, will now take place at 8 p.m. May 24-25 at The Youngstown Playhouse. It was originally scheduled for May 16-17 in Rust Belt’s theater inside Club Switch, 221 Belmont Ave., downtown.
Robert Dennick Joki, founder and director of the theater company, said he went to Club Switch on Sunday to pick up some theater equipment but discovered that the locks to the building had been changed.
The lockout was done by the owner of the building, and not Club Switch, and stems from a dispute over the lease, Joki said.
All of Rust Belt’s theater equipment, including tens of thousands of dollars worth of lighting and sound equipment, computers, projectors, costumes, set pieces and seating remained locked in the building, he said Wednesday.
Joki is working with an attorney to gain access to the building so he can retrieve his property.
He plans to put the equipment into storage and keep the theater going without a home until he finds a new venue.
“I have enjoyed our time at Club Switch, and the owners and staff have been very good to us,” Joki wrote in his post. “If Club Switch is able to work this situation out, we will be more than happy to continue our relationship with them.”
Club Switch caters to an LGBTQ clientele. Rust Belt Theater has made its home there since moving out of its original location in the Spring Commons neighborhood in 2021.
Joki said he is looking for another venue to host Rust Belt’s Drag Bingo benefit show for Pride Youngstown, which was originally scheduled for May 23 at Club Switch.