Deep dish no longer serving up theater

The Chapel Hill theater scene just got a little less saucy.

On April 27, Deep Dish Theater Company announced it is closing its doors. Deep Dish, located at University Place in Chapel Hill, has been in the area for 13 years. 

Paul Frellick, founding artistic director, said Deep Dish will close due to an inability to find a new location that would meet its specific artistic and financial needs. 

“We’ve enjoyed a great relationship with the mall management," he said. "Now they’re looking for the space we’re in to generate more revenue.”  

Frellick said they intended to find another home for his company, but the plan did not pan out. 

“We’ve been looking for a year and a half, and couldn’t find a financially viable location,” he said.

Amelia Sciandra, an actress who worked with the theater, said the location of the theater was not ideal. 

“They were in a weird, difficult location for a theater, and I think that prevented people from knowing about the good work they were doing there,” she said. 

Despite being in a less than ideal space, Sciandra said she was very appreciative of the atmosphere at Deep Dish.

“They were doing it for the love of theater, and it’s a shame they were forced to shut down,” Sciandra said. 

Deep Dish Theater Company did a variety of shows, a combination of new works and classics, and Frellick said they never shied away from dealing with tough issues.

“One of the great pleasures of the theater was being able to do such a wide variety of work,” Frellick said. “We figured out ways to do big productions and repertoire in a small space. We provided a platform to discuss issues that couldn’t be found anywhere else on the theater scene.”

Susannah Hough, an actress who did five shows with the theater company, said she will miss the coworkers she had become close with over the course of her career there. 

“Deep Dish was like a family. I just feel like it was the heartbeat of the local theater scene,” Hough said. 

Hough also said she believes the Chapel Hill theater community will mourn the loss of Deep Dish Theater Company.

“It was a homegrown, small business. Paul really integrated the theater with the community. I’m just so sad it’s gone.”

@leah_moore1

arts@dailytarheel.com