For years the Gorilla Theatre tried to beat the odds by staging productions at its location in the heart of Tampa's industrial Drew Park.
But on Thursday, the theater announced it will end performances at the site in less than two weeks.
The theater hopes to open in a temporary location in March 2012, when it will present the play "The Whipping Man." A new location hasn't been determined, said Sandra Lynne Locher, president of the theater's board of directors.
"We would like to be in a place that has visibility, foot traffic and part of a community," Locher said.
The theater is closing its doors at its current location because of a lack of funding, Locher said. In October, it formed a new board of directors, which decided to cut overhead and focus its expenses on production, she said.
Bridget Bean, the theater's executive director and only full-time staffer, also will step down. She will remain on the volunteer board of directors.
The theater, 4419 Hubert Ave., will have its final performance at Drew Park on Dec. 18. The play is "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe."
The intimate theater was founded in 1993 by Aubrey Hampton and his wife, Susan Hussey. Hampton funded the theater along with ticket sales. But Hampton died in May, and Hussey died in 2009.
"The Gorilla is going to stay alive, and it is going to stay alive for a very long time," Locher said.
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