The Umbrella
A Broken Umbrella Theatre is transforming a former dry cleaner and mechanic shop into a permanent home for New Haven's creative community — a black box theater, cabaret event space, gallery, and artist hub at the crossroads of Westville, West Hills, and Beaver Hills.
Every dollar is doubled and tax-deductible.
Community survey
Help shape what happens under The Umbrella.
We're listening to neighbors, artists, families, and local partners as 280 Blake Street becomes a shared creative home for New Haven.
Community voices
The community is already naming the need.
Survey responses and community voices point to the same thing: affordable, accessible creative space that lets New Haven gather, rehearse, perform, learn, and belong.
“New Haven artists have a critical and urgent need for free or affordable/highly subsidized space. To have The Umbrella would be a net positive not only for the city, but for the region.”
LucyBeaver Hills · Arts Council of Greater New Haven
“We live in a wonderful neighborhood, but have no space and very few opportunities to come together. The Umbrella would give us a chance to renew old friendships and form new ones.”
JonWestville
“There is currently zero access to accessible rehearsal space for professional makers anywhere in greater New Haven. We need this space now more than ever.”
AlexiskamrDANCE
“We really cannot wait for The Umbrella to open up because it gives us an opportunity to do that work in a building built for theater.”
Dexter SingletonCollective Consciousness Theatre
Two Goals. One Roof.
Raise the Roof is the community campaign to help turn 280 Blake Street into The Umbrella: a permanent home for New Haven artists, neighbors, and new work.
Explore Raise the Roof →Our Mission
We build spaces for New Haven's creative community. For sixteen years, we have transformed forgotten buildings into viable venues — then handed them back to the community in better shape than we found them. The Umbrella is the first space we will own, and the first we can offer permanently to the artists and organizations who need it.
Our Vision
- A shared cultural hub owned by the community, not by one organization
- Affordable, professional-grade space for artists who cannot access it elsewhere
- Cross-cultural collaboration between New Haven's diverse creative communities
- Proof that public investment in arts infrastructure pays dividends
- A permanent home for the kind of place-making work the company has done for 16 years
- Sustainable jobs and youth education in the arts
- Pay-what-you-can access for artists and audiences
Who We Serve
The goal of The Umbrella is to support artists, creatives, industry workers, cultural bearers, youth, and audience members with a specific focus on engaging those that identify as historically unsupported, notably Black, Indigenous, people of color; people with disabilities; LGBTQIA+; under-resourced.
What We're Building
A six-space arts complex with a 90+ seat black box, cabaret gathering space, gallery, and artist support spaces at the crossroads of Westville, West Hills, and Beaver Hills.
Black Box Theater
90+ tiered seats, flexible staging, professional lighting grid, acoustically treated
The Patent House
Front room cabaret and event space with kitchen facilities, drinks and food service, and restaurant partner Jason Sobocinski (Caseus / Haven Hot Chicken)
Gallery & Lobby
Art exhibition space and box office between the cabaret and theater
Artist Suites
New upper-level construction — green room, dressing rooms, office, storage
Roof Patio
Rooftop tables and seating for outdoor gathering
Tech Booth
Professional-grade control room for lighting and sound
Partners & Community
Collective Consciousness Theatre (CCT)Dexter Singleton, Artistic DirectorNew Haven theater company exploring The Umbrella as a rehearsal and performance home for community-centered work.
Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU)Academic neighbor helping connect the project to students, faculty, arts education, and community-based learning.- Music HavenYouth music education organization and current Erector Square tenant in a building A Broken Umbrella Theatre helped activate through performance.
- Jason Sobocinski / Caseus / Haven Hot ChickenFood-and-drink partner helping shape The Patent House as a welcoming lobby, gathering place, and event space.
- Kamr Dance StudioAlexis Robbins, Artistic Director and ChoreographerDance studio and project-based company bringing adult tap, contemporary dance, rehearsal, and performance activity into the local arts ecosystem.
Westville Village Renaissance Alliance (WVRA)Neighborhood partner that has supported A Broken Umbrella Theatre since our first Edgewood Park productions in 2009.
Arts Council of Greater New HavenRegional arts service organization whose research, advocacy, and convening help document the need for affordable creative space.
Eli Whitney MuseumHands-on museum and workshop partner for theater camps, improv, youth making, and invention-centered learning.- Shubert TheatreHistoric New Haven theater and past commissioning partner for Scene Change!, A Broken Umbrella Theatre's 2015 backstage production.
- New Haven Free Public LibraryCivic partner and host of The Library Project, connecting public libraries, local history, and original storytelling.
International Festival of Arts & IdeasCitywide arts presenter and New Haven cultural neighbor connected to the broader creative community The Umbrella will serve.- Kehler Liddell GalleryWestville gallery and longtime friend of A Broken Umbrella Theatre.
Lotta StudioPhotography and creative studio led by Mistina Hanscom, supporting the visual storytelling around A Broken Umbrella Theatre's work.- New Haven MuseumLocal history museum and research partner supporting A Broken Umbrella Theatre's New Haven storytelling practice.
The ShackCommunity organization in New Haven's West Rock neighborhood and a longtime friend of A Broken Umbrella Theatre. Partner for educational programs and the Young Artists Fellowship.
By the Numbers
Projected annual impact after opening.
For sixteen years, we have made space for ourselves and for others.
A Broken Umbrella Theatre has a distinctive pattern: find a forgotten building, rehabilitate it through art, and hand it back to the community in better shape than before. The Umbrella is the culmination of that history — the first space the company will own, and the first it can offer permanently to New Haven's creative community.
Who We Are
A Broken Umbrella Theatre is a New Haven-based ensemble that creates original, site-specific theatrical experiences. Every production is inspired by the culture and history of New Haven, connecting audiences to real moments from our city’s past through song, dance, spectacle, and storytelling.
We are an all-volunteer company. Our ensemble members write, improvise, design, build, sew, act, direct, and more. We believe in the power of the ensemble to bring about great change in our community.
Our own lack of dedicated space over the years has put us in a unique position to see first-hand how New Haven is rich in creativity, but continually short of viable spaces. We rose from this challenge, thinking outside the box to craft spectacle theatre that weaves together the stories of New Haven's vibrant history within underutilized spaces throughout the city.
The Building
280 Blake Street — purchased October 2022 for $280,000.
- Former use
- Dry cleaner and mechanic shop
- Zoning
- General business (food, drink, live entertainment)
- Location
- Blocks from Southern Connecticut State University
- Engineer
- Westcott & Mapes, Inc.
“I think that this can be a very transformative space. It's not just about A Broken Umbrella. It's also about asking, "How do we activate this as a space and as an incubator for artists who can't necessarily afford to be in these spaces?"”
Adriane Jefferson, Former Director of Arts, Culture & Tourism, City of New Haven
Why the state keeps saying yes
Three consecutive rounds of public investment: $500,000 Good to Great grant + $120,000 community support + $250,000 CIF planning grant. The state keeps saying yes.
Good to Great Grant
$500,000 from CT Humanities and DECD in 2023. The state's first major investment in The Umbrella recognized the project's potential as a regional cultural anchor.
2023 Community Match
$120,000 raised from over 300 community members. The state saw that New Haven's people were behind this, not just its institutions.
CIF Planning Grant
$250,000 through the Community Investment Fund 2030 in 2025. The Community Investment Fund planning grant is institutional validation — and a challenge to keep building community support.
Why New Haven needs this
New Haven's artists need places to work, gather, rehearse, perform, teach, and build community. The Umbrella expands the city's creative infrastructure with accessible, professional space designed for artists, audiences, and cultural partners.
Art needs places to happen
New Haven's artists and cultural organizations need accessible, professional-grade spaces where work can be developed, shared, and sustained.
The evidence
In 2020, the Arts Council of Greater New Haven commissioned Odyssey Associates to study the need. They found great demand for a complex of small performance spaces, rehearsal halls, and event support. The Umbrella helps answer that need with flexible rooms built for the way local artists actually work.
The solution
The Umbrella offers affordable, professional space — a black box, a cabaret, a gallery — for independent artists, community gatherings, education programs, and cultural partners.
Advisory Squad
Meet the squad →Leaders from across New Haven's arts, civic, and education communities guiding The Umbrella forward.
Hope ChávezExecutive Director, Arts Council of Greater New Haven
Ife Michelle GardinCultural Curator / Founder / Executive Director, KulturallyLIT / Elm City LIT Fest
Frank MitchellMember, CT Humanities Board of Directors; Director Emeritus, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture
Michael MorandCity Historian; Director, Community Engagement at Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Babz Rawls IvyEditor-in-Chief, The Inner-City News; Host, LoveBabz LoveTALK
Kathy Russel BeckPrincipal, L.W. Beecher Museum Magnet School
Dexter SingletonArtistic Director, Collective Consciousness Theatre
Lizzy DoniusExecutive Director, Westville Village Renaissance Alliance
What's Ahead
Key milestones on the road to breaking ground.
In the Press
View all coverage →- On Blake Street, A Broken Umbrella Grows a Community Theater HubThe Arts Paper · August 2023
- A Blake Street Arts Incubator Inches ForwardThe Arts Paper · November 2024
- Broken Umbrella Developing New Space for ArtsNew Haven Independent · August 2023
- 'Sought-After' Blake Street Building Sold to New Haven Theater GroupPatch · October 2022
Everyone is welcome under The Umbrella.
Your $50 becomes $100. Your name joins 300+. Every donor — at any amount — is a vote of confidence that strengthens our case to the CIF. Donor count matters as much as dollar amount.
See the full campaign →Even $5 matters. Every individual supporter strengthens our case to the State of Connecticut that this is a community priority.
A Broken Umbrella Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All donations are tax-deductible.
Pay by check
A Broken Umbrella TheatreP.O. Box 3285New Haven, CT 06515Payable to A Broken Umbrella Theatre.
Community stories
Video-first updates from the artists and neighbors helping shape The Umbrella.
