David Gassner, an actor, director and producer, has wanted to help solo performers present their work. His vision is becoming a reality. Gassner got the keys to the former New City Theater at 1406 18th Ave on September 1st and with a few small changes, is reopening it as 18th & Union.

Seattle has a lack of venues for solo performers to present their work, Gassner said. He wants to fill that void and provide solo and small-scale artists who create theater, poetry, music, comedy and other art with an audience.

“It’s a big deal for people who are working in this style,” he said.

Gassner is the producing director and Blair Feehan is the managing director of Radial Theater Project, which launched in 2011. It aims to create and present original work by local artists. In 2015 Radial Theater produced a solo performance festival at New City Theater called Locally Grown.

The concept of 18th & Union is kind of the ongoing version of Locally Grown, without the local-focus, Gassner said. He hopes to bring in touring artists as well.

Life as a solo performing artist is similar to that of a painter, Gassner told CHS. They make their own work, but then have to find a place and an audience to showcase their art.

It’s something solo artists are looking for; days after getting the keys to the 49-seat space, Gassner got his first inquiry about performing at the space via its website.

“If an artist wants to take their destiny in their own hands, they should be able to do that,” he said.

Right now Gassner said the theater needs shows that are ready to go, even if they’ve already been performed in Seattle, but by the beginning of 2017, he expects to present more original, new work.

Performances will be curated with a focus on professional, finished and experimental work, Gassner said, and he is in early talks with various theater companies in Seattle to bring them into the space as well.

Because 18th & Union is not producing its own work and won’t require rehearsal space and time, the theater is set up to be always running something. Gassner doesn’t want people to wonder if there’s something going on at 18th & Union, he wants them to wonder what’s being performed there. He also plans to give audiences more than one opportunity to see a performance.

As part of an agreement, New City Theater, which occupied the space for seven years, will be allotted residence each year, but is expected to take a year off.

The space was the fourth theaterJohn Kazanjian and Mary Ewald of New City created or renovated in the past 34 years.

“This space is very unpretentious and it invites you to take a chance,” Gassner said.

18th & Union will be holding its first public event, a free open house from 5 to 10 PM on September 24. The event will feature a photography exhibit by Michael B. Maine and short performances by Seattle artists curated and emceed by Keira McDonald. The performances will begin every hour on the hour. Homemade Dominican food will be available at the event. Free tickets are available here.

The first show will be “The Fever” by Wallace Shawn on October 2nd. It will also be performed on October 9th and 16th. Jennifer Jasper’s “Bullygirl” will run on Fridays in October and L. Nicol Cabe’s “Infinite Expectation of the Dawn” will be performed on Saturdays.

You can learn more at 18thandunion.org.