As members of the Crown Point Community Theatre prepare for the group's final curtain call July 9, they say performing arts in the city will live on.

"We have to consider this a beginning," said Marion Kellum, of Crown Point.

Kellum was among the founding members of the Crown Point Community Theatre 13 years ago, and he was among a group of its members and supporters who gathered at the theater Tuesday to learn about the theater's closing from the board.

Kellum said the theater has come a long way since its inception when members performed all of the shows in the Hall of Justice in downtown Crown Point, the Crown Point United Methodist Church and in open-air spaces at Crown Point High School. Having a space to finally call its own when the theater opened its doors five years ago in the building at 1125 Merrillville Road was a milestone.

"We did some terrific work," Kellum said. "In my opinion, we have a tremendous history. Instead of feeling depressed, we should feel very proud."

The Tuesday session was a wake of sorts for the theater, which has a history of successful programming.

Matt Valukis, CPTC president, said the economics of running the theater and maintaining its space became too much. The board has consulted with an attorney and will be filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after one last show run ending July 9, he said. The bankruptcy will include closing of its theater.

"We are incredibly fortunate to have served the community for 13 years," Valukis said. "We've had some really great programs."

Valukis and Vice President Becky Jascoviak, of Valparaiso, said that despite being a popular theater with successful shows and classes that would routinely fill, overhead ultimately became too much for the group to handle.

"Our programming is strong. Overhead killed us," Valukis said.

CPCT is run only by volunteers. Between 10 and 20 volunteers oversee operations, scheduling and production of the shows, as well as fundraising. Valukis said the space costs about $26,000 a year to operate for rent and utilities. Productions cost between $2,500 and $3,000. Ticket sales generate between $4,000 and $8,000 per production and represent a small portion of the theater's income. The remainder comes from grants, donations and sponsorships.

Over the years the theater has received numerous grants, but for the past two years it was unsuccessful in its grant applications, officials said.

The financial stress was compounded by the loss of the group's 501(c)(3) charitable status after a misunderstanding about tax filing requirements, officials said. The group is operating as a fund of the Crown Point Community Foundation in order to maintain its charitable standing while the accounting issues are addressed with the IRS and the theater winds down operations.

Valukis said that as the financial statements were being reviewed, it was realized many past board members supported the theater with hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in personal donations.

"While we are beyond grateful for their gift, board members continually giving of their own money wasn't a financially feasible way to run a business," he said.

In 2016, the theater went from an artistic board to a financial board to address the issues.

"We were a little too late to right the ship," Valukis said.

Jascoviak said there will be opportunities for members to find a place in other theater groups across the area. The Northwest Indiana Excellence in Theater Foundation has 12 members, including CPCT, and works with 40 theater groups across Northwest Indiana. All of the theaters already work together sharing resources, including personnel.

Valukis said there potentially will be a venue for any future theater group that may form when Gloria Touhy and the Indiana Ballet Theatre complete the renovation of the Old Nurse's Home on North Main Street. The venue will have a 70-seat black-box theater that could be used for future productions.

"That's one of those things we can take a little solace in," Valukis said.

Kerianne Valukis, Matt's wife and a volunteer, said the decision was necessary.

"This is heartbreaking for us. It was literally agonizing to come to this decision," she said.

She said the last show is a fitting bookend to the theater's run at its current location. CPCT will finish its run with a production of Jason Robert Brown's "The Last Five Years," with dates from June 23 through July 9, Kerianne Valukis said. Five years ago, the theater opened to a play by the same writer, "Songs for a New World," she said.

Kellum encouraged members to look to the future and said there are too many people who love theater for this to be the end. He imagines one day in the not so distant future the creation of a new local theater group that will debut with a "big, splashy show to get it started."

"We're not going to die. We have a group of people who love theater and want to see it produced," Kellum said.

Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

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Bankruptcy forces curtain to fall on community theater - Chicago Tribune