Lou Bellamy, Penumbra's artistic director, says his theater has outgrown its current home in the Hallie Q. Brown/Martin Luther King Center and is looking to be a part of African American arts complex in St. Paul.
St. Paul's Selby Avenue is undergoing something of a renaissance. Once considered one of the more unsavory parts of the capital, the area is now home to upscale restaurants, a wine bar; even a co-op is under construction. Community members hope the next development will be the 20-million-dollar African American arts complex. Backers are seeking eight million in state bonds from the legislature. The proposed facility would include three theatres, a dance studio, a lecture hall, classrooms and a cafe. The main tenants would be the Walker-West Music Academy, and the African American theater company Penumbra.