Executive Summary: Rothbart's Egg

Rothbart’s Egg is two-tiered enterprise that provides an incubation facility for up and coming artists. It is a combination juice bar, art gallery, and performance venue whose goal is to provide artists with little or no previous experience the opportunity to showcase their talents, network with more established artists, and get their foot in the door.

The Egg is strategically located in downtown Chicago in the near-campus area of Columbia College and The Art Institute of Chicago. In the daytime this high-traffic location draws the business of local health-conscious college students, providing a comfy place to study and chat, or a friendly place to grab a quick drink to-go. When darkness falls, The Egg’s menu expands to include alcoholic beverages, and the space transforms into a trendy art venue that draws artists, gallery owners, talent agents, and art patrons. This target market is brought in through personal invitation and broad public advertising. Showcased artists are selected by invitation or application submission.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, $3 gets visitors in for The Egg’s rotating schedule of performance acts including comedy, improv, music, dance, and acting by fledgling local performers. Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings provide more developed artists with performance space for rent. The first Friday of every month hosts an exhibition opening for a three-week group show of local young visual artists. Visual art can be viewed anytime during The Egg’s open hours Monday through Saturday.

In addition to supplying young artists with space to show their artwork, Rothbart’s Egg will provide additional services for minimal fees. Such services include video and photo documentation of works, editing, and the preparation of press kits and other promotional materials.

Rothbart's Egg will also provide two year-long internship opportunities for technical theater and photo and video documentation in the gallery/performance setting. Participants in this program will assume responsibility for setting up, running, and designing technical elements of performances and exhibitions, and also for documenting and editing performances and artwork.

Proprietors Amanda Paulson, Ellen Deutsch and Kinsey McCartor each bring diverse experience and tools to this venture that will increase profits and decrease costs. In addition to two decades of study in the fields of dance and choreography, Ms. Deutsch and Ms. McCartor both have extensive knowledge of performance videography and editing. Ms. Deutsch has additional experience in stage management and technical theater, and Ms. McCartor holds a bartending certificate and several years in the food-service industry. Ms. Paulson has fifteen years of visual art training, and five years experience working in art galleries. Like Ms. McCartor, Ms. Paulson also has eight years of experience in food service, sales, and management industries. All three received their BFAs from the University of Illinois in 2008.

In any given metropolitan area you will find dozens of smoothie shops, art galleries, cafés, and performance venues littering the streets, but only at Rothbart’s Egg will you find an enterprise combining all of these with the additional goal of helping young artists leave the nest.