After 14 years of improv classes and performances based out of Source Theatre on 14th Street NW, Washington Improv Theater says it has to look for a new home base. The performance organization’s leaders say CulturalDC, the nonprofit that runs Source, unexpectedly told them their lease would not be renewed after August. WIT has shows planned through the summer, and its last run at Source will be Improvapalooza, from Aug. 22-28.

“What we were told is that continuing our lease for another year was going to create conflict with programing that Cultural DC wanted to do — and in fact, we had seen that in the draft schedule for the coming year,” says Mark Chalfant, WIT’s artistic and executive director. “We had seen several conflicts that we thought we were going to be hashing out in a conversation; which is how, in the past, the resident companies usually did that. But instead, we received that notice that we would not be renewed.”

CulturalDC disputes that version of events.

In an email to DCist, CulturalDC’s executive director and curator Kristi Maiselman says the lease was always expected to end on Aug. 31. “Washington Improv Theater’s aggressive mischaracterization of their routine lease expiration is baffling,” Maiselman said. “WIT had the option to renew and did not exercise the extension option per the terms of their lease, 9 months ago.”

Maiselman added that the nonprofit has long planned to convert Source into a mixed-use space with art studios for its Capital Artist Resident program, which provides an artist of color with up to three months of studio space, housing, funding, and an eight-week exhibition.

“What makes this so baffling is that we have been extremely supportive of Washington Improv Theater’s search for a permanent home over the past several years,” Maiselman continued. “We actually presented WIT with several options for new buildings during their current lease period.”

Chalfant called that response an attempt to create an “alternative narrative.” He says the resident companies and CulturalDC were supposed to sit down this month for their annual meeting to discuss scheduling — a difficult but manageable task they undergo each year. The meeting was postponed and Chalfant says he was “gobsmacked” when he then received a curt notice from CulturalDC that WIT’s lease would end this summer.

Maiselman offers a different timeline, saying that in 2021, WIT was actively looking to move to a new venue in the SW Waterfront neighborhood. “For the entire lease duration, we have looked forward to a smooth transition and have offered to continue helping them find a new space that can better meet their current and future programs,” she said over email. “We simply sent a routine expiration notification for their records.”

Pre-pandemic, WIT enrolled more than 1,700 locals in its acting and improv classes and Chalfant says the group was working to rebuild its education and performance programs in the midst of COVID-19. WIT also holds classes at other venues, like the Universalist National Memorial Church, Atlas Performing Arts Center, and DC Arts Center, but Source’s black box theater has been its main location for classes.

Chalfant says he knew months ago that CulturalDC’s renovation plans would prevent a three-year extension on WIT’s lease, but he was under the impression they’d at least get a one-year extension. “We relied, to our detriment, on that assurance,” he says. “We do not dispute (and have never disputed) that the termination of our lease is legal. We were just astonished with the way it went down.”

Chalfant says he asked Maiselman why the decision was made without WIT’s input or room for discussion after he received the termination notice.

In an email obtained by DCist, Maiselman told Chalfant:

“I’m sorry to deliver this news since this is not what we had been discussing with Residents. As you know, our board has been actively engaged in the planning of the redevelopment of Source. Over the past several weeks, some things have quickly shifted as it relates to those plans and our renovation timeline. The board has been meeting this week to discuss this, which is why I postponed the season planning meeting as I was not confident we could still offer a renewal to all Residents. The Board has decided at this time that with the way that our construction timeline and season planning intersected, it is not in the best interest of CulturalDC to renew WIT’s lease. I am aware of the impact this could have on your organization and hope that we can use our real estate connections to help you in your search for new space if needed.”

Chalfant says this communication and the brief termination email seemed like a harsh way for CulturalDC to treat its longest-standing tenant. When reached for comment, spokespeople for the two other resident companies (IN Series and Constellation Theatre Company) both said they will remain in the space past August, but declined to comment on the lease dispute.

In the meantime, Chalfant says CulturalDC is still WIT’s landlord through August. WIT has launched a campaign to find a new home for its classes and performances. The theater’s unpredictable version of Our Town — called (y)Our Town — is playing at Source through Sunday. Chalfant says he doesn’t expect the lease termination to put WIT’s future programming in jeopardy.

“Thankfully, we are improvisers, so we’re used to planning on the fly,” he says. “It would be nice to have this ironed out as soon as possible. But, you know, if it takes a little while for us to find something that’s just the right fit, that’ll be worth it in the end.”