Shadow Theatre Company bankruptcy filing reveals Seedco as biggest creditor

In hopes of climbing out from beneath crushing debt, the Shadow Theatre Company formally declared bankruptcy earlier this month. Its biggest creditor: Seedco Financial. According to bankruptcy documents filed February 2, Shadow owes $220,924 to Seedco for a "Bank Loan."...

By Jared Jacang Maher

February 18, 2011

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

In hopes of climbing out from beneath crushing debt, the Shadow Theatre Company formally declared bankruptcy earlier this month. Its biggest creditor: Seedco Financial. According to bankruptcy documents filed February 2, Shadow owes $220,924 to Seedco for a "Bank Loan."

The group also owes $6,416 to the IRS and more than $11,000 in "contract labor" payments to local performers, former employees, playwrights and even current creative director Hugo Jon Sayles.

Earlier this year, the theater company was evicted from its own 191-seat building at 1468 Dayton Street in Aurora, which city officials once hoped would be the anchor of a new culture and arts district.

Seedco is a name quite familiar to local urban revitalization proponents. The New York-based non-profit was once Denver's official community development lender for businesses and building projects in low-income areas, until a 2009 City Auditor's report slammed the firm for its lackluster performance.

"There is art and then there is the business of the arts," said Shadow Theatre board president Herman Malone in a statement released just after the bankruptcy filing. "We're committed to making both of those things thrive. Shadow is an investment opportunity that will pay benefits to the heart and to the pocket book. Our plans will help our community to take advantage of both."

Read the full bankruptcy document below.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.