Chief among those is that Mayes won’t be working alone. The new vision for Bailiwick is emerging as a

New Bailiwick Executive Director Kevin Mayes

That collective has been meeting most of the summer, as Zak and Mayes have been planning this succession. Both of them saw it as an opportunity for Bailiwick to redefine itself.

“We’re looking at our mission, our operating structures, how we fund shows, how we hire for shows,” says Mayes.

Bailiwick’s mission statement is quite general and generic, Mayes says, yet the theatre is known for some specific initiatives. First and foremost, it is known as a gay theatre. It was one of the first theatres to program around Gay Pride Day in the summer of 1988. In the last decade and a half, it’s expanded its gay-themed plays to run throughout the year. And, with its production of Naked Boys Singing, in the mid-’90s, it stumbled onto a money maker that they milked for years, with sequels.

But also during that time, Bailiwick began to establish itself as a producer of new or reinvented musicals, which took Chicago and the Jeff Committee by storm. Their productions of Pope Joan, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Jerry Springer: The Musical were among the many that won numerous Jeff awards and citations over the last 27 years. And lest anyone think Bailiwick was flagging into its middle age, the last two shows were produced within the same year, with two separate budgets. Jerry Springer took most of the musical awards for the 2008 non-Equity Jeffs, while Hunchback nabbed the best musical for a midsize theatre award just four months later at the Equity Jeffs.

David Zak

As diverse and acclaimed as their programming has been, Bailiwick has struggled most of its lifetime to make ends meet—a byproduct of being run by one person whose vision and talents are more artistic than financial. Bailiwick has had flush times (with Naked Boys mostly) and years where it was just scraping by. But the biggest blow was the loss of their Bailiwick Arts Center space at 1229 W. Belmont last fall. The space was taken over by Jeremy Wechsler, who worked with Bailiwick Repertory in the past, and who is currently building the space out for his Theater Wit and three other theatres to share.

Mayes isn’t looking, yet, for a permanent space. He and his working group are still trying to figure out the next season. They’re thinking of doing some sort of piece in development or variety-type show in November, while they take time to plan their new vision. That, Mayes says, will include more play development, incorporating new directors. It will also include partnering with other organizations. Bailiwick partnered this past summer with About Face, which it shared space with at the Center on Halsted, to produce its Pride Series. Mayes vows to make sure that Bailiwick has a partner for every project. If they do an anti-war show, for instance, Mayes and company will look for a non-profit anti-war group to work with.

They’re not abandoning their gay audience, by any means, but, Mayes says, “We’re looking to expand the mission beyond the gay perspective, but inclusive of the gay perspective.”

Mayes is working with a debt that he calls a “manageable” five figures, which he thinks the company will overcome sooner than later.

“We have a good core group of sponsors and donors who have been very supportive of the changes we’re making,” says Mayes, who has been consulting with Zak on the business end of Bailiwick for the last three years.

One of the first orders of business on that end it to make sure everybody knows they’re still around.

“We have not done enough communication work since we left the space,” Mayes says. “I think there is misperception here that the Bailiwick is closed.”

Zak, meanwhile, is not going away. He will direct at the theatre and consult this year. He is teaching at Roosevelt University and at a public school in Hammond, Ind., which brings him back to his roots as a high school teacher. He’s planning to spend next year teaching in South Korea.

“Running a small business sucks everything out of your life,” says Zak. “I’ll still be around and I’ll still be directing, but having someone else carrying the day to day burden will be really great.”