When Louisville producer and actor Remy Sisk planned to start a theater company, he wanted to transform an unconventional building “with potential” into a rehearsal and performance space
After founding the horror-themed Time Slip Theatre, Sisk and some fellow thespians spent the last two years looking for a permanent home. Recently, Time Slip found it at a 200-year-old church that used to belong to the First Presbyterians in Old Louisville.
The roof is leaking and is in need of major repairs, but Sisk said he and Time Slip are determined to not only fix up the church, but also transform the space into a community arts hub – all while preserving its original architecture.
Sisk said the group is planning to renovate the church at 100 W. Ormsby Ave. to create a theater, community gathering space and events venue for its Old Louisville neighbors.
The rebuild
Sisk and some other actors bought the building from its previous owners, the married house flippers Annie and Jeff McMichael. The Bardstown couple said they have been working on fixer-uppers since 2008, and the church they bought in 2017 was their largest project to date.
At the time, the building was in foreclosure, and Annie said it was in rough shape. The towers were nearing collapse, the roof was water damaged, and she and Jeff were trying to collect the funds for repairs.
“It was a long process, believe it or not,” she said. “I did a lot of the work myself, most of the painting…I would be there sometimes until two and three in the morning all by myself working, I put a lot of love, time, effort and money into that building.”
The duo hired master plumbers and master electricians for major repairs and a stained glass artist to restore the original windows in the church.
They had renovated the bathrooms, turned the old gym into a remodeled event venue, outfitted the smaller rooms with a fresh coat of paint and transformed the dirt backyard into a green space with tables, chairs and a fire pit.
Then, Annie was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in Oct. 2024.
“And at that point, all work had to stop,” she said, adding that she later went into remission. “Even after that, I knew that I could not bring that church to fruition.”
She said she had plans to bring the building back to life.
“That's all I could just see, was people laughing and talking and dancing and singing,” Annie said. “And I knew that I couldn't take it to that point. We were so close. It was like not being able to get across the finish line.”
Sharing a dream
When the church went up for sale, Time Slip had just finished its first performance in two years – a stage show called “Who Invited Them” – and was searching for a permanent space. The theater company tried to make it work in an office building on Story Avenue in Butchertown.
“We haven't been able to do much there in a long time, so it helped us become who we are. But time to move on,” Sisk said.
Jeff said he offered Sisk the church because they shared the same vision.
“When Time Slip came, we really fell in love with them, because they not only had the energy, they had the money to fix up the rest of the stuff that they wanted to do,” he said. “They just had a good vibe.”
Sisk acquired the building last month, and said construction is already underway in the old sanctuary of the church.
On a recent afternoon, he walked across the red carpeted floor, between the old pews, toward the former altar. The aging wooden floor is partially ripped up, revealing the foundational beams underneath.
“We're trying to keep as much as possible to honor this building's legacy. But then from there, build out this stage so that it is a fully functional theater stage,” he said.
Sisk said he plans to expand the altar to make a stage, turn the church's smaller rooms into dressing rooms, and keep the backyard as a gathering space for before and after performances.
“People in Louisville say, ‘We love the arts.’ We're such an artsy city,” Sisk said. “The arts need more places to do art, and I believe that the fact that we're making this is hopefully going to help.”
Time Slip is running a capital campaign to raise funds for the rest of its renovation projects.
The company plans to have construction done by May, in time for its production of “The Masque of the Red Death,” which is based on an Edgar Allen Poe piece.
Sisk said he wants Time Slip’s location to be a community arts hub, and hopes to rent out space for events.
“Yes, this will be Time Slip’s home, but also it's a home for the arts of Louisville, for the community of Old Louisville,” Sisk said. “It's where you want to do your holiday flea market, where you want to do your book club, where you want to do your play reading, where you want to do your cabaret. All these things can happen here.”
Time Slip’s next production will be the musical “Jagged Little Pill” at Actors Theatre, Jan. 30 through Feb. 8.
Sisk said the theater company is enjoying, for the first time, rehearsing with its entire cast in their own space.
