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It seems only
yesterday that we were able to open this new theatre building, with
a real stage, rigging, dressing rooms, and...it's a real
theatre...
On May 6, 1976
our new theatre finally opened with the play The Patriots. It
was our 124th play since Community Theatre began operating in
1944. But we had finally moved from improvised facilities in a
little wooden building at 12th & Broadway, to a new building
actually built to be a theatre from the start.
We had operated
for 30 years in a little theatre seating 72 people, with a stage
only 16' square. Now here we were with a new building, 192 theatre
seats for our audience, and a 25' deep stage with a fancy stage
rigging system.
The previous
weeks had been a nightmare of activity for theatre members.
Construction had been going on since July of the previous year. We
even had thieves steal building material so that the building stood
with 60' of wall missing until new components could be shipped from
Texas. Our own theatre members completed the theatre equipment
installation. The last 2 weeks saw a beehive of activity as a crew
of PSNS shipfitters, welders, and mechanics joined theatre members
in installing the rigging system from the Seattle Orpheum, while
another group was busy bolting seats (from Seattle's Music Hall) to
the new floor. In the meantime other crews were building new scenery
for The Patriots, while rehearsals were going on in the old
theatre and any other place we could find to accommodate us. Some of
our work went on into the early morning hours.
Our production of
The Patriots (by Sidney Kingsley) was our contribution to the
celebration of the United States' 200th birthday. The interior of
the theatre was barely completed when the audience arrived. Wall
insulation hung from the rafters, we had a bare concrete floor, and
we had improvised our light control panel from our little old
theatre. But it was the start for the best theatre in the west. We
have presented over 125 shows in this new theatre in the 30 seasons
since we opened here. |
