Hello All,
Isn’t summer fun?! It is proving interesting for all of us at the Strand. The theatre is humming along. Several things have taken place in the past few days. First lets talk about our events.
We hosted the Shelby County Players "Divas" auditions. I know that everyone will want to come and see this performance and help support our friends at the Shelby County Players. They will have their benefit concert on August 15 & 16. The local talent will be fantastic, and I am sure that Cindy L. and her crew will put on an entertaining show.
The Shrine Club Concert Band did a very patriot concert last week too. They also had a little "audience participation". The director made everyone stand up and do the Chicken Dance! You can see a picture of that on our web site. Trust me, you had to be there.
Smashed Productions returned with another entertaining night of rock music. The bands that played the Strand on June 21st were fun. If you haven’t been to the theatre to listen to one of these concerts, please try to fit it into your schedule. We have a local duo, Adam and Amanda O’Connor taking the stage on July 26th. It would be a great time to hear some live music….and don’t forget, the Strand receives 100% of the revenue generated from these concerts!
The Blue River Community Foundation hosted their Annual Meeting at the theatre this week. It was very well attended, and the patrons enjoyed see all your work. The majority of comments center on how far the theatre has come, how little time it took us, and how many different people volunteered. That is what we are all about. The Clarinet Ensemble performed for the event. The catered evening was yet another different type of event we can host. Thank you to the BRCF for holding their meeting in our theatre!
Next time you are driving by the theatre, go around back and drive through the alley. The rear exit doors are cleaned and painted. Soon they will sport very nice Strand Theatre signs. Once again our friends at Stage Door Graphics made it possible for us to install those signs…..Thank you Stage Door and the DeWitt Family.
Since you are in the back of the theatre, I hope you notice the general cleanliness of the area. When we first started work, the alley and the areas adjacent to our building were full of trash and debris. We have constantly picked up trash and swept. I think you will agree it is a noticeable improvement. These are the types of little things that must be remembered and accomplished for us to be completely successful in our mission.
We really need to have a Saturday work session. Our problem is too many events! That is a problem we will gladly take. Here are some of the things that we need to accomplish in the future. If anyone has time to help, please contact Steve or I to arrange times. Many of us are at the theatre odd hours, and help is always appreciated.
First we need to paint under the marquee. This isn’t a difficult task, but we need to pressure wash the dirt off first. It will be painted a limestone color. We also need to scrape and prepare the marquee. Dr. Paul Inlow at one of our events asked us about the lights for the marquee. We told him that we do not have the funds to purchase them yet. Dr. Inlow took a sample of the socket and the lamp and gave the Strand enough to redo the entire marquee!! Thank you Dr. Inlow. We need to drill out the old sockets, prepare the metal, and reinstall the new sockets. This isn’t hard, just time consuming. It will be satisfying when the are all lit again.
Every notice the chains holding the marquee? They need to be black. Gordon will lead the crew that will prepare and paint those chains. We also need some interior help. Our basement under the stage still has old compressor parts that need to go to Pettit’s for recycling. There are also small plastering jobs inside the theatre that still need accomplished. These are things that if we don’t really push to get them done now, we may never get them finished.
Here is an update on our movie screen. Beck Studio’s, our contractor, has informed us that the screen will be manufactured the first week of July. We are going to assemble a crew to help Beck install the screen the second week for July. This will be a great addition to our theatre. Thank you to the anonymous donor that purchased the screen on our behalf.
We hope to see you at an event soon. Check out our web site for details (and don’t forget the Chicken Dance picture).
We appreciate your interest and support of the Strand and the Arts in ShelbyCounty!
David
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