Strand Board Member Cody Veerkamp has put the Strand on the social networking site Facebook.  I just a few short days, we have grown to over 170 friends!!

OK, all you Facebookers out there, did you know you can get our fun weekly email direct to your inbox?   We know that some of you are really tech savvy and read it from your desktop on our RSS feed.  Others of you have no idea what we are talking about.   Then signing up for our weekly email is for you!

All you need to do is send us an email to weekly.email@strand-theatre-shelbyville.org   We will add your name an address to our growing list of subscribers.    Just put Sign Up in the title and we’ll know what to do.

You can also read our weekly emails online, but do you really want to wait for that browser to load?   Either way, we have fun and tell all.   We have no secrets, after all the Strand belongs to the community!

Keep adding those friends.  We would love to see each and every one of you at the theatre for a show.

The organ began as a late production Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ, style 240, three manuals and pedal, thirteen ranks of pipes, seven tuned percussion and twenty orchestral traps. This organ, one of the last made by Wurlitzer for use in this country, was built in 1931 and installed into the Warner Theatre in Youngstown, Ohio. In 1968 the organ was sold to Mr. Harold Huffman who removed the organ and put it in storage at his home in Fairfield, Ohio. The organ remained in storage until 2002 when Mr. Huffman donated the organ to the Central Indiana Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society, Inc. (CIC-ATOS, Inc.).   CIC-ATOS, Inc. donated the former Warner Theatre Wurlitzer pipe organ to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. The original instrument has now been enlarged and augmented with eleven additional ranks of pipes to support use in those symphonic works that employ pipe organ in the scoring.

 The Strand Theatre, Shelbyville, Indiana, congratulates our partners at the CIC-ATOS and Carlton Smith Restorations on the completion of the Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ installed at the Hilbert Circle Theatre, Indianapolis, Indiana.   CIC-ATOS is the owner of the Shelby County Historical Society Louisville Uniphone Theatre Pipe organ to be installed in the Strand.   Before work can be started on the Strand organ, several projects need to be completed including the Hilbert Circle Theatre instrument.

 Shelbyville Organ Crew Members David M. Finkel, Steve Frazee, Terry Ogden, Maurice Finkel, Norm Jackman and Elizabeth Finkel were among the volunteers that helped remove the organ from Ohio and transported it to Indianapolis.  The original Wurlitzer Pneumatic Relay from this project is still in storage in Shelbyville along with the Strand Organ.

 Strand Theatre Executive Board Member David M. Finkel was among many who donated their time to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra during the installation process of this instrument.   Additional professional expertise was provided by Steve Dennis, of Steve Dennis Electric of Shelbyville.

 The rebuilding, additions and installation has been a long process for this historic instrument, demanding thousands of hours of pain staking detail by Carlton Smith Pipe Organ Restorations and their associates.

 Carlton Smith Pipe Organs Restorations - restoration and installation

Carlton B Smith

Justin P Nimmo

 Associates of Carlton Smith Restorations while performing the restoration and installation process:

 Specification and tonal finishing:

            J Clark Wilson – Clark Wilson & Associates

 Specification:

            Dr. John Schwandt

            Martin Ellis

 Restoration:

            John Struve, Toronto, ONT

            Brandon Woods - Goulding & Wood Pipe Organs

            Ronald Winter, Indianapolis, IN

            Timothy Winter, Indianapolis, IN

 Restoration and installation:

            David Bottom, Lexington, KY

           Timothy Piotrzkowski, Indianapolis, IN

 Installation:

           John Goulding, Indianapolis, IN

           Dr. Shawn Chase, Indianapolis, IN

          Thomas Nichols, Indianapolis, IN

          Edward Wall, Indianapolis, IN

          Kevin Ruschhaupt, Indianapolis, IN

          David M. Finkel, Shelbyville, IN

  Carlton Smith

The Shelbyville News is preparing an article on the Strand’s diverse film offering in September.  Shelbyville News Reporter and friend of the Strand Steve Talbert takes a picture to be used in the article.   Smile!!

The Strand now has small boxes of take-home popcorn for our patrons.   After each performance, we box our popcorn and offer it for a very reasonable $1.00

Next time you are at the Strand, take home the great taste of Strand Popcorn!

Travis of the Cosmos will be brought their music back to the Strand stage on August 29, 2009.  They were be joined special guest Chosen.

After a solid set from Chose, the second have featured Travis of the Cosmos.  The band performed complete with a feature size video presentation.   This concert finished and excellent month for live entertainment at the Strand.   All proceeds from this event were for the benefit of the Strand.  Thank you to all the talented performers!

Chosen:

Travis of the Cosmos:

There are several things on our “to do” list.   This list seems to always get a little longer.  This week,however, we were able to check off one big project.

The Strand stage has gone through a few changes since we opened.  The first major change was courtesy of our friends at Shelby County Players.  They did a production and extended the stage to the south (left as you are looking at it) all the way to the wall.   This gave us much needed room.   The second change was to add a staircase to access the stage along the south wall.  In order to accomplish this we had to remove 2 seats, but is was well worth the trade. 

Since the time of the stage extension, the only way we could access the backstage was to go through the proscenium curtains and use the back stairs.  This was all well and good until March of this year.   In March we started showing films.  Our 20′ x 30′ screen in the down position makes it difficult to get backstage.  We have to walk around the side of the screen, and we are worried that it will get damaged.

After considerable thought, we decided the rebuild the stage right doorway so that it can be used from the new stage.   After all, it is hard to “exit stage right” if you don’t have a way out!  In order to accomplish this, it required us to move the heating and A/C duct work above the door.   Easier said than done.  The problem is that although there are ducts on both sides of the stage, the stage right set are the only ducts that have air-conditioning.   Both have heat in the winter, but only one has cool in the summer.  Whatever we did, we needed to preserve the air flow.

After some head scratching, a plan was devised and work began.  This all involved our resident building maintenance guru Bob S.   His plan was to move the bottom duct up, extend the door opening, modify the stage and build a staircase.   Guess what…it worked!   This week was the week for that list item to be finished.   First order of business was reconfiguring the ductwork.  According to Bob, the person that installed it in 1954 was a master.   The transitions were beautifully formed and installed.  There is a good picture of this on our web site.  He disassembled the bottom section, removed 18″ of duct, and reassembled the pieces.  This not only raised the grill high enough for us to install the doorway, it will also help the audience and performers.  The old duct was just low enough that anyone seated in the first 3 rows on the left would get a steady stream of cold air.  Now with the duct higher, it minimizes that blast of air into the audience.  Also, the performers that sit there on stage don’t get the chilly breeze either.

After the duct was moved, Bob cut the new opening reusing all the existing trim work.   It looks like it has always been there.   The stage was modified for a smooth transition for a staircase, and the stairs were built.  Now you can get from the front of the stage to backstage with the screen down!   Gordon H. will come in this week and get the painting done, and it will be ready to go.  Several people are very happy about his change, top of the heap on that list are stage directors Cindy L. and Cindy H.   It will make it easier for their productions.  After any show, please ask, we would be happy to show you the finished stairs and access.  

This Saturday night we have a return engagement by Travis of the Cosmos.  This local band has played at the Strand several times in the past and sounds great.  If you haven’t been to a rock concert yet, now would be a great time to try it out.  They are being joined by the band Chosen.  The concert starts at 8:00pm.   Our Saturday night late movie will be George Romero’s “The Crazies“.  On Sunday we will show the movie musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers“.  The show starts at 2:00pm.  

As August winds down, September is heating up.  We have a full line-up for the coming month at the Strand.   There will be something for everyone.  We might not be the biggest performing arts center, we certainly didn’t spend the most money, we haven’t had any fundraising, but we have kept moving along with our mission… all because of you.   Thanks!

If you would like to volunteer for an event, email to rhonda.schwegman@strand-theatre-shelbyville.org

Should Snagglepuss every play the Strand, he would have a problem.   When the mountain lion went to “Exit Stage Right”, there would be no place to go.  The chant “Heavens to Murgatroyd!” would follow.  

Strand Board Member Bob Schlick had the stage right exit on his to-do list.   This was something that had become important.  Starting in March 2009 the Strand began showing films.  Our 20′ x 30′ movie screen blocked of the upstage exits when it was in its down position.  If you wanted to get to the dressing room basement, you would have to very gently pull the screen back to pass.   It was only a matter of time before our screen was damaged. 

To prevent this, it was determined that we could open up a passage above where the existing exit was located.   After our stage extended all the way right, it blocked the auditorium level exit.    The first hurtle was to move our heating and A/C duct work.    The bottom vent was in the way of the new exit.  Bob removed 18″ of duct and re-attached the transitions.   He commented that the original installer in 1954 was a master installing the sheet metal.  He said the workmanship was outstanding.

Below is a picture of the finished duct:

Next the door opening was cut, and new stairs installed.   The work was completed and is being painted this week.  This will be a great enhancement to the functionality of our stage.    Below is Bob and his handiwork:

Let’s start with Slacker Uprising. This is a Michael Moore documentary that deals with the director’s observations as he embarked on a 60 campus college tour during our last presidential election. The next is The Bride of Dracula. This stars Peter Cushing. This is one of a series of Dracula movies made by Cushing. You might remember him from Star Wars, he had the stench Princess Lea found so offensive. We round out the first weekend with Carry On…Up the Kyhber. This is a British comedy that consistently rates high on funny film lists. It will be a treat to see on the big screen.

The second weekend in September starts with the film Orpheus. The French film is a classic from 1950. The story is well known and the film is on most film buffs must see list. Saturday night we show The Evil of Frankenstein. Another Peter Cushing horror classic. We round out the weekend with the hilarious Divorce Italian Style. This movie won the Academy Award for best comedy writing. It also had Best Supporting Actor and Best Director nominations. It stars Marcello Mastrioanni.

The third weekend brings us to the most diverse offering of the month. We start out on Friday night with the Serge Einstein classic Alexander Nevsky. Einstein was a major player in Russian art and film. Many of us had to study his work in college. This film was scored by the famed Russian composer Serge Prokofiev. The film will be presented in Russian with English subtitles. Saturday we leap…and I mean leap, to the Legend of Sandsquatch. Just read the title and come up with your own conclusion. This film is going to be a late night classic, we are just ahead of the game showing it only 3 years after its release. The final film needs no explanation: Ma & Pa Kettle at the Fair.
As you can see, the Strand Film School is open for business the month of September. But wait…there’s more! We have a whole weekend of B Movies the final weekend of the month as we are a host site for the B-Movie Celebration.

You will also notice that we are trying different starting times. This coming month the Sunday movies will be at 5:00pm. We’ll see if this helps.

Don’t worry, we have a great variety of live entertainment planned for the month too. We’ll write about that next week. Thank you for the support. While you plan your weekend activities, don’t forget to visit our friends at the Blue River Festival in downtown Shelbyville starting on Friday. Our late night movie on Saturday night is the Alfred Hitchcock classic PSYCHO! We hope to see you there.

Thank you for the support. As we try new things, some things work, some don’t. There is a common thread throughout them all, we are doing our mission and having fun in the process. We truly look forward to seeing you at the theatre.