The first of the replacement seats for the refurbishing of the Salem Community Theatre have arrived. They are being stored until other parts of the project can be completed. That includes removal of the current seats. Theatre Chair Drew Johnson says everyone is being asked to lend a helping hand in removing the old seats on Sunday.
“This Sunday the 20th, starting at noon to an unknown time, were taking anybody who wants to volunteer. You don’t have to be very tech savvy or anything. It’s just taking things out and separating chair components into either what we’ve already sold, or people can buy if they want a piece of history on our website. They can fill out a form for $10 apiece and a minimum of two.”
But you have to buy the old seats by Sunday since those not spoken up will have the metal scrapped and the rest of the chair sent to the dumpster. Once the seats are gone, Johnson says there will be a very busy two months to give the theatre a face lift.
“We have a couple of days to get the chair studs cut out of the floor. Then right after that, painters will be coming in, as well as electrical contractors to do aerial work. That’s going to take about 5 days. The week after that we will have concrete solutions in here that will grind the concrete down, and everywhere there was tile we will an epoxy coating like we’ve done in the foyer. Right after that, we will get another contractor in to drill holes and put our spacing and anchors in the floor. The week after that we will be putting seats in. The week after that we will be putting carpet.”
Johnson says the goal is to have everything completed by the week after the labor day. Tours will be provided, a few movies shown, and then the Salem Community High School will be the first performance in the renovated theatre in the fall.
The current theatre chairs were placed in the then Keresotes Theatre in the late 1960’s following a fire. But they weren’t new. They were purchased from a theatre in Texas.
To get the good deal they did, they had to purchase all 1,100 seats from the Oklahoma school where they were being removed after just ten years due to a bond referendum to redo each theatre in the district’s high schools. The Salem Theatre only needs around 350 seats. The rest will be sold for what the theatre paid. XPO is transporting the chairs. The first truckload of eight were delivered on Tuesday.
The theatre renovation still has to be paid for. A campaign to raise $150,000 will soon be announced on how you can help.
