The first phase of renovation at the Salem Community Theatre is nearly complete and will be available for viewing from ten to noon on Saturday during Little Egypt Festival activities.
Theatre Board Chair Drew Johnson is pleased with how the work has gone and the number of community members and students who have responded to several work days to help keep costs down and the project almost on schedule.
“Phase one saw us completely removing all the old seating and flooring, re-epoxying the sections that would have been tiled,” Johnson said. “We originally had planned to re-epoxy everything, but we found some hidden treasures in the old theater which required us to put carpet back, which we ultimately think is going to be better for sound anyway. It included drilling and installing the seating. Henson painting completely repainted the ceiling in the auditorium as well as our foyer that leads to the auditorium.”
The foyer floor was also resealed and some non-functioning fans replaced.
Johnson feels the improvements will also lead to a more pleasurable theatre experience.
“We added a full twenty inches more between rows, so people with accessibility issues should be able to easily get to their chairs. On top of that, the chairs are slightly wider and far more comfortable given the age difference.”
Johnsons says the two aisles have also been widened.
The changes have resulted in 78 fewer seats than in the past. The theatre’s capacity is now 324.
The ribbon cutting for the improvements is set for October 18th. The ribbon will be cut at ten am and a chance to tour the renovated facility and refreshments will be available from ten to noon.
