AUBURN - The Auburn Public Theater's makeover is in its final stages as workers knocked a wall out facing Genesee Mall Saturday morning. Double doors with sidelights for a new entrance to the live theater will fill the gap.
The main theater stage will be remodeled and the theater enlarged to seat about 100. Dressing rooms and new bathrooms were also added. Carey Eidel, co-owner, said seating could eventually expand to double that capacity. The work is expected to be complete by fall.
“We can continue to program by keeping one or more spaces open,” he said. The Charlotte Cushman performance scheduled for July 13 will be performed in the cinema.
The APT Children's Summer Acting Program/performance “A.L.I.C.E. in Wonder City” will be unaffected. It begins July 7 and involves children 6 to 18 years old.
At the end of June, APT temporarily closed its lobby/cafe and live theater spaces. APT's Tuesday night music jam and normal theater programming were suspended during construction, although Eidel said the Tuesday event was temporarily moved across Genesee Street to Parker's Grill and Tap House. Regular scheduling of events will resume once construction is finished.
The 70-seat APT Cinema will officially open at 7 p.m. July 13 with “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” shown daily at 7 p.m. through July 17. Typical “Movieplex” seating came from Cayuga Community College after its auditorium renovation.
Movie lovers will enter the cinema from Genesee Street for the opening as well as future movies to be screened only on Fridays and Saturdays, Eidel said.
Besides introducing films already shown elsewhere, Angela Daddabbo, artistic director for APT, intends to book speakers connected with films shown at APT to discuss various aspects of the films, Eidel said. He hopes that businesses can also use the movie theater for presentations during meetings and conferences as well. Private showings are encouraged, although Eidel said paperwork would have to be submitted to the film's distributor before it could be shown.
The variety of uses for the cinema are not only a means of meeting the needs of the community, but the cinema can be a source of additional revenue to support APT's non-profit offerings, he said. Grant money may be available to allow APT involvement with future film festivals and performances now that the site has been expanded.
Brian Anderson, project manager of the APT renovation, said he had been working on renovating the building since Dec. 2006. He is one of the co-founders of APT and established his company, Anderson Construction, with this project in mind.
The Stardust and Fred Emerson Foundations provided funds to allow the project to move forward.
“The foundations came to us after they had observed what we were doing,” Eidel said. “First the Fred Emerson Foundation saw the roof needed to be replaced, Angela (Daddabbo) and I contributed to half the cost of the roof. We had some money left over and then Stardust came and saw our dream plan. Guy Cosentino said Stardust would like to contribute to the project.”
The total project's cost is about six figures, according to Eidel. His company, EDD LLC, first bought the building at 108 Genesee St. for $200,000 from owner Paul P. Merluzzi in October 2005. It was then assessed at $211,000. There are 13,000 square feet on each floor of the building, with a basement that has not yet been incorporated into the programming.
When they bought the building, Daddabbo and Eidel had planned to convert the former pool hall into a performing arts space for about $500,000. APT's curtain rose on a one-day only performance of “Winter Tales,” its first live show, on Jan. 7, 2006. Ithaca's Kitchen Theatre Co. helped APT get organized.
Over the past two years the couple has moved much closer to realizing their dream.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
“We can continue to program by keeping one or more spaces open,” he said. The Charlotte Cushman performance scheduled for July 13 will be performed in the cinema.
The APT Children's Summer Acting Program/performance “A.L.I.C.E. in Wonder City” will be unaffected. It begins July 7 and involves children 6 to 18 years old.
At the end of June, APT temporarily closed its lobby/cafe and live theater spaces. APT's Tuesday night music jam and normal theater programming were suspended during construction, although Eidel said the Tuesday event was temporarily moved across Genesee Street to Parker's Grill and Tap House. Regular scheduling of events will resume once construction is finished.
The 70-seat APT Cinema will officially open at 7 p.m. July 13 with “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” shown daily at 7 p.m. through July 17. Typical “Movieplex” seating came from Cayuga Community College after its auditorium renovation.
Movie lovers will enter the cinema from Genesee Street for the opening as well as future movies to be screened only on Fridays and Saturdays, Eidel said.
Besides introducing films already shown elsewhere, Angela Daddabbo, artistic director for APT, intends to book speakers connected with films shown at APT to discuss various aspects of the films, Eidel said. He hopes that businesses can also use the movie theater for presentations during meetings and conferences as well. Private showings are encouraged, although Eidel said paperwork would have to be submitted to the film's distributor before it could be shown.
The variety of uses for the cinema are not only a means of meeting the needs of the community, but the cinema can be a source of additional revenue to support APT's non-profit offerings, he said. Grant money may be available to allow APT involvement with future film festivals and performances now that the site has been expanded.
Brian Anderson, project manager of the APT renovation, said he had been working on renovating the building since Dec. 2006. He is one of the co-founders of APT and established his company, Anderson Construction, with this project in mind.
The Stardust and Fred Emerson Foundations provided funds to allow the project to move forward.
“The foundations came to us after they had observed what we were doing,” Eidel said. “First the Fred Emerson Foundation saw the roof needed to be replaced, Angela (Daddabbo) and I contributed to half the cost of the roof. We had some money left over and then Stardust came and saw our dream plan. Guy Cosentino said Stardust would like to contribute to the project.”
The total project's cost is about six figures, according to Eidel. His company, EDD LLC, first bought the building at 108 Genesee St. for $200,000 from owner Paul P. Merluzzi in October 2005. It was then assessed at $211,000. There are 13,000 square feet on each floor of the building, with a basement that has not yet been incorporated into the programming.
When they bought the building, Daddabbo and Eidel had planned to convert the former pool hall into a performing arts space for about $500,000. APT's curtain rose on a one-day only performance of “Winter Tales,” its first live show, on Jan. 7, 2006. Ithaca's Kitchen Theatre Co. helped APT get organized.
Over the past two years the couple has moved much closer to realizing their dream.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
The Citizens' Say
There are No comments posted.