Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 28, 1990 TAG: 9004280223
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JEFF DeBELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Some groups see a solution in the adaptation of such unconventional spaces as a vacant church or the former Jefferson High School. Others dream of building a new facility altogether, while others make do with limited improvements.
Meanwhile, some people close to the scene ask whether the arts groups are trying hard enough to solve their problems cooperatively.
In more than five years of existence, The Acting Company of Roanoke Valley has yet to find a stage of its own. It's the group that is eyeing the vacant church at the corner of Jefferson Street and Wells Avenue. The drawback is that it will cost about $500,000 to restore the historic building and an unknown amount to maintain it afterward. The League of Roanoke Artists has expressed interest in sharing the building.
Across the valley, the Showtimers have a home for their plays, but it needs extensive improvements. The venerable community theater company makes do with limited improvements while looking for the money to finish the job. Some wonder whether the group ought to sell its valuable property in southwest Roanoke County and take its show somewhere else.
The Southwest Virginia Opera has to borrow shop space to build its sets and relies on Heironimus to store its costumes. Mill Mountain Theatre and Olin Hall, which the group uses for performances, are adequate for certain operas, but lack the space for large-scale works.
The Roanoke Symphony rents the Roanoke Civic Center auditorium for most performances. But conductor Victoria Bond is unhappy with the hall's acoustics. "All the sound is going up into the non-existent ceiling," she said.
Bond dreams of a concert hall that would seat from 1,200 to 1,500 people and properly accommodate full-scale orchestra and opera productions. It would be something like the old Academy of Music on Salem Avenue downtown, which was built in 1892 and played host to leading American music and theater stars until it closed in 1949. It was demolished in 1954.
There are no plans to resurrect the academy, but another of the valley's prominent buildings - Jefferson High School - seems well along the road to rescue and the arts may figure prominently in its future.
Jefferson was built in 1923 and closed in 1979. It has since stood vacant, prey to vandals and trespassing pigeons, while loyal alumni searched for ways to restore it to useful life.
Their proposed solution is the Jefferson Center, in which facilities for education, social services and the arts would coexist in the old but sturdy structure on Campbell Avenue. A $5.5 million restoration project is planned, with the city committed to provide $3.5 million if the private Jefferson Foundation raises $2 million. The foundation has raised more than $1.3 million so far.
The foundation chairman is retired Judge Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, a 1939 Jefferson alumnus who makes no effort to restrain his fervor for the project.
"I can hardly wait to have people running around in these halls," he told a reporter during a recent tour of Jefferson.
It's easy to envision dancers practicing at polished barres, their images reflected in huge mirrors along walls that now bear graffiti, flaking green paint and cracked blackboards.
It is easy to picture artists working in classrooms-turned-studios, and to imagine music leaking into the wide hallways from a distant rehearsal room. It is easy to imagine the ornate 900-seat auditorium restored to glossy splendor.
What's not so easy to imagine is performing arts groups making use of the auditorium.
The stage itself might work for The Acting Company or Showtimers, but their typically small audiences would be lost in the huge auditorium. Besides, those organizations have doubts about being able to pay the rent for rehearsals and performances.
While the Jefferson facility is too big for The Acting Company and Showtimers, it is seen as too small for the Roanoke Symphony and the Southwest Virginia Opera.
Terry Post, director of the new Southwest Virginia Ballet, said Jefferson could be right for her company but she hasn't been contacted by the foundation.
"I don't see any use of the Jefferson stage by anyone," said Victoria Bond. One of the reasons that is worrisome, she added, is that the money being given to Jefferson might be used more profitably elsewhere.
"There are a limited number of pockets in Roanoke," she said. "If money is taken for Jefferson and it ends up useless to the groups it's supposed to help, it will have a negative effect."
Such sentiments don't seem to faze Fitzpatrick.
"We got the space, we got the flexibility," he said. "We got a whole lot of meeting to do with these people. We want them in here."
Officially, The Acting Company is pursuing the vacant church and Showtimers has cast its lot with its own property. But members of both organizations have said plans for Jefferson would look better if they included a smaller theater and more attractive financial arrangements.
"Being a resident is favorable," said Jeff Berger of the Showtimers. "Being a tenant is not so favorable."
A second, smaller theater isn't currently part of the Jefferson plan, Fitzpatrick said, but neither has it been ruled out.
Planning for the Jefferson Center has not reached the point of allocating space and remodeling for specific uses. First, it will be necessary to find out who will be using the building.
With help from The Arts Council of Roanoke Valley, the foundation will contact arts organizations soon after the referendum (provided it is successful). A previous survey, some two years old, is thought to be out of date.
The Jefferson project has momentum because it seems fiscally achievable and is popular among alumni who want the building to be saved.
The idea also appeals to those who like the idea of arts organizations sharing a building. Corporations and major financial contributors, in particular, admire such signs of cooperation. They wonder why groups that need space don't look for ways of sharing instead of acting independently - and appealing independently for money.
A united fund drive for the arts is being talked around informally. The idea was floated two years ago but sank after a study failed to detect sufficient support. James W. Arend, senior vice president with The Atlantic Companies and a member of the arts council, believes the climate may have changed enough to make it work.
"There are so many demands for the corporate dollar that the ability to write one check and have some confidence that the money would be allocated sensibly has great appeal," he said.
Performing arts companies in the valley do cooperate. They share props, costumes and technical gear. They advertise in each others' playbills.
But the groups say it's generally impractical for them to share performance facilities. The Acting Company can't use the Showtimers' Studio Theatre, for example, because the Showtimers need it most of the time for their own rehearsals and performances.
On the other hand, the vacant church being considered by The Acting Company, while seemingly just right for its spartan productions, is said to be a bit too minimal for other groups.
Even so, Laban Johnson wonders whether the various groups have done enough "soul-searching" about the benefits of more joint enterprises and the possible costs of independence.
"The building of your dreams can turn out to be a nightmare," said Johnson, who is special events coordinator for the city of Roanoke and a person long plugged into the valley's theater and concert scene.
There is an up side, he added. "We're healthy. These problems are symptomatic of growth."
Some wonder if the market isn't saturated. It's now possible to see some 20 plays a year in Roanoke, exclusive of college and touring productions. The symphony will perform 16 times in varying configurations during the 1990-91 season, and the opera plans two productions and a concert.
Add performances staged or sponsored by the Roanoke Valley Choral Society, Bach Choir, Roanoke Valley Chamber Music Society, Greene Memorial Fine Arts Series, ballet companies, the arts council, local colleges and other groups, plus art exhibits, readings, lectures and more.
All such events tend to be supported by the same core of attendees and contributors.
"Programmatically we're at a plateau," said Jere Hodgin, artistic and executive director at Mill Mountain Theatre. "Maybe we're getting to the point where there's too much arts."
Hodgin said it may be time to stop worrying about expansion and turn more attention to the product.
Despite great strides, he said, "none of us is where we should be quality-wise."
by CNB