THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603130156
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 19 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: AHOSKIE LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
The Gallery Theatre is entering its 30th year with an increase in productions - four plays annually instead of three.
``Godspell'' was the most recent presentation, and ``Driving Miss Daisy'' will be staged in April.
Regular theatergoers note something new as they show up for each production in the 450-seat auditorium: more renovation completed, something new added. One of the latest is the new look and comfort of the lobby restrooms.
Renovations are now being made to the stage. Future plans call for an orchestra pit, a ramp and a restroom for the handicapped.
Helping with the latter is a recent Covington Foundation grant of $8,000.
``We need better access for the handicapped. Right now they have to use an entrance near the stage,'' said Ernie Carter, Board president.
He refers to the stage renovation as ``really important.''
``We tore out some rooms so we would have plenty of space for sets for our productions.''
The stage area is larger, and backstage is brighter with the addition of new lights. An annex building has been constructed behind the stage, and there are new dressing rooms.
The auditorium has been painted and rewired, the seats cleaned and repaired, stage lighting has been improved, the lobby refurbished.
Physical labor comes from volunteers, the money from sale of stock, the city, fund-raising events sponsored by Friends of the Gallery, donations and grants.
``Grants are pending, and we'll find out about them in the spring,'' said Karen Knowles, the newly hired part-time director. ``One is a request to the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation for $32,500. They've helped us in the past.''
Money has been coming in from the North Carolina Arts Council ``for production, touring and to help cover administrative costs,'' she said.
Even the General Assembly offered a helping financial hand, at one time giving $7,000 to the community playhouse.
In 1983, the Gallery received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts - prestigious, since only 50 were awarded nationwide that year.
``The Gallery,'' said Lottie Lassiter, a former Board member, ``is one of the few vaudeville houses in the United States that has been in continuous use since the first section was built in 1917.''
Prices of admission two years later were a whopping 17 and 22 cents which, these days, will barely buy a couple Jujubes.
The Ahoskie playhouse on Main Street was host to vaudeville acts, silent and sound movies, musicals and plays, and once served as a church. It closed in the early 1960s, reopening in 1966 in its present form.
In 1986 and `88, the theatre offered variety shows, ``An Evening to Remember'' and the appropriately named, ``Raising the Roof,'' both of which helped raise money for a new roof.
The improvements are more than physical as the Gallery adds to its entertainment list.
Working in conjunction with the North Carolina State University Humanities Extension last year, the theatre brought in professional choreographers, make-up artists, directors, actors and other visual artists to work with the 60 students in its Youth Summer Workshop.
During the year, the theater offers art exhibitions featuring, for the most part, local artists. Touring song-dance companies, musicians and other performers visit the theatre and area schools.
``The Gallery is much more than a community theater,'' Knowles said. ``It is a cultural arts center for our area.'' by CNB