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The latest movie theater news and updates
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October 28, 2015
The Theatre on Your Street: Saved! Houston’s Historic Heights Theater to be Reborn as Major Concert Venue
Preservation isn’t dead and bulldozed over in Houston just yet. A historic movie theater that was built in 1923 is being saved and reborn after years of false starts and idle hopes. Who says minor miracles don’t happen in the land of tear downs and start overs?
The Heights Theater — which continues to stand out on 19th Street with its striking art deco movie marquee — has been bought by the owner of the renowned, revitalized Kessler Theater in Dallas. And Edwin Cabaniss envisions a Kessler-style second life for the old theater.
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October 27, 2015
Fox Theatre Fly Thru
Enjoy this amazing fly thru video of Detroit’s Fox Theatre! The Fox Theatre seats over 5,000 people and is Detroit’s largest movie palace. In 1988, the Fox underwent an $8.1-million restoration. Since the restoration, the Fox has become one of the most successful theaters in the country combining Broadway shows, concerts, special events and the occasional classic film.
https://youtu.be/2aK3ikE5Sns
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October 23, 2015
The Theatre Historical Society of America is accepting applications for the 2016 DuBuque Research Fellowship.
The Thomas R. DuBuque Research Fellowship was created by the Theatre Historical Society of America Board of Directors in 2012 to honor the memory of past president, Conclave Theatre Tour planner, and dedicated volunteer Thomas “Tom” R. DuBuque. Tom had a lifelong interest in historic theatres and was a member of THS from 1979 until his death in 2011.
The DuBuque Fellowship supports scholars conducting research in the Theatre Historical Society of America Archives and Collections. The Fellowship was created to support research, increase awareness of the THS Archives, and encourage use of archive materials.
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October 22, 2015
October is National Archives Month!
Do you have material that you have been collecting and producing, documenting your favorite theatres? Have you ever been curious on how to best preserve it to ensure it’s long life and ongoing appreciation? October is National Archives month and the perfect time to learn some easy tips on how to safeguard your important records. Contact Archives Director Pat Seymour for some quick and easy steps for preserving your materials today. archivedir@ historictheatres.org
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October 20, 2015
Programs & Performances: Watch Great Silent Films Online for Free!
Enjoy some wonderful movies from silent film stars like Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Louise Brooks & Mary Pickford. You can find more great old movies to enjoy free on site like Fandor and Open Culture’s 101 Free Silent Films: The Great Classics including Charlie Chaplin’s two rel parody of Bizet’s Carmen.
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October 19, 2015
Share Your Personal Memories of Historic Theatres: ‘Please Remain Standing’
Please Remain Standing is the title of a portfolio of work encompassing over 350 movie theaters built before 1965 across America. With an eye for architectural details, whether in a grand movie palace or a small hometown theater, Benita VanWinkle has traveled from Alaska to New York, LA to Miami for over thirty years capturing the experience of attending one of these treasures with color photographs that embody their novelty and charm.
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October 16, 2015
The State of Theatres in Boston - From the Boston Globe
The Colonial Theatre would be transformed into a dining hall and performance space under Emerson College’s plan. Shirley Lang writes, “As I sat in Emerson College’s Colonial Theatre on Sunday, it was hard for me to enjoy the hysterically funny musical “The Book of Mormon” without wondering whether this is the end of the Colonial as we know it.
But it wasn’t just that. I got ticked thinking about what’s happening to the acclaimed Huntington Theatre Company, possibly put out on the street by Boston University’s decision to sell the drama group’s longtime home. Or that Citibank, in exiting the Massachusetts market, will end its multimillion-dollar sponsorship of the performing arts. Meanwhile, the Boston Lyric Opera announced last week that it will leave the Citi Shubert Theatre in search of a more affordable venue.
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October 15, 2015
Programs & Performances: The Most Important, Invisible Person in the Theater: The Stage Manager
On 10 October we celebrated National Stage Managers Day. Here is a great tribute to their skill, talent, and hard work from LA Weekly and USITT.
During rehearsals, the stage manager is the one responsible for seeing that the actors show up on time, that the props and, later, the costumes are in place. The stage manager is the one responsible for holding the text and feeding lines to actors who are in the process of memorizing them. The stage manager is the person who must utter the correction when the phrase isn’t quite accurate, when a word or two is out of place, and then must patiently endure the exasperated expression of the actor who might react with a look that asks, “Is the exact line really that important?” The stage manager must log all of the actors' movements, as staged by the director, so that if the actor forgets where he or she is supposed to be, there’s an official log of the director’s intent.
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October 13, 2015
A Look Inside The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ at the Alabama Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama
Enjoy this report on Fox News about the Birmingham Theatre’s Wurlitzer, lovingly named Big Bertha. Larry Donaldson, crew chief for Big Bertha’s volunteers, leads a tour of the four story maze of pipes and valves. https://www.facebook.com/aaronlee64/videos/10150548844926506/
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October 12, 2015
Patio Theater To Be Sold, But Not to Portage Theater Owner
Portage Theater owner Eddie Carranza will not buy the Patio Theater, the broker handling the sale said Thursday. The 88-year-old former movie palace at 6008 W. Irving Park Road went up for sale in July 2014 for $2.9 million, three months after it closed because of a busted air conditioning system.