PressConf


	The following text was presented by Lou Ligouri at a Press Conference on November 4, 2000, as a status update of the state of the Endicott Performing Arts Center. Welcome Good morning and welcome to the Endicott Performing Arts Center. My name is Lou Ligouri. I’m co-manager and Marketing Director at the Endicott Performing Arts Center. We’d like to thank you for coming to this important press conference today. We’re here today to give a “state of the theater project” presentation and to make some very important announcements about the future of the Endicott Performing Arts Center. As you can see, we’ve got some very special guests on stage with us today and I’d like to introduce them to you. In The Beginning Let me begin, appropriately enough, at the beginnings. It was only 2 and 1/2 short years ago, in April of 1998, that Bob Corwin, Pat and Steve Daglio, Pat Foti, Sue Dunlap and myself walked through the abandoned Towne Movie Theater. The theater had been closed by the Carroll’s corporation 5 years earlier and appeared to be about a year away from becoming a parking lot. We made our way through broken plaster, falling ceilings, empty, mildewed, and rusted theater chairs, tattered, stained and rotted curtains, and a roof that resembled a macaroni strainer. Dilapidated theater chairs were piled and stacked everywhere, about 500 of them. There was broken concession equipment filling the hallways and cubby holes. broken furniture and fixtures were everywhere, the heating system had long since quit, and the electrical system defied logic. There was no stage to speak of, just the movie screen which was propped up against a rickety 40 foot high wall made of wallboard and 2x4’s. The curtains hung tattered and rotted, with plastic sheets in the rafters hung in a futile effort to keep the rain from the leaky roof off the screen. It was quite a scene. But we had a different scene in mind. What we saw were dancers, actors, singers, songwriters, poets, and playwrights. We could see festivals, shows, recitals, and concerts, Young and old alike, working together to entertain, and be entertained, to educate and be educated, to have their lives changed and to change people’s lives. That's what we saw in that broken down old theater. We saw a revitalized Washington Avenue with the theater as an important part of that revitalization. Bob, Pat, Steve and Sue took a chance and bought the building. They asked Pat and me to manage the theater project and we accepted the challenge. Early Accomplishments Let me tell you what we have accomplished thus far. A business plan was put together, and our non-profit application was initiated. And then the call went out for volunteers, and they came by the score. We started out by cleaning out the garbage. And there was plenty of it. We dismantled the existing theater and office building heating system and filled 3 gigantic roll off dumpsters with cast iron, pipe and garbage. Bob, Pat, Steve and Sue had the roof repaired and as time went on, repaired again until finally we began to be watertight. A new heating system was installed in the theater for the lobby. The electrical system was improved and new breaker boxes installed to accommodate theater lighting needs. Every chair in the theater was removed from the floor, in most cases by hammer and chisel, disassembled and stacked along the sides of the theater while we began to raise money for their renovation with our “Show you care, Buy a chair” program. Hundreds of the extra, discarded theater seats were sold to the Central Leatherstocking Railroad company, a non-profit group in Cooperstown for use in their auction barn. The money was used to pay for the roll offs and other building repairs. We then met with Endicott Fire Marshall Murphy and reviewed our renovation plans step by step. His guidance and direction cleared the way for an event by event approval so that we could begin to hold a series of fundraisers events. We built a makeshift stage and held our first fundraising event in October of 1998. It was called “Terror at the Theater”, our haunted theater tour at Halloween time. In a one week period, we put over 2000 people through the theater and grossed $10,000 which we used as “seed money” to begin real renovations to the theater. At the same time we began to hold regular events such as folk concerts by touring and local artists, and open mike nights to raise money to pay current operating costs and utilities. We also held additional events such as garage sales, bottle drives continued our focus on the “show you care, buy a chair" campaign. About that time, we learned that Roberson Museum was closing its theater. I contacted them and arranged for our volunteers to assist with the dismantling of parts of their theater’s lighting and rigging system. They were gracious enough to offer their unwanted lighting instruments and some theater rigging hardware and draperies in return for our labor. We rented a truck and over a couple of weekends our very talented and often magical Lighting Director Bill Nurse was able to put together a respectable theater lighting system for EPAC. I spoke with Terry Burke and the Music Workshop about our project and Terry offered to install and leave a theater sound system here for our use. "Pay me what you think is fair by the event. And if you don't make money on an event, then don't worry about paying me. And if you need anything special, just let me know". Terry and the Music Workshop people have been great supporters of our project and real friends of The Endicott Performing Arts Center. Terry suggested that I talk with Tom DeForest about sound engineering for the theater and I did. Tom volunteered to coordinate sound for the theater and has done a fantastic job training sound operators, coordinating sound equipment, and making sure that this theater is filled with the finest sound in the Triple Cities. Our application for non profit corporation status was approved by the IRS and we received our official 50l(c)(3) designation March, 1999. We met with Broome County officials Bill Wike and Jeff Kraham and put forth our business plan and in March of 1999 were awarded a seed grant of $25,000 for construction of our permanent theater stage. At the same time, our “Show you care” fundraising program had reached a point where we could afford to have the chairs shipped out to be stripped to the bare metal and powder painted. It took us a week to separate out the good chair parts, discard the garbage and load the truck. That cleared the floor and allowed us to begin construction on the stage. Initial Construction The bid that we originally received on the project from Orlando construction was over $50,000, about twice what our grant totaled. We met with Joe Orlando and asked what could be done to reduce the cost. Joe indicated that the manual labor could substantially reduce the cost and that he would donate the use of his dump trucks for debris removal to further reduce the cost. That‘s all we had to hear. Over the summer of 1999 our many volunteers gave up their vacations, weekends, and evenings, in some cases almost every waking hour, to get the job done. First we had to dismantle the existing makeshift stage which we had built. We then had to dismantle the movie screen that remained propped up against the theater wall. The screen rested on a stage that was about 6 foot deep and that had to go too. And the 40-foot tall walls that surrounded and supported the screen also had to come down. The joists were cut at the bottom, all but two, ropes were attached to the joists and about 6 of us literally pulled that wall crashing down to the theater floor. Debris was everywhere, as the pictures on display here will show you. It took a week to fill truck after truck with that debris and haul it away. We were finally ready to begin construction of the stage. We jack hammered and broke up the concrete floor from the front edge of where the stage is now all the way to the back wall. We carried that concrete out by hand and wheelbarrow to the empty lot behind the theater. Orlando construction came in and raised the steel beams underneath the old floor to the current stage height. That accomplished two things... it gave us a stage with great visibility and depth and also provided a very large dressing room directly under the stage. However, directly in the middle of where the dressing room would be were 6 gigantic blocks of poured concrete complete with 1 inch reinforcement rod running through them. So we took the jack hammers down into the cellar, broke those blocks up into pieces that would fit into buckets and hauled them up by rope one at a time and carried them out of the building. In all, we filled over 6 dump trucks full of concrete debris. By hand. By the end of the summer, our core group of volunteers were calling themselves the “dirty dozen”. And dirty we were. But it was worth it. The cost of the new steel and installation was $15,000. We now had $10,000 left to build the stage itself We ordered the lumber to build the stage platform and over the next 2 months we laid the joists, and installed two layers of 3/4 inch plywood on top to build our stage surface. At the same time, we constructed stairs for each side of the stage and the center and then gave it 3 coats of black paint. Total cost $9343. Subtotal so far, $24,343. "We put down almost two thousand feet of 2 by 12s to support 120 sheets of three quarter inch tongue and groove plywood applied in 2 layers. We used nearly three hundred pounds of screws and nails to hold it all together. And, all of that sits on top of many tons of steel I-beams. And that‘s just the stage FLOOR! During this same time period, the chairs had been stripped and repainted and it was now time for them to be reupholstered. The “Show you care, Buy a chair” fund continued to grow and we contracted to have the chair backs and seats reupholstered. While that was being done, we prepared the theater floor for their reinstallation. We knocked out the remaining metal bolts that had held the old seats in place, patched the holes, scraped the floor, primed and repainted it. A call for help was put in to Carpenter’s local 142 and Dennis Cluck and his apprentice carpenter’s program came to our aid. They came in twice each week for 6 weeks and helped us complete the job of reassembling and reinstalling the theater seats. In all, our "Show you care, Buy a chair” program has raised over $25,000 to pay for our theater chairs. Our next step will be to construct 50 luxury boxes, about 8 mini living rooms, if you will, in our theater balcony. That will round out our capacity at 300 seats. Early Productions ln September of 1999, The Saint Anthony Player’s kicked off the EPAC reopening with their production of “Visions of Vaudeville”. That production was the first full scale live theater production to be held here in well over 30 years. We needed a handicap bathroom to get our permanent certificate of occupancy and The St. Anthony Players donated the money to construct it. One of our volunteers and dirty dozen members, Tony Cerroni, took on the task of building the bathroom and completed the job single handedly. In October we held our first Folk Festival and began to hold regular concerts featuring touring performing artists such as Tanglefoot, Rod Mac Donald, Les Sampou and many others. All proceeds from these events went to help with renovations and operating expenses at the theater. About this same time, IBM approved our matching grants application and we were certified by the EDZ as an approved community project. In December, 1999 we received our official permanent certificate of occupancy from Endicott Fire Marshall Tom Murphy and The EPAC Repertory Company made its debut with "It's A Wonderful Life". In January of 2000 we opened the door on the new century with P’fodeauxge dance company’s production of “Seize the Dance” which played to sell out audiences. In January, 2000 our core support group, the “Friends of the Endicott Performing Arts Center” was formally founded and officers elected. We held the “Night of Stars” fundraiser where over 25 local performing artists and arts groups came together for an evening dedicated to raising money for renovations. In February, Katelin Schofield and a dozen very talented young people helped EPAC with “Katelin & Friends" production, raising money for continued renovations. In March, we founded our Kid’s Theater Workshop. Acting and dance classes were available to children between the ages of 6 and 14. In June, the Kids’ Theater Workshop presented the musical “Pinnochio” to sell out audiences and we held our first Gospel Festival. We received a DEC grant from the Broome County Arts Council for $2,250 and an additional grant of $2,500 from the Whitney Houston Foundation for this project. In August we held a songwritmg workshop featuring renowned folk artist Bob Franke. Broome County Arts Council awarded us a United Cultural grant for this event of $1,000. We have also been awarded a Decker Foundation challenge grant of $20,000 and a Greater Community Foundation challenge grant of $5,000 toward our theater's ceiling repair and marquee renovation campaign. The total cost of both those projects total approximately $120,000. We're currently investigating additional sources of money to meet those challenge grants and complete the ceiling renovation. Since then we’ve been busier than ever, constructing the proscenium which frames our stage on both sides and across the top. Again, completely accomplished with volunteer help from the drawing of the plans by Frank Tatusko, to the raising of the truss with block and tackle, to the construction and covering of the sides and top with wallboard. The proscenium started with two fifty-three foot long by six foot high trusses. They sit on another thousand feet of wood that make up the side walls. Covering the proscenium is over fifty sheets of sheet rock and plywood and hundreds of feet of fabric. The construction of the stage proscenium essentially completed the stage construction project. Cost of the proscenium, $4,029. Total cost of the stage was $28,373. We’ve installed additional theater lighting and have purchased a new state of the art lighting controller. We've built one lighting control booth with a $500 grant from NYSEG and have begun construction on the second. We built a sound control room in the rear of the theater as well. We’re now booking events into next year and are very optimistic about our future. Marquee Renovation The next step in our renovation process is to renovate the marquee, which stands outside the theater. As you saw this morning, PAC signs has removed the old TOWNE theater letters from the top of the marquee and between now and March will complete renovations on the marquee itself. When completed, the marquee will look much the same as it did in the 1940’s and 50’s. The cost for that portion of the project will be approximately $5,000. The next step in the marquee renovation process will be to fabricate a new vertical sign, which will hang on the front of the theater as it did when it was originally built in 1917. There is an artist’s rendition of the proposed sign for you to see. Of course, we’ll be working with the Village code officer and historic commission on its final design. And so today we are announcing the beginning of our “Light Up The Night” marquee renovation campaign. The immediate goal is to raise $5,000 this weekend to pay for the first stage of our project. The next step will be to raise an additional $12,000 to construct the vertical sign which will hang above the existing marquee. To kick off our campaign, Ballet Arts Theater and the Friends of EPAC are combining to present a fundraising event tomorrow evening called “Light Up the Night” which will feature an evening of dance combined with a silent auction. The event begins at 7:00 with light refreshments and our silent auction preview. Here to speak about it: (Tina speaks) Thanks Tina. Tickets for the event are $15 and can either be purchased at the door or in advance by calling the theater box office at 785-8903. People who can’t attend the event but that would like to contribute to our project can send their donations to The Endicott Performing Arts Center at 102 Washington Avenue in Endicott, NY 13760. And, by the way, we are an approved IBM Matching Grants organization. And we are an approved EDZ community program organization which means that a cash donation of $1,000 or more may be eligible not only for the charitable contribution tax deduction, but also for a New York State tax credit of 25% of the donation. Conclusion 2001 looks to be a very exciting year at the Endicott performing Arts Center. Here to fill you in on what you can expect is my brother in arms and fellow co-manager of the Endicott Performing Arts Center Pat Foti. (Pat Speaks) Thanks Pat ... The success thus far of EPAC has been aided by the excellent help and cooperation that we have had from our local governments. I‘ve asked them here today to hear about what we have done and to let them know how appreciative re are for their support. I've invited our village, town, and county leaders to offer their comments at this point. Introduce Jeff Kraham Introduce Bill Wike Introduce Jack Cheevers Introduce Mayor Colella Thank you Mayor. Part of our mission at the Endicott Performing Arts Center is to provide a quality performing arts venue for local and touring performing artists and performing arts groups. We’ve worked hard to accomplish that. Thus far well over 100 performing artists and performing arts groups have appeared at EPAC since October of 1998. Some of these artists include: (read list, attached below) Another part of our mission is to help make our community a better place to live, not only from a cultural and artistic point of view, but also from an economic point of view. Think about the fact that EPAC has attracted well over 15,000 patrons to performances here at our theater in the past 2 years. That’s 15,000 people coming down to our Washington Avenue business district. We are proud to be part of the revitalization of Washington Avenue and will continue to support the downtown merchants in helping to make the Avenue a great place for the entire family to visit to shop, eat, do business, and be entertained. ln closing, the Endicott Performing Arts Center was born of a dream 2 1/2 years ago. Since then it has become a reality largely due to the incredible support that we have received from the community, our local government, local businesses and our volunteers. Every donation received has been used to renovate and operate this historic theater. The Endicott Performing Arts Center does not have a payroll. What we have described here today has been accomplished by hard work, focused determination, strong community commitment and a love for the theater. Every dollar and every hour donated has done much more than to repaint and reupholster an aging theater chair, or build a new stage. Those hours and dollars have helped to create a place where families can come together to entertain and to be entertained. They've given us an arena for upcoming performing artists to display and share their hard work and God given talents. They‘ve given each child in our community a chance to be a star. And those are the stars that will truly "Light Up The Night". Thank you. Partial List of EPAC Performers to date (in no particular order) Second Hand Dance Company St. James Productions Seton Catholic Schools Theater The St. Anthony Players The D.E.A.F Choir Ballet Arts Theater Dance Company Thom Rayne Patti Witten Diana Jones Morgan String Band Vestal Community Band Paula Joy Welter Annie Wenz Rod MacDonald "Shades of Darkness" - Misty Falls Motion Picture Company Lisa Moscatiello EPAC Repertory Company Creative Dance Elements Minus Blindfold McGuire Irish Dancers Amazing Grace Gospel Fest Susquehanna School Trav'lin This Road The Trinity Singers Whitestone Tamara Thomas Vondell Stephenson & Hannah Williams Jeanette Williams Anni Moss EPAC Kids' Theater Workshop Bronzissimo Dul-Se-Nan-Go Fiddlers Lui Collins Dana Robinson Pfodeaux'ge Dance Productions Butch Baidasari Isadora Dunain School of Dance J J Sudd Warm Waters Unity Group Jan DeAngelo Productions Eleni Kelados John Rossbach &; Friends Margo Hennebach & Mark Saunders Tanglefoot Dwight Kemper A Company for Chamber Opera Opera Cabaret Kaitlin Schofield & Friends Les Sampou Lighthouse Academy of Dance Amy Gallatin & Stillwater Bobby Daglio Don Robinson Sherry Russo Dance Studio Seton Select Choir Zaminy Hibbard & Scott Seltzer The Lori Sbarra Trio The New Generation Dennis Shaul Rod Serling Dance Company Shrinking Violets Mystery Date A-Bomb Fortner Marion Tewksbury Dos Madres Higher Ground Steve Argento Bob Franke Deaf Child Munk