Yesterday was an exciting day for the Williamston Theatre. We are now official owners of our building! Heres the full press release about the news: The Williamston Theatre Starts 2015 in “New” Home The Williamston Theatre, located at 122 S. Putnam Street in downtown Williamston, has become the official owner of the building it has occupied for over nine years. “When we were first looking to set up shop in Williamston,” explained Executive Director John Lepard, “local business owner Steve Zynda offered to purchase a building for us to use and rent it to us for $1 a year. His idea was that he would give us a stepping off point from which to establish ourselves. It has been an incredible gift, and we would not have been able to stay open this long without his valuable support.” Zynda has extended his support of the Theatre to help the organization become even more financially stable. Earlier this fall, he offered to sell the building to the Williamston Theatre on very favorable terms, and also offered to match a portion of the funds raised to accomplish the purchase. With support secured from a handful of major donors, a group that the Theatre staff is affectionately referring to as “The Home Team,” the Theatre completed the purchase of the building on December 30, 2014. “This will strengthen our organization. Most arts organizations that are our size don’t have this kind of security,” explains Development Director Emily Sutton-Smith. “Ownership of the building doesn’t really change our annual expense picture as we have always covered all the expenses of operating the building since we opened. But it does put a valuable asset on our balance sheet, and it will give us an edge when applying for local and national grant funding to support our operations and our capital improvement projects.” The Williamston Theatre continues to raise money for its Building Fund to address ongoing maintenance and improvement issues. The Theatre also continues to raise money in support of its programming. Over 50% of the Theatre’s annual income is from donations and grants. The Williamston Theatre opened in 2006, and has mounted 50 productions in its 122 S. Putnam Street building. In September 2014, the American Theatre Wing recognized the Williamston Theatre as one of the top twelve most promising young theatre companies in the country. Its next production will be The Best Brothers, running from January 29 through March 1, and will feature Executive Director John Lepard and Artistic Director Tony Caselli. More information about the Theatre’s upcoming productions is available on its website at williamstontheatre.org or by calling (517) 655-7469.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 17:05:04 +0000
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