The Gate House Theatre’s transformation continues.
The theatre in downtown Port McNeill is being outfitted with 160 chairs, along with other renos.
It is set to open during Orca Fest which runs during the third weekend in August.
Gate House Community Association president Terry Ruth Eissfeldt said the chairs were picked up at a bargain price.
“My brother works at SFU in the maintenance department and he alerted me that they were ripping all their chairs out of their theatres,” she explained.
“So we ended up winning the auction on the chairs. These are normally brand new, $600 apiece and we won them at auction for about $17 apiece.”
All of the old chairs are out. Some were purchased by locals because they have sentimental value.
“(As kids) they would watch movies in them,” she said.
The renovations are much more than just replacing chairs. In the spring, the federal government awarded a $10,000 grant that went to wheelchair accessibility at the theatre.
Meanwhile, Eissfeldt said the new chairs are an upgrade from their predecessors from the 1970s.
“They are not plush, they are more upholstery fabric but when you get up out them, the chair seat goes up, which is a huge bonus. It’s going to make cleaning so much easier,” she noted. “They’re very comfortable and they’re larger so we’re pretty excited about that.”
The association actually bought 192 chairs. The remaining 32 are planned for a yet-to-be-built, second-floor mezzanine.
Opening night will be Aug. 16th, when the doors will open for an Orca Fest comedy called Superheroes.
Former theatre
The theatre has a rich history.
While the Gate House Theatre opened July 1st, 2011, this wasn’t its first incarnation.
In the 1970s, the building was used as a movie theatre starting in the 1970s before sitting empty for 25 years.
It was bought in the mid-2000s by a local man who began showing movies in the theatre again.
Eissfeldt started the not-for-profit association which took over the theatre.
“The whole idea of getting into this space was not to have a movie theatre,” she said. “It was more of getting into a space where we could promote and train and showcase the arts in our town. My No. 1 love in the arts is stage theatre.”
Over the past eight years, there have been many renovation projects at the theatre including the construction of a stage, new curtains, and new projector and screen.
“We have transformed it,” she said. “Our goal is for it to be a professional performance space. We show movies, kind of like a museum has a gift store. It’s kind of like a way to make money. But the vision for this space is for it to be a performance venue.”
Past performers include Fred Penner and blue guitarist Rick Fines.
“Every single one of them has said it’s their favourite venue on Vancouver Island,” Eissfeldt said.
