CHAMPAIGN – The Virginia Theatre is opening its door to the public after three months of going dark for renovations. Following a soft reopening last week, staff and volunteers are preparing the theatre for its official opening on April 23rd for Ebertfest. Morning Edition host Kimberly Schofield spoke with the theatre’s director, Steven Bentz, about the upgrades to the fly system and what people can expect to see at the historic Virginia Theatre.
BENTZ: There are 22 pipes suspended above the stage. These are over 40 feet long. There’s three stories of fly space above the stage, and that allows for those pipes to lift massive elements; for example, the grand drape. The big red drape right at the front of the stage can be lifted completely up and out of the way and that’s owing to that fly system. During that time that we were dark, that did allow us to do some additional work. So that included things like hitting the paint and plaster and making sure that all of those elements were kept in fine fettle. We did a lot of small restoration projects on paint and plaster around the building. We also did some other improvements to the technology of the space, including some new television monitors that are in the lobby. These allow patrons to see what’s going on on stage, and staff and volunteers, during the action, which is super helpful for things like late seating. We can easily see then that this is a good moment for them to go into the house and resume their seat. But it’s also just nice if you’re standing in line at the concession stand to be able to see what’s going on on stage at that moment.
SCHOFIELD: You described it a little bit in what you just said, but is there anything that theatergoers will specifically notice that looks or that sounds different when they go to the Virginia Theatre now?
BENTZ: That’s a great question. You know, a lot of these things are kind of behind the scenes. So while we know that we have an incredibly robust and modern fly system now that is just amazing to behold, it isn’t really something that you notice as a patron because it really is behind the scenes tech. Those new monitors, the telvevision monitors in the lobby, they will definitely notice. We also purchased and installed a new stage monitor package. These are the elements of equipment that allow performers on the stage to hear what they’re doing because…it’s a funny thing that happens when you’re on stage speaking or singing or performing…you can’t hear what you’re saying or singing because it just kind of goes off into the space. So you need some form of monitor, either in your ear or a speaker at your feet to keep you on track, to keep you in tune. You need that feedback in order to hear yourself doing what you’re doing. We didn’t have that equipment before. It was always something that was leased in per use and we were fortunate enough to get a grant, and which allowed us to purchase some new equipment.
SCHOFIELD: As a performer, I prefer to just be on the stage, but all of that behind the scenes work really is what makes all of these shows and productions come to life.
BENTZ: It does, and that really goes to the point of, you know, this is a fully restored space. The the public in the state of Illinois and specifically in Champaign have contributed, one way or another, either through donations or sponsorships or through their tax dollars, to an excess of $11 million in restoration of this building, at this point, in multiple phases. With that work being behind us, really now we’re looking to the future and how we can make safe this space, continue to improve its accessibility, continue to improve its function as an enjoyable and robust theater presence in Champaign County.
SCHOFIELD: Steven, what are you most looking forward to now that the renovations are complete?
BENTZ: We’re just really excited to be reopening. We have missed the public. We’ve missed our volunteers, and it’s going to be an amazing Ebertfest. The program this year is really impressive and the number of special guests that they’ve got in the composition of that list is one of the best I’ve seen. So we’re looking forward to that, but we’re also looking forward to the rest of this spring. Spring at the Virginia Theatre is really when the community comes back. It’s quite a lot of our community programming: the CU Ballet, Dance Arts in the house, and the Youth Theater program, local dance productions, the annual recitals by local companies like Art in Motion and Twist & Shout, and we also work with the university on some of their convocations. So this is just a really good feeling time for us. It’s definitely when town comes back to the Virginia.