Monroe Theater Secures $266,000 for Expansion | News, Sports, Jobs

Photo Provided – The Monroe Theatre is planning construction of a new balcony addition inside the theater above the current seats after receiving a grant to fund the project.

WOODSFIELD — The Monroe Theatre secured a $260,000 grant for the installation of a balcony addition that will allow the theater to increase its seating capacity.

The theater recently secured the funds through the Appalachian Regional Commission to build a balcony along the back wall of the theater. Mick Schumacher, a Monroe County commissioner and member of the Monroe Arts Commission, said work continues on the historic theater to make necessary improvements to support its growth in the community. The installation of the addition will expand the theater’s seating to around 600 instead of its current capacity of 350 and allow for the booking of larger shows, he said. This will also make ticket prices more affordable, as there will be additional tickets for sale to spread out the cost of the entertainment.

Schumacher said the balcony will be similar to one that is located inside the Twin City Opera House in McConnelsville, Ohio. He said it will be around one-third of the size of the floor located beneath the proposed balcony.

“It will be a horseshoe shape like the one in McConnelsville theater. It would make the most sense because you can wrap those side walls and get some additional support there rather than just going point to point with a straight across balcony,” he said. “Everything in the theater is on a curve — the corners, the stage is curved, the back area of the knee wall, so it would make sense to imitate that same horseshoe shape.”

The theater must provide a 20% match, or $71,840, toward the project. The match will come partially from a seat sponsorship fundraiser that was conducted when the theater first reopened and also from an upcoming charity auction that is set for Feb. 26. The seat fundraiser yielded approximately $69,000.

Schumacher said the arts council purchased 600 chairs from the Palace Theater in Columbus in 2017 and decided to ask interested residents to sponsor each one for $2,000 each. He said they are currently looking for sponsors for the 250 seats that will be located on the balcony.

He said the new sponsorship holds the potential of raising an additional $50,000 for the theater.

“We’ve got the money earmarked for the theater’s renovation projects,” he said.

Schumacher said there is no start date for the project as of yet; however, there is typically a two-year completion time limit associated with grant funding.

This is just one of many updates officials are working to make since the theater was reopened to the public in 2019. In addition to the future balcony, interior and exterior renovations continue. Most recently, two new restrooms were installed, a concession stand, a new lobby and a new projector were installed. Litman Enterprises donated the funding for the projector. Schumacher said they are in the process of upgrading the electric to avoid blowing breakers in the concession area. The money raised through the “Light up the Square” new year luminaries will be used for those upgrades.

“Having fundraisers like that is how we’re getting smaller projects done,” he said, adding they have a lot of support from the community.

Schumacher said the council plans to submit an application for additional ARC grant funds to install restrooms upstairs as well, though they need to have a set capacity before applying for the grant.

“Until we know what our seating capacity is, we can’t really figure out that formula for the restrooms,” he said, adding that it would be pointless to apply for two new restrooms if they in fact need six once the upgrades are complete and an increase in seating is available.

The theater continues to host live music acts along with showing movies to the public.