After weeks of speculation, the Board of Directors for Arts Enter Cape Charles has made a decision on what to do with the Historic Palace Theatre. Clelia Sheppard made an offer to take possession of the theater, along with the existing financial obligations. This news came as welcome relief for members of the performing arts community, who have been worried about a future that might have meant giving up the dance studio as well as access to the stage for rehearsals.
The current board found themselves at their wits end about how to meet the obligations required to keep the doors to the Palace open. While they refinanced the loan on the building last year, that still did not do enough to keep Arts Enter from teetering on the edge of extinction. Much of this dilemma was due to the organization attempting to function without an executive director. In other words, for the last year, they have been aimless and rudderless. Arts Enter did try, but the two candidates that were hired did not pan out. There is currently an acting ED, however this person works full time somewhere else, and rarely has more than a couple of hours a day to devote to the task. That also means there has been no one in the office to take calls during the day, which has caused some consternation, especially for parents trying to plan vacations around the summer camps.
Programming has truly suffered. Aside from adding movies on Friday evenings, events have been few and far between. The inability to front load events during the tourist season, also hurt revenue. Given this situation, the board began negotiating with Erin Hardy of Cape Charles, who wanted to buy the building and return it to its days as a movie theater, running first run films. On the surface, this seemed like it could solve many of the problems, including lack of programming. To the board’s credit, Hank Mayer and Cela Burge were hard negotiators, demanding that the dance and theater programs, as well as the summer camps remain untouched. Those negotiations began to uncover several flaws in the plan, and even as they evolved, it soon became clear that the Harvey offer would not be beneficial to Arts Enter, the performing arts community, or the Town of Cape Charles.
The possibility of losing the theater and the stage was also a wake-up call for Ms. Sheppard, who, along with her mom and family, has poured her life into the arts on the lower shore, and the Palace Theatre. Sheppard decided to come out of retirement to once again give the Palace some stability. According to Ms. Sheppard, one possibility is to separate the building from the Arts Enter organization, creating its own 5013c. This will accomplish several things, not the least of which is opening up the possibility for a larger pool of grants; it will also allow for a board whose main mission is the health and well-being, both physical and financial, of the Historic Palace Theatre. This will also be good for Arts Enter. With the theater off its plate, it can now focus on the health of the dance and theater programs, and hopefully start working towards solving the programming dilemma.
“We want to get back, to the wonderful things that we do,” said Sheppard. “We want to make those upgrades that will bring it back to its place as…as a place of beauty and the arts, a place that continues to put on wonderful shows.”
This Friday at the Lemon Tree Gallery, while the great Thelma and Erica Peterson played music, there was a feeling of relief, and exhaustion; there’s still a lot of work left to do, but it’s good work. With summer here, and Experimental Film Virginia just around the corner, the future now seems full of hope rather than despair and the promise of lost dreams and unfulfilled potential.
I was disappointed when Clelia and Mary Anne’s association with the theater was broken.
As a person who does major tours for a living , I see things that can be done better at the theater, as far as production goes, (and I feel that this has suffered in the last year), but bringing at least half of this team back is an absolute step in the right direction.
That’s great to hear Clelia Sheppard is stepping up to the plate once again for the Palace theater. One of the things that make Cape Charles special is the Arts Enter organization bringing it’s slice of culture to this small town. The addition of Friday night movies this season has been a great addition to the theater arts. It has provided a wholesome venue for kids to meet their friends and kick off their weekend, as well as entertainment for adults.
From what I’ve heard of this new plan, I think it could work out very well. But I think the plan I proposed is being misrepresented. If it had proceeded, it would have required much personal sacrifice with only the best intentions for the Palace Theatre, Arts Enter, and our local community.
What I was proposing was also going to maintain all of the Arts Enter events, the dance program, the summer camps, etc. There was never any risk to losing the stage or the theater. It would have maintained all of the current programs, added a steady stream of first-run movies, and would have cut costs substantially for Arts Enter. Minimal compromises were being considered for the current programs (for example, the kids’ camp final performance might be sometime other than primetime on a summer Saturday night) in order to provide movies and other new programs that would have reached a far wider audience. We approached the idea from multiple angles over the last couple of years, but the initial idea for me to get involved was pushed by Clelia, who originally hoped that I would purchase the Palace Theatre. By the end, we were looking at a proposal that would have allowed Arts Enter to maintain ownership, while I installed new projection equipment and ran the movie theater within the walls.
All of us have been working towards the same goal of trying to maintain that beautiful building, while also providing arts to the community. I still have hope that we can do the same with this new plan. The Historic Palace Theatre has primarily been a movie theatre since 1942, so I find it sad to see it sit empty on many days or only used by a small group of people. The opportunity is now there to return the Palace Theatre to its historic roots as a first-run movie theatre while still maintaining the current programs. I hope everyone involved will work together to make that happen for the good of the broader community.
Sincerely,
Erin Harvey
Editor’s Note: In conversations with members of the AE Board, the offer eventually came down to Mr. Harvey leasing the building to show films; staffing, and more importantly cooling and heating, would fall on Arts Enter. While it may be sad to see it sit idle sometimes, receiving the utility bills after keeping it open all the time, could be disturbing in its own way. We do believe in his heart of hearts that Erin did want to work with the performing arts schools, however, analysis, and discussions also pointed to conflicts at the core of the mission areas, which a majority of the community felt would be hard to overcome. The saying, ‘something’s gotta give’ would eventually hold true here.
Having the dance studio where it is and the ability for my kids to do Summer camps & recitals in the theatre has been life changing for my children. My one daughter used to be told that she was overly shy and because of these performances, she has come out of her shell and is able to communicate with others more confidently and even sing a solo portion on stage with no problem. This theatre is one of the most important things in their life. I feel that probably is true about many of the other kids involved in the programs as well. There is something so special about how it all comes together for performances, how the stage is created, how the backstage part operates, the costumes, and the history of the theatre. The Shore is really lucky to have this place. We are also extremely lucky to have Clelia, Amy, Wayne, Melissa, Sunny, Kathy, Katherine, Vera, Mary Anne, board members, and others that pour their heart and soul into this place. If more help is needed by parents, many of us would probably be willing to volunteer time.
Good. Now Mrs. Shepard can rent the building to Erin Harvey and pay the heating and cooling with the rent money. And the town can have movies AND art and classes. I am wondering why the arts board turned that down. What are the “existing obligations” that are caused the board to almost sell the theatre? ESO in Belle Haven has classes and concerts for the past THIRTY years, and never has the problems that Arts enter cape charles seems to have. Must be something in the water.
Editor’s Note: Arts Enter is not ESO, and Belle Haven is not Cape Charles. Don’t be silly. By the way, Arts Enter shows films every Friday at 7:00.