The Stage Company

The Stage Company had sought and formed a Development Board specifically to explore options and alternatives for a permanent home for The Stage Company.  In November of 2007, Mayor Brad Cole announced that the Kerasotes family, owners of the Varsity Theater in Carbondale, was willing to donate the abandoned theater to non-profit community performing and fine arts organizations.  The Stage Company immediately contacted the Mayor and plans were put in place to have the building transferred on February 29, 2008.  The photos below shows the Varsity Theater at its finest in the early 1940s and the Varsity as it appears today.  The center photo captures the title transfer ceremony.  The Stage Company now has a permanent home!

The Stage Company accepts this gift with great gratitude and is seeking to renovate and restore the building into a performing center for local artists and to potentially share the space with other not-for-profit organizations.  The theater needs renovation and restoration to permit stage productions and public attendance.  The pictures below are indicative of some of the challenges with which we are faced to be able to open the doors for our first production.

The framework for a renovation/restoration plan has been developed consisting of four phases of building development:  1) Phase One – building turnover and acceptance; 2) Phase Two – preparation of the East Theater for stage productions in the Fall of 2008; 3) Phase Three – Preparation of the Main Theater, hallways and foyer, and the arcade room, and; 4) Final renovation of the East Theater and the exterior façade.  This phased plan is integrated into and represents a major area of interest for each year of this 5-year plan. 

        Consideration is also given to extending an invitation to any other non-profit organization that wishes to participate in the Varsity project.  Participants will be developed in this strategic plan, either initially or upon annual review.  The Stage Company seeks partnerships to help identify donors and to execute the capital campaign. We are also interested in sharing the Varsity facilities with organizations that need stage facilities at agreeable costs.