Towne Theatre to Stage Live Performances

Fillmore’s Towne Theatre will soon roll up its new movie screen to clear the way for live performances.

The City Council will officially usher in the change at its meeting tonight at 6.

The 367-seat theater debuted in 1916. The city bought the building after the 1994 earthquake and refurbished it in 1996.

The theater features a new $24,000 “fly-away” screen that retracts like a window shade.

By removing the screen, the stage may be used for live performances, including plays, orchestra concerts and stand-up comedy shows, said John Holley, theater manager.

“It will be a cultural asset to the community,” Holley said, adding that such groups as Fillmore’s Sespe Players have shown an interest in performing there.

“The local community has been very supportive of it.”

The production of live shows adds another dimension to the theater on Central Avenue, almost five years after the building’s walls were knocked down and the ceiling bowed by the quake that damaged many downtown buildings. Plans are also in the works to install a digital sound system and enhance the theater’s acoustics with new curtains.

But the theater has accrued more than $100,000 in debt to the city for redevelopment loans.

City officials expect a steady financial turnaround now that initial start-up costs have subsided.

“The biggest part of that deficit was trying to get the theater back open and the public aware,” city Finance Officer Michelle Lee said. “It’s going in the right direction.”

The new screen was part of a long-term plan for the theater, which may include hiring a private company to manage it.

No live performances have been scheduled, but Holley said he has been contacted by local organizations interested in promoting events.