Open letter from APT

Would you be so kind as to take a moment of your time to look over the information below? We are inviting you to visit us at Auburn Public Theater on Wednesday, September 30^th at 5:00pm for a very special presentation. 

We opened our doors to the public in December 2005 and have spent the last four years pouring our hearts and souls into 108 Genesee St. And, boy oh boy, have we learned a lot, about the building, about downtown Auburn, about renovating, building, and operating a theater and about ourselves, too.

One of the things we have learned for sure (because, in life, there are things you learn and then there are the things you learn for sure) is that when you need help, you have to ask for it.  It is now time for us to widen our circle of support and, in some cases, to formalize our recognition of those who have supported Auburn Public Theater from the very start. 

Thank you so much for your time. 

 

  

MIghty oaks from little acorns grow.

                 - 14^th century proverb

 

We invite you to become.

an Auburn Public Theater Acorn.

 

WHAT:      Come learn about Auburn Public Theater's one-time-only program for patrons/supporters.

WHERE:     Auburn Public Theater, 108 Genesee @ Exchange St Downtown Auburn 

WHEN:      Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

                5:00pm

                Wine & light refreshments will be served (with i.d.).

HOW:        Please R.S.V.P. to Janie MicGlire at Janie@auburnpublictheater.com or to her by phone at (315) 253-6669.

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF AUBURN PUBLIC THEATER

Auburn Public Theater came to life as the unlikely result of a feng shui consultation done by Sheila Murphy. One day, Sheila came in to Daddabbo's Pizza for lunch, sat down and noticed the building across the street had two signs in the window, one said "For Sale" and the other "For Lease". Later, she called and gave a few quick fixes for the restaurant and one not so quick fix. She told us to look into making the storefront window across the street more lively. She explained. Half of Daddabbo's customers had been staring out the window directly at the "For Sale" and "For Lease" signs every day and, quite frankly, if only on a subconscious level, that was probably more than a little depressing.

I quickly made the easy fixes. But the window across the street was a little more complicated. Should I really lend this suggestion time and energy or should I just let it slide? I decided to let it slide. Then one day, a great idea came to me. Why not build a theater in the building across the street? Back in LA, Carey and I had always talked of a shared dream to own a theater building where we could program plays, musical concerts, comedians, dance performances and acting classes. But when we left LA in 2001 and move d to Auburn, we left LA and our dream behind.

After trying my hardest to ignore the idea of building a theater in the old Grant's building downtown Auburn (the idea came to me daily, hourly even), I finally decided to share it with Brian Anderson, Janie MicGlire, Tiffany Brassell and, of course, Carey. We met on a weekly basis for nearly a year, named ourselves Auburn Public Theater, produced two plays (one at Cayuga Community College and one at Westminster Church), formed a not-for-profit entity, designed a logo, had stationary printed and tried on several occasions to sign a lease for the space in the former Grant's building. We also looked at vacant buildings all over Auburn. Several had real potential. But our hearts were downtown. That, we decided, was where Auburn Public Theater needed to be built. So we waited. And, finally, the planets lined up. In October, 2005, Carey and I were able to purchase the building at 108 Genesee Street and lease 10,000 square feet to Auburn Public Theater.

On December 7^th, 2005, Auburn Public Theater opened its doors to the public for an Open House.  Over five hundred people came and took a tour and, since then, over forty thousand patrons have come through the doors. It is our wish that 100 years from now, programming will be going strong, the number of people through the doors will be in the millions, downtown Auburn will be the thriving city center it deserves to be and those people running the place will have as much fun working together as all of us have had dreaming the space into existence.

                      - Angela Daddabbo, Artistic Producing Director

 

Give a gift of $1,000/year for 3 years, become an Auburn Public Theater Acorn, and your donation will help us continue to rediscover the excitement of downtown Auburn.

                         It really is all happening downtown. again!