As Fall Season Begins, Deadline Looms for North Fork Community Theatre’s Renovation Fundraising
As the North Fork Community Theatre in Mattituck kicks off its fall season with its production of “Little Shop of Horrors,” the theater is in the home stretch of a fundraising campaign to begin interior renovations on the theater.
The amount raised by the community this fall, up to $300,000, will be matched by Emilie and Michael Corey through Dec. 31 of this year.
The theater, which had been in its current building since 1961, purchased the building from the neighboring Mattituck Presbyterian Church in 2012 and has spent the past three years renovating the exterior. They’re now turning their attention to the inside space.
New NFCT Board President Liz Liszanckie and Treasurer Mary Motto Kalich presented several possibilities for the future layout of the interior space to the theater’s supporters at a cocktail reception at the New Suffolk home of Stanley and Margaret Brown in August.
They said they are looking to replace the aging audience seating, and realign the seats so that they have a better view of the stage.
They are also looking to create a better space for the live musicians who accompany NFCT shows. Currently, the theater has carved out an alcove to the (audience) left of the stage, where the band is just feet away from the audience, separated by a clear sound-muffling barrier. The proximity of the musicians makes it hard for some audience members to hear the productions.
They are discussing the possibility of carving out room for an orchestra pit underneath the stage or investing in better soundproofing and configuration for the musicians.
They are also looking into redesigning the backstage flow of the theater. Currently, if actors have to exit stage left and then enter stage right, they need to run out the front door of the building and then through the back door and the basement and then up on the right side of the stage.
Ms. Kalich said this week that the theater has raised $220,000 toward the $300,000 match. Anyone interested in making a donation can do so online here or call Ms. Kalich at 917-334-6639 or campaign@nfct.com.
This fall’s season kicks off next Thursday, Oct. 29, with the musical “Little Shop of Horrors,” directed by Ms. Kalich, which runs through Nov. 15.
They’ll take a dramatic turn in January, hosting a production of Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” from Jan. 15 through Jan. 31.
In the spring, they’ll host the comedic production of Steven Dietz’s “Becky’s New Car” from March 4 through March 20, followed by the musical “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” from May 12 through May 29.
Next summer’s Youth on Stage production will be Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis’s satirical “Urinetown,” the 2001 Broadway hit about the urban quest for public toilets. “Urinetown” runs from July 25 through Aug. 7.
Season tickets and tickets to individual shows are available online here.
