Eight years of major renovations has finally resulted in a new space for Galesburg’s community theater.
The Prairie Players Civic Theatre will show off its new digs this Saturday when the space is christened with a performance of “Our Town.”
Board President Judy Diemer says PPCT had been looking to consolidate its office, sets and costuming, which resulted in the move to 160 South Seminary.
Now all of those things are in place, along side a 120-seat black box theater.
Diemer tells Galesburg’s Evening News on WGIL the the two-story space was converted from an old warehouse, and it took a lot of work to get it in shape.
“I refer to it as the tortoise and hare,” says Diemer. “When we got the building there was heat in one small room and one toilet downstairs–that was it. The first thing that we had to do was get our things together and figure out what we had to do with them, and that meant we head to get the upstairs of the theater operational. Once we had that done, then we began demolition downstairs.”
The theater was funded through a combination of grants, donations and tax increment financing.
Diemer says Saturday’s showing and the move will commemorate 100 years for PPCT. Actors tow the boards for the first time at 7:30 p.m.
