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No more fake plants: STC modernizing its lobby and lounge

Sudbury Theatre Centre will soon undergo renovations aimed at modernizing the look and maximizing the use of the more than three-decade-old facility.
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The Sudbury Theatre Centre will be hosting a March Break theatre camp for children ages 8 – 12. File photo.
Sudbury Theatre Centre will soon undergo renovations aimed at modernizing the look and maximizing the use of the more than three-decade-old facility.

During the first two weeks of September, the theatre will spend roughly $10,000 to revamp both its lobby and lounge spaces.

“It's now a major priority for us to give those two spaces a new, modern, more inviting look,” said Callam Rodya, the theatre's director of communications.

“But beyond that, we're also implementing a couple of new efficiencies to change the way our patrons are welcomed into the space.”

Sudbury Theatre Centre, which opened its doors in 1982, has a bit of a dated look, so the renovations will make the lobby and lounge look more modern, with new furniture and new decorations.

“We've taken out all of the fake plants,” said Rodya, laughing.

Exhibit space for visual artists in the lobby — to be renamed the STC Gallery — will be expanded.

The theatre will also change traffic flow in the lobby to eliminate the bottleneck at the entrance. A will call table will be introduced so people who have already purchased tickets don't have to line up at the box office.

Tickets will be taken at the theatre doors instead of the building's entrance so anyone can come in on show nights to check out art exhibits or have a drink, even if they're not attending the play.

The lounge — to be renamed Vale Cabaret — will be revamped with a raised stage so that smaller-scale performances can be held there.

“This is part of artistic director Caleb Marshall's master plan of opening up the Sudbury Theatre Centre into being much more accessible and hospitable to all of the arts, not just the theatre,” Rodya said.

Renovations to the lobby and lounge come on the heels of upgrades to the theatre itself in 2013, when the seats were replaced, and the space was made more wheelchair-accessible.

The money for the renovations comes out of a capital fund Sudbury Theatre Centre keeps for such contingencies.

Members of the public will be invited to check out the revamped lobby and lounge areas at a open house in mid-September.

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Heidi Ulrichsen

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