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Funding
Fort
Tilden was a 317 acre U.S Army base established in 1917 to protect the American
shoreline. The 200 seat Post Theater was used as the base movie house, where
soldiers waiting to ship out to European battlefields in W.W.II could take their
minds off what lay ahead and be entertained by the popular movies of the day.
Fort Tilden was decommissioned and closed as a military installation in 1976.
Since that time many of the buildings on Fort Tilden were abandoned and fell
into a state of disrepair.
The National Parks Service established the Gateway
National Recreation Area, Breezy Point District, at Fort Tilden to revitalize
the scenic property and create a Federal Park, on the site, for recreational use
by the public. The Rockaway Theatre Company, a federally sanctioned 501C3
not-for-profit cultural arts organization, took tenancy of the Post Theatre in
1998. Under our partnership agreement with Gateway, the RTC is deeply committed
to the restoration and renovation of the historic Post Theater and to creation
of a comfortable environment for our audience as well as a technically viable
stage setting for the presentation of fine live community theater. In
keeping with the spirit of our surroundings, the R.T.C. offers a U.S.O. musical
variety show each year to which all veterans and active members of U.S. armed
forces are admitted free of charge. (The show was previously held around the 4th of July,
but this year it will be held during
Memorial Day Weekend.)
During the past seven years we have constructed a new
stage in our theater, built two new dressing rooms with the help of the
Rockaway Graybeards Organization, added much needed stage
lighting equipment, installed an automated phone system for reservations,
created a second story office, tech and storage area, and significantly enlarged
our concession area. Our most recent and most heavily anticipated accomplishment
was the installation of a new central heating and air-conditioning unit where
there formerly was neither. This enables us to extend our performance
season and make use of our theater for a larger portion of the year.
Watch
a slideshow of The Graybeards in action!
For this latest addition we are indebted to
Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer, who secured a great deal of the funding for this
project through the N.Y.S. Dormitory Authority. Ms. Pheffer has always been one
of our staunchest supporters. We have received grant support from the Department
of Youth and Community Development. We have also received assistance from State
Senator Malcolm Smith and Councilman Joseph Addabo. These are the local
elected officials who support the arts and we are forever in their debt. The
Rockaway Theatre Company would also like to take this opportunity to thank local
businesses and individuals who have thrown their support behind us such as Mrs.
Nancy Vardakis, Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Eisenstadt, Messrs. Steve and Kenny Good of
the Beach Club and the Battaglia Family of Advanced Voice Solutions, Inc.
We, of course, want to thank all of our wonderful
volunteers who have donated their time, energy and hard labor to seeing that our
goals are met. Our entire staff and Executive Board are unsalaried and work on a
purely voluntary basis. It would be remiss if we did not mention Maj.
Robert Weigand, a career soldier originally stationed in the Fort Tilden area,
who now comes up from North Carolina to lend his services doing construction
projects during his vacation time. Last, but certainly not least, we extend an
especial thank you for the outstanding efforts of our own George Hoffer and Joe
Canizio who labor tirelessly and continuously inside and outside our theater and
who are responsible for the bulk of the construction and renovation work
previously mentioned.
Although we have come a long way, there is still an
incredible amount still to be done. The interior, exterior and roof of our
building are still in need of much expensive repair. Doors and windows
need replacement. The entire building needs new electric wiring. We hope
to create a working business office in the new space we have built. This
will require the purchase of business machines and copiers. We must purchase new
and modern sound and lighting equipment. We plan to expand our stage area
even further and to build an orchestra pit under the stage. We hope to
purchase a stage curtain and to install complicated apparatus necessary to fly
our sets. We must also bear the new financial strains placed upon us by the
utility bills that come with our newly installed heating and air-conditioning
equipment. All this is, of course, largely contingent upon a very large influx
of monetary support.
Thus far we have poured all of our ticket sales and
fundraising money back into the Post Theater. We estimate that we have
invested nearly $40,000, outside any grant money funded to us, in renovating and
updating the building and in production costs. To complete some of the
projects we have outlined and to continue to bring our patrons quality
theatrical productions, we need your assistance. Won't you consider offering
financial help to a blossoming community theater company which is dedicated to
bringing culture, quality, and live entertainment to the people of New York
City? We will be happy to mention you in our promotions and we guarantee
that whatever funding you offer us will be used for the benefit of the Rockaway
Community and our neighbors in the rest of the boroughs.
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