Lumberyard performance arts center opener
The culmination of three years of work was on display to the public as part of the grand opening of Lumberyard.
The culmination of three years of work was on display to the public Saturday as part of the grand opening of Lumberyard, an $8.2 million center for film and performing arts.
Lumberyard is a more than 7,000-square-foot theater located at 62 Water St. in the village, Executive and Artistic Director Adrienne Willis said. She said the theater was built for the performing arts, but is also the only “qualified production facility” in Greene County for film and television projects. Willis said the theater has heat and silent air-conditioning, as well as reinforced floors and a permanent grid for hanging equipment like lights and set pieces. And the facility also has 13 bedrooms upstairs, she said.
Willis said Lumberyard can recreate any New York City stage, which means that before a show premieres there, it can have out-of-town tryouts in Catskill. That allows the producers to tweak and perfect their shows before having their big premieres in New York, she said.
“It just makes the pieces a lot stronger,” Willis said.
Part of the appeal of Catskill was its location 101 miles away from New York City, Willis added. She said out-of-town tryouts must take place at least 100 miles outside the city.
Willis said, though, Lumberyard also wanted to be part of a community that was on the verge of revitalization.
“It’s a more meaningful relationship when you can grow with your locality,” Willis said. She said the Lumberyard wants to lead the reinvestment in the Catskill area and be a cultural hub for the Hudson Valley.
On Friday, state Sen. George Amedore announced $1 million in economic development funding for the Lumberyard’s
Center for Film and Performing Arts.
“Lumberyard is an anchor for revitalization efforts in the village of Catskill and it’s going to have a tremendous economic impact in Greene County and the entire region,” Amedore, R-Rotterdam said in a statement. “Not only will they bring world class performing arts into the community and establish Greene County as a premiere destination for film production, they will provide hands-on training and education to inspire our future workforce.”
Willis said revenue from the television and film work at Lumberyard goes to support the performing arts there, but also community job training and education. She said the facility, for instance, hired local high school students to work on its crew over the summer.
In neighboring Ulster County, affordable housing agency RUPCO plans to turn the former Metropolitan Life building on South Prospect Street into a facility called The Metro, which would include, among other entities, a television and film production center called Stockade Works.
And in New Paltz, a new black box theater called Denizen Theatre plans to open its first show in October.
Going forward, Lumberyard will host concerts, film screenings, dance and theater performances, and other events. This weekend, though, Tony Award winner Alan Cumming hosted the facility’s first-ever performance by Tony-award winning choreographer and tap dancer Savion Glover with drummer Marcus Gilmore.
“This is a big deal for us this weekend because it’s the first time we’re welcoming the public into our new facility,” Willis said.