Local theatre group gets non-profit status
BURRILLVILLE — A new, volunteer-driven organization working to assist with the operation and management of the historic Assembly Theatre, an iconic community theater in Harrisville for more than 80 years, has formally received non-profit status.
The Patrons of the Assembly learned that its non-profit sta- tus was approved by the Internal Revenue Service, Town Councilman and group member Stephen Rawson told the Town Council Wednesday. That means any funds donated to the organization are tax deductible, which could be crucial as the organization attempts to promote the theater.
Launched last year, by the Board of Administration and
modeled after the Friends of the Library, the group meets meet monthly to assist with event operation, scheduling, advertising, promotion, entertainment choices and fundraising and sponsorships.
“We’ve been working hard to bring the theater back to its luster of years past and I think it’s beginning to work,” said Rawson.
The group is sponsoring three events next month to benefit the theater, including Michael Thurber’s “Thurberace,” a musical performance and tribute to the late pianist Liberace on March 3 at 2 p.m. On March 16, the theater will host signer/songwriter Jonas Woods, who will debut his new album “Whispers” live at 7 p.m. The third event will feature Katie Kleyla and the New Providence Big Band, which will perform big band and swing on March 24 at 3 p.m.
Tickets for all three events are $15 per person.
The Assembly Theatre was built in 1934 by mill owner and philanthropist Austin T. Levy. Levy and his wife, June Rockwell Levy. Levy donated the Assembly to the town in order for residents to enjoy performing artists and theater. The Board of Administration was created by Levy in 1934 to oversee the theatre and the board continues to manage and maintain it to this day.
A lot of the day-to-day tasks at the
theatre were overseen by the theater’s longtime veteran administrator and chief technical adviser, 95-year-old George L. Surbuts, who has done it all over the past 65 years from working in the theater’s projection booth in the 1940’s to handling stage productions to cleaning and maintenance.
The theatre has been an integral part of the Burrillville community for years. Located at 26 East Avenue in the center of Harrisville, the 350-seat Assembly is home to various theater troupes, including the Rhode Island Stage Ensemble and Theatre Company of Rhode Island. The theatre is also available for concerts, rehearsals, school productions, and party rentals, among other events.
Located behind the town hall annex and across the street from the library, the Assembly Theater is a large, gable-roofed meeting hall, set end to road, with a five-bay, square-columned porch. The park-like area surrounding the Assembly and the Town Hall Annex is well landscaped, with hedges, birch trees and flower beds.
Originally erected as a meeting house for the community, the theater has evolved into a well-equipped, energy efficient theater.
In the early 1930s, Levy devised a grand restructuring plan to remake the face of Burrillville’s Harrisville village. It was called the Burrillville Town Buildings project, and included renovations to the First Universalist Church, demolition of other buildings and the creation of new structures.
The resulting Memorial Block Building on the corner of Main Street and East Avenue, housed a variety of services. The lower levels included the oneroom Jesse M. Smith Memorial Library, an office for the town clerk, a store and small theater room. At that time, area theater-goers were required to make an exhaustive trek to the third floor of the facility to view performances. And in an emergency situation, it would have been difficult to clear the area quickly. Thus, the decision was made to tear down the building and provide new headquarters for the occupants. A Board of
Administration was created to oversee the new facilities.
The Assembly was formally dedicated in 1934. It not only offered a safe, accessible venue for theatre troupes and attendees, it fit into the landscape of Levy’s image of a classic early American New England village. Professional directors and musicians were brought in from New York and beyond to add credibility to the performances; weekend actors were weekday Stillwater Mills employees. Harvey,Cheaper by the Dozen, and The Mikado are but a few of the elaborate
productions which each ran for a single weekend by theater troupes including the Community Players, the Village Players, the Shoestring Players, Scholarship Performers, Theatre Company of Rhode Island and, most recently, Rhode Island Stage Ensemble.