The Proscenium: Newsletter of The Tecumseh Theater

December, 2022

After All These Years!

Tecumseh Theater Receives Major Award For Main Theater Restoration!

We’ve come a long way from the $500 our founders put up to buy the old “Red Men’s Hall” building with a failed roof, missing windows, pigeons, water leaking onto all four levels, and massive amounts of falling plaster in 1977. Much like a piece of coal that has experienced steady pressure over countless years and eventually emerges as a shiny diamond, the theater’s transformation as the anchor building for Shawnee and the greater Little Cities is ready to unfold. Stubborn persistence has paid off, and a new era of opportunity and challenge is here as the Tecumseh Theater moves towards its aspired tagline: Tecumseh Theater: Soul of the Little Cities!

Why such optimism? Here’s why! We are thrilled to report to our many friends that in September, we entered into a contract for the design phase of a $4 million dollar restoration project for the Tecumseh Theater. It has taken nearly two years to get the project from the original offer of help from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) program to the point of moving forward with initial project approvals in place.

Once completed, the project’s outcome will be the restoration of the Main Theater on the middle two levels (theater floor, stage and balcony) of our beloved theater, the construction of an elevator tower to reach all floors of this “Perry County Skyscraper”, and installation of a fire suppression system (sprinklers) throughout the building. The project will achieve a state building commission occupancy permit for the building which will allow the public to attend shows and a variety of multi-use activities and space rentals in this amazing opera house theater. Skyrocketing labor and materials costs since the project was first conceptualized and budgeted in 2020 have caused all involved to scale back expectations for exactly what the project funds can achieve. However, the plan is to get price estimates for a complete restoration, including some improvements to the first floor to accommodate changing use of space in the overall facility, and preparing the top floor, with basic surfaces and services that would then allow it to be fully developed by a tenant, or a project integrating that space into the overall operation of the facility. The differences between the funds available and actual costs, will allow us to raise funds from other sources to complete the project as fully as possible.

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Lead project architect is Richard Shulz of Athens, is joined by veteran theater architect Dick Planisek who has been engaged designing improvements to the building’s first floor and stairwell projects. Richard and Dick are retired Ohio University architects. A stakeholder team to guide the project first met last December to give input to project design, and has been on hold due to numerous delays in getting the project through state and federal funding challenges. This team will reconvene this winter to guide the project’s design. Design will be based on envisioned multi-purpose uses of this unique space, which never had fixed seats, but rather an open floor used for basketball, boxing matches, dancing and roller skating over the use, while also providing seating for stage shows with moveable seating. Use priorities include a variety of performances and concerts, rentals for wedding, parties, meetings, exhibits and conferences, and the continued use of the theater building for community youth recreation programs. Possible exercise use will also be explored. Creative ideas for the top floor will be entertained, but are unlikely to be funded by this grant.

The project is also tied to a 2.6 million to the Shawnee-Based Buckeye Trail Association, and mine reclamation project off Ironpoint Road which are all a part of returning collected federal coal taxes back to impacted lands, and now communities. The Buckeye Trail portion of the project will rebuild hiking trailway from Shawnee to Burr Oak State Park, connecting it to the Wildcat Hollow and Burr Oak State Park Trails creating a premiere destination for backpackers and hikers that ties into the 1,400 plus mile loop trail that encircles Ohio.

Stay tuned for regular updates via this quarterly electronic newsletter Tecusmseh Update! which will be sent to donors, partners, stakeholders, etc. (See story below to join our campaign for much needed operational funds). For more information about the project contact John Winnenberg, Lead Staff Associate for Sunday Creek Associates, the non-profit owner of the theater; and Scott Kreps, who serves three roles: Theater Manager, Director of SCA’s youth programs based at the theater, and Coordinator of the Shawnee Trail Town Network, a collaborative group bringing local leaders and organizations together with regional supports to advance Shawnee as a destination for regional residents and tourists attracted to our rich history and surrounding natural beauty.

We close, sharing the adopted tagline for the theater’s new brand, envisioned, and now being This contracted design phase of the theater restoration totals a $271,500 outlay over the next six months which will pay for architectural design, engineering, and a variety of other design/planning details including permit fees and testing, that will allow the project to be reviewed and approved by both historical and environmental reviews by the state and federal government before the balance of the award will be released to ODNR from the federal government. It is hoped this phase’s work can lead to competitive bidding for construction contracts to be let during the first half of 2023, and actual construction during the 2nd half of next year. A 2024 opening date is optimistically imagined. However, as the pre-contract phase of this ‘first ever’ project with ODNR and the Federal Government’s AML program has demonstrated, making firm timeframe plans may not be prudent given that we had hoped to be at this point a year ago. Significant red tape has not allowed that and we imagine there is more to come. So maybe 2025….realized: Tecumseh Theater: Soul of the Little Cities!

Summer YouthShops! Program Success Story

Summer YouthShops! is one of the Tecumseh Theater’s flagship youth day-camp programs. We operate with assistance from Perry County Job & Family Services and further support from the Foundation on Appalachian Ohio, People’s State Bank, HAPCAP, and donations from our local businesses. We provide a no-cost day-camp experience that offers: new friendships, leadership opportunities, a safe place to share, awareness of nature and history connections, and for campers to express themselves creatively through the arts. The following story captures one camper's first hand experience at camp this summer...

A 13-year old young lady (we'll call Jenny) participated in YouthShops day camp last year and again this year, often dropped off with her little brother for the day. When I saw her in town a few months back she seemed unenthused about camp. I mentioned that we would have a Counselor In Training (CIT) program and she seemed curious but skeptical.

On the second day of camp we began our twice a week CIT training. That day meeting with just two other CIT campers. Just the act of separating from the younger kids brought a smile to Jenny's face. As the CIT program continued the teenagers were introduced to leadership trainings, activity planning, and their own group bonding exercises. The group grew slightly to encompass six teenage counselors in training. I recall how much energy she put into researching a hero and discussing their values. Jenny selected Oprah Winfrey and came back to the group with an entire page of Oprah's altruistic giving and community development projects. Jenny brought some of the ideals she researched about Oprah to strengthen our community of campers. Jenny found ways to bring collaboration and support to the games the YouthShops! kids came to enjoy so much.

I ran into Jenny at the Shawnee Farmer's Market a couple weeks ago. She bounded over to me with her little brother in tow, saying, "Ohh, I miss camp. I miss our CIT group... but, we are all on a group chat now and we talk all the time." This young lady blossomed so much in the span of a few weeks of summer. With just a little bit of recognition and responsibility, Jenny thrived. She is already excited to get back to camp, where she will be one step closer to becoming a paid camp counselor with our Summer YouthShops!

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