文章和图片由Jose Villalpando ' 23
克里特岛的伊希斯剧院再次名符其实.
建于1926年, the 剧院’s name was inspired by the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 and the subsequent boom in popularity of Ancient Egyptian culture within the U.S. “Isis” refers to the Ancient Egyptian goddess who had some control over resurrection.
这家剧院正在经历迄今为止最大规模的复兴, with a full revitalization of the building being spearheaded by the Blue River Arts Council (BRAC) in concordance with the city of Crete.
建造剧院的想法来自奥托·菲肯, 前往好莱坞的克里特岛人, 加州. He worked on movie sets and heard rumors about sound film becoming commercially available.
在费肯搬回克里特岛之后, he capitalized on his knowledge about movies and what they would eventually become to build the Isis Theatre. 这是中西部第一家提供“有声电影”的剧院,这是对白同步的电影的昵称. 直到有了录音, an orchestra pit in front of the stage and screen was used to accompany the films shown. 该剧院也是该地区第一个安装空调的剧院.
历史, 以及对剧院未来在城市中的用途的设想, is why BRAC is attempting to preserve as much of the original building as possible. 谢琳·史密斯，91年, BRAC执行董事, 他们说，他们正试图“复活女神”,这意味着20世纪20年代的埃及风格将继续存在.
该剧院于2018年关闭, BRAC开始, guided by this mission statement: The Blue River Arts Council is bridging cultures, 建立社区, 通过复兴克里特岛的伊希斯剧院来提振经济, 内布拉斯加州, 并为我们多样化的社区提供乐趣和艺术冒险.
In 2019, BRAC started restoration of the building with demolition of the interior. But an inspection of the building found unexpected damage to its structure, 给项目带来了挫折. 再加上COVID-19大流行，迫使该项目放缓.
史密斯仍然对戏剧项目的复苏抱有希望.
“尽管(复苏)的速度比我们预期的要慢得多, 它仍在发生, 这很好,史密斯说.
该项目的大部分资金已经到位, 但BRAC仍在等待结构钢的交付, financial backing to cover the structural damage found within the building and necessary cleaning.
一旦项目完成, Smith hopes the 剧院 can be a place all community members — including Doane students and employees — can enjoy.
“[The Isis Theatre] is central to our downtown and is right on a main thoroughfare so it’s very important for people coming through the community, students and potential students to see that things really are happening in our community and there are things they can do that are safe,史密斯说.
社区中的许多人已经参与了振兴工作. BRAC has done multiple events throughout the past few years to help promote interest in the arts and community togetherness, 包括“物以类聚”雕塑活动, 快闪汽车电影院, 克里特岛和十大网络娱乐平台注册的150周年庆典, 以及最近的西班牙语班.
Smith wants the 剧院 to become a place that promotes these ideals and somewhere any community member can feel they belong.
“We don’t have anywhere else in town that has multi-generational and multilingual entertainment. [The 剧院] would provide that opportunity for our community [through] movies and live performances [where] we’ll be able to host film, music, 剧院, 扬声器和更多我们设计的方式,史密斯说.
史密斯希望这一点对十大网络娱乐平台注册学院的学生来说也特别适用.
“我们希望这是学生们的空间, and we look forward to learning what the students want us to provide and which movies we should show,史密斯说. “关注明年的民意调查和学生参与机会.”
Once the 剧院 is complete, the business will primarily be run by volunteers. Smith hopes these opportunities bring in Doane students as a way to fulfill volunteer hours and to keep the project’s connection with Doane.
In fact, multiple Doane students have already helped with the Isis Theatre project. 一个高级商务班在计划过程中提供帮助, BRAC也与学生实习生合作.
“Serving as an intern for the Blue River Arts Council was truly inspiring. 这是一群充满激情的人, 有机会为他们的使命做出贡献是一次很棒的经历. I am looking forward to seeing the ways in which they will continue to impact the Crete community, 我很感激能和这样一个雄心勃勃的团队一起度过这段时间,23岁的曼迪·莱布说. Laib interned for BRAC with the Isis Theatre project in the 2022 fall semester.
Currently, the Isis Theatre project needs about $800,000 to fund the rest of the work.
Smith encourages everyone to donate to the project, no matter how little the donation may seem.
“Every little bit helps us get closer to our goal and closer to finally having our 剧院 back,史密斯说. “如果我们不能把它带回来, we’re letting another piece of our history fall down and another piece of our downtown sit empty.”
多个捐助者已经为该项目捐款, with some of the more notable donors including Doane and the city of Crete. Donations can continue to be made to the Isis Theatre project via both the Isis Theatre and BRAC websites, www.creteisistheatre.com and www.blueriverartscouncil.org.
