On Stage with The Lincoln Theatre
Welcome to "On Stage with The Lincoln Theatre"—your backstage pass to the captivating history and vibrant present of one of America’s most iconic theatres! Step back in time as we explore the rich legacy of The Lincoln Theatre, a majestic Mayan Revival-style venue that first opened its doors in 1929. Nestled in the heart of Marion, Virginia, this cultural landmark has been at the center of entertainment for nearly a century, hosting everything from vaudeville acts and classic films to modern-day concerts and performances.
Join us as we pull back the curtain on the theatre’s fascinating past and dive into its current role as a cultural hub for the region. In each episode, our executive director and charismatic guide, Bob Watkins, takes center stage to share stories of the theatre’s evolution, its unforgettable moments, and the exciting events that keep audiences coming back for more. Whether you're a history buff, a theatre enthusiast, or simply curious about the arts, this podcast promises to entertain, educate, and inspire!
To learn more about The Lincoln Theatre visit:
https://www.thelincoln.org/
The Lincoln Theatre
117 E. Main Street
Marion, Virginia 24354
276-783-6092
On Stage with The Lincoln Theatre
The Lincoln's Lifeline: How Community Support Fuels a Historic Theatre
What Is Friends Of The Lincoln And What Impact Does It Have On The Organization?
The curtain rises on a story of community dedication as Bob Watkins, Executive Director of the historic Lincoln Theatre, shines a spotlight on the unsung heroes keeping this cultural cornerstone alive - the Friends of The Lincoln.
Since the late 1990s, when renovation efforts began on the 1929 Mayan revival theatre, this dedicated group of volunteers and donors has formed the backbone of The Lincoln's renaissance. They serve as ushers (significantly reducing operational costs), contribute funds that enable programming expansions, and create the vibrant atmosphere that makes The Lincoln Theatre special. Their support has been instrumental in revitalizing the film program, maintaining the historic facilities, and preventing the theatre from returning to the state of neglect it experienced in the late 1970s.
Membership comes with meaningful benefits - priority ticket access, substantial discounts of $5-10 on performances, free admission for volunteer ushers, and tax-deductible contribution status. But perhaps the greatest reward is participating in the preservation of a cultural gem in Marion, Virginia. The Lincoln's community involvement extends beyond entertainment, partnering with the town government, local businesses like Food City, and veterans' organizations to create programming that serves the entire region.
Ready to join the standing ovation for community arts? Become a Friend of The Lincoln by visiting thelincoln.org or stopping by 117 East Main Street in Marion, Virginia, and help ensure this historic theatre continues to captivate audiences for generations to come.
To learn more about The Lincoln Theatre visit:
https://www.TheLincoln.org/
The Lincoln Theatre
117 E. Main Street
Marion, Virginia 24354
276-783-6092
Welcome to On Stage with the Lincoln Theatre, where history and entertainment steal the show. Dive into the rich legacy of this iconic Mayan revival theatre, from its 1929 debut to its starring role in Marion, virginia's entertainment scene. Guiding us through this journey is the man in the spotlight, our executive director, bob Watkins. Spotlight, our executive director.
Speaker 2:Bob Watkins. Behind every great theater is a great community, and at the Lincoln, that community is known as friends of the Lincoln. So what exactly do they do and how do they help keep the magic alive? Welcome back everyone. Skip Monty, here, co-host slash producer, back in the studio with Bob Watkins, executive director of the Lincoln Theater. Bob, how are you doing today? I'm doing good, skip. How are you getting along? I'm doing just fine. Doing just fine. I'm loving the warmer weather.
Speaker 3:It is nice.
Speaker 2:It is very nice. It is very nice. Well, bob, we've talked about in several episodes. You've referred to a support group that you have called Friends of the Lincoln and I thought maybe you've referred to a support group that you have called Friends of the Lincoln and I thought maybe you know today we could talk about what exactly is Friends of the Lincoln and what impact does it have on the theater?
Speaker 3:The Friends of the Lincoln has been huge for the theater here since the very beginning of the renovation process back in the late 90s and early 2000s. The Friends of the Lincoln was created as a volunteer base for doing some of the renovation but also the fundraising efforts to try to secure some funds from local residents and supporters of the theater so we can go ahead and continue doing what we're doing here and it's just continued to build. We get more and more people every year to see the importance of what we do, and the Friends of the Lincoln are just the helping hands that contribute monetarily or volunteer services for ushering and things like that. So it's a long list of individuals that definitely help us do what we want to do for our community.
Speaker 2:Awesome, well, what type of programs or projects have been made possible through their support?
Speaker 3:programs or projects have been made possible through their support.
Speaker 3:Well, like I said, a lot of the programming with the ushers assistance.
Speaker 3:Those are volunteers that are part of the Friends of the Lincoln as well, so that saves a significant amount of costs on show performances. So we don't have to do a whole lot of salary costs and administrative costs there with that. But some of the other things that it has supported is our film program. We did secure a grant but we also received some donations from patrons that wanted to have film back in the Lincoln Theater so we can go ahead and rejuvenate the screen that we had and get a better projector, do a lot of the AV setups with that. So with those funds we were able to get some matching grants as well to support that and offset some of those costs for us. And then just the decor around the theater, just maintaining the Friends of the Lincoln. That program definitely helps having the necessary funds to where we can go ahead and maintain the facilities here and continuously keep those updated so it doesn't go back into the fall of the late 70s there when it was starting to be less used and less appreciated.
Speaker 2:Wow, impressive. Are there any special perks or events for members?
Speaker 3:Yeah, usually everybody that does the donations and support with the Friends of the Lincoln, we go ahead and we'll give them first access to tickets. And we're also doing some ticket discounts for the Friends of the Lincoln for pre-purchase tickets so you can get between $5 and $10 off tickets at first look. So we'll release those to everybody with an email and get them access to that. And then just also the ushering part of it. You definitely get to come in and see all the shows. You don't have to pay for them. We provide the free passes to the movie programs to some of our volunteers as well. We're a nonprofit 501c3, so it is a tax deductible charity that you can write off on taxes at the end of the year too. So, yeah, it's a win-win for everybody that participates and I do think that the programs that it allows us to do is a win-win for our community as well.
Speaker 2:Very cool. You mentioned matching grants that you acquire. Do you have a grant writer or am I looking at them?
Speaker 3:Well, I am not a qualified grant writer, but I am the grant writer that we currently have right now, because we do run on a skeleton staff here at the Lincoln, because you know, everything is extremely expensive and the costs of salaries and everything definitely take away from what we could possibly provide as far as performances.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, I am the one that works with different local grant writers around the area that work for Virginia tourism, smith County tourism, so I do get some assistance with some people around here that help me with it. But, yeah, the responsibility for all the follow-up and everything is definitely on my shoulders, and that's a difficult job. If people haven't participated in it, it's very stressful.
Speaker 2:I can imagine. I have worked with a lot of nonprofits throughout my career and been on boards and, yeah, I've had some experience with that too, so I feel for you, but you've obviously been really successful with it.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, it seems to continue to work, work really well.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. Well, obviously, community involvement is important to the theater's mission. You mind talking a little bit about that, about how it helps. Yeah.
Speaker 3:When they first opened up the theater again, we have provided people an opportunity to go ahead and put their name and their stamp on the theater.
Speaker 3:So we did different things with naming a chair or commemorative chairs for people to go ahead and put those nameplates.
Speaker 3:But then further on in that we started to get a lot more community involvement with the town, with the county, with different industries within Smith County as well KVAT and Food City. They're a big contributor here. The town of Marion is another one and with that we also work with the town on providing access to our theater. If they wanted to do meet and greet for town council representatives or individuals that are running for different offices within the town as well, we use our stage and provide that at no cost, since there is that support and it's definitely something that we want to share with the community. And then other specialty programs that we do with the community are working with the VFW American Legion, and with the VFW American Legion we're in the process of trying to build a Veterans Day program here to where every Veterans Day we would have one location to get as many people in as possible to give support to our veterans and share our appreciation. So those are a lot of things.
Speaker 3:It's really nice to have a theater like this in a small community, because everybody tends to appreciate the gem that we have in our small community, because everybody tends to appreciate the gem that we have in our small community. So, yeah, there's very close interaction with the community and we definitely like to hear feedback from them and try to provide the performances that they want to see. Very cool.
Speaker 2:Well, maybe, Bob, this is a pretty significant thing for the theater. Maybe we could have in a future episode, maybe we could have a member of. Do you have a chair for the Friends of the Lincoln?
Speaker 3:That's with our board of directors. We have a fundraising board of director chair, so they kind of work with a lot of the Friends of the Lincoln as well as I to go ahead and find out what we can do to improve upon it and things like that. Yeah, I would love to have somebody on that contributes annually and has that passion that we have for what we're providing. That sounds like a great idea, skip.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. Well, we'll plan on doing that and appreciate your time today and I'll let you get back to running the theater and we'll see you in the next episode, all right, thanks a lot.
Speaker 3:Have a good one.
Speaker 1:Thanks for tuning in to On Stage with the Lincoln Theater. Want more of Mary and Virginia's entertainment scene? Visit us online at thelincolnorg yes, that's thelincolnorg or drop by our theater at 117 East Main Street. Let's keep the arts alive and kicking together.