SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Nov. 13, 2020) – The Strand Theatre in downtown Shelbyville has taken pride in the fact they have been self-sufficient throughout the years. They offer approximately 150 shows per year and rely on ticket sales to pay their bills, a system that has worked until 2020. They provided a show March 8, 2020. Little did they know that would be their last performance of the year, placing the facility in dire need of assistance to continue to endure the effects of COVID-19.
“We had a healthy balance in our account prior to this pandemic,” said David Finkel of the executive committee at The Strand Theatre. “It takes approximately $3,500 a month to pay our bills, and we will be out of money at the end of November. This donation is so appreciated from Indiana Grand and will allot us 45 days of operations. We’ve never done this before, but we are going to have to go out into the community and ask for assistance to get us through this time, but we plan to come back stronger than ever once we are through this.”
Indiana Grand became aware of the situation with The Strand Theatre and wanted to do something to help. Members of the Community Outreach committee presented Finkel and Steven Frazee, also of the executive committee, with a check for $5,000 Thursday, Nov. 12. Representing Indiana Grand included Mike Evans, senior sales manager and volunteer at The Strand, Lindsay Fish, director of sales and business development, Elena Lisle, vice president of marketing, Jacob Green, marketing production coordinator and Tammy Knox, race marketing manager.
“The Strand Theatre is such a vital part of downtown Shelbyville, and we wanted to do something to ensure they get through this unprecedented time,” said Lindsay Fish, who oversees the Community Outreach program at Indiana Grand. “With all the renovations and upgrades going on right now in downtown Shelbyville, The Strand is an important part of the future landscape of the community. We hope this donation will encourage others in the community to step in and assist until business can return to normal at The Strand.”
The Strand Theatre, a not-for-profit organization, generally has their shows booked 18 months in advance. With the uncertainty of COVID-19 restrictions, there is only one show booked for 2021. However, the organization’s volunteers are working behind the scenes to be ready to go once restrictions are lifted.
“We’ve used this time to work on our stage and do some things that we generally just didn’t have time to do,” added Finkel. “All the labor and materials have been done through donations. We have some shows that we are looking at, but we just can’t book anything at this time. Everything we book has to be easy to cancel, but once we get through this, we will have a full schedule of events and hope to see everyone back for all types of performances.”
Photos by Jacob Green
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