Printer Friendly Version - Chester Meeting House Gets Some Modern Upgrades

New curtains are only a part of the refresh that the Chester Meeting House stage has received over the last year; when those curtains are drawn aside audiences and performers can enjoy a neat, safe, clean, professional-looking community stage. The old gold trim might be gone, but future acts will have a chance to shine in the redone space, thanks to the efforts of local theater consultant Marcus Abbott. Photo by Michelle Anjirbag/The Courier

The Chester Meeting House might have stood on the same spot since 1740, but visitors will notice that the stage and curtains look much fresher, thanks to the work of local theater consultant Marcus Abbott.

Though the building was refurbished by the Chester Historical Society in 1972-’73 after being placed on the National Register for Historic Sites in 1972, and the site has been used for meetings, performances, dance recital, and other community events since that period, the electric and curtain components on the stage were largely in disarray and needed upgrades to meet contemporary safety standards.

Over the last year, Abbott has refinished and painted the stage floor black, painted the back wall of the stage black, and organized and repaired the lighting system where needed.

Abbott is the resident production designer for the Ivoryton Playhouse, and also works with other shows and theaters across the country. He grew up in Mystic, spent some time in New York City and Dallas, and now lives in Old Saybrook. He’s been sharing his technical knowledge with the town over the last two years.

“Over the years you’d have people come in and not really know what was happening with the system, and no one was really looking over it,” said Abbott.

In addition to replacing, binding, and labeling the wires for the lighting and other stage components, Abbott replaced some cables and light poles, swapped the ropes used in the lighting rigging for chains, and overall updated all of the systems to make sure that they can be used safely.

“Much of the improvements you can’t even see,” said First Selectman Lauren Gister. “A lot of what he has done is cleaning things, making sure they’re hung properly, and making sure it is easy to use.”

“The goal is to preserve it, and use it in a way that best benefits the community without overusing it—some shows, maybe some meetings,” said Gister. “We want to be able to take care of it. It’s a community resource and a community treasure.”

The curtains, including the legs and borders that help to mask the wings on either side of the stage, have been replaced. The black velour, in combination with the black floor and black back wall, have refreshed the interior and given it a clean, professional feel.

Money for these repairs had been prioritized in the 2016-2017 fiscal year budget process, but a stroke of ill luck actually became a blessing in disguise to motivate the needed care forward. The curtains had long been identified as past their life. They were no longer flame-retardant, and were not in a condition where they could have been simply sprayed to refresh that coating, and it was estimated that it would cost about $14,000 to replace them. In October 2016, soot blowing from a backed-up chimney coated the curtains and the interior. While there wasn’t any significant damage, this forced a deep-clean of the meeting house, and an insurance claim to be filed.

The result was $7,000 that was used in part toward the replacement of the curtains and curtain tracks, as well as the cleaning. There is a chance that there will be money also available to repaint the interior of the meeting house.

“We’ve been looking at how to preserve this building for a little while now, and there is a committee that is looking into what needs to be done to this building. They’ve had an electric engineer and structural engineer take a look at it, the boilers need to be looked at, but Marcus has been a great resource in helping us figure out, for something that is not a professional theater, where do we draw the line,” said Gister. “We have to be smart and find a balance, while incorporating the needs of this building into the large town plan.”

“I travel all over the country and see 3,500-seat theaters and communities have a hard time keeping them open,” said Abbott. “It’s not the size, but the history that is important. Long before the Goodspeed this is where people came, for meetings, recitals, shows, and fundraisers. It’s not a professional, year-round theater, but it is important to keep it alive and in good condition and standing, safe and working properly.”