LAKE COUNTY >> Bob Reese returned from World War II to help his father build a movie theater.
That theater was a building with an Art Deco aesthetic, floral glass doors and one large screen. It would one day become the Soper Reese Theatre, but before the name change, Reese and his wife Margaret operated The Lakeport Theatre from it”s inception in 1947 to it”s closing in the ”90s. The couple ran things from the box office, selling and collecting tickets, while local kids sold buttery popcorn and sugary snacks from a nearby concessions stand.
“It was a really great place to come,” said Mike Adams, Chair of the Lake County Arts Council. “It was a place families felt comfortable taking their kids.”
Ever the theater aficionado, Reese also constructed the drive-in on Soda Bay Road before partnering with a company in the late ”90s to open what is now the Lakeport Cinema 5, which lies in front of the sizable outdoor screen.
However, this last endeavor meant the end of the small theater sitting just down the road on Main Street.
Fortunately for the little building, Jillian Billister, the executive director of the Arts Council, had a vision. She thought the theater was the perfect place for just what the town needed: a performing arts center. Billister reached out to Jim Soper, to ask if he was interested in investing in the center. The last thing she expected was the $300,000 that he happily handed over.
Over the following years, Soper made numerous donations for improvements to the building, but the theater was plagued by it”s age related problems. The roof leaked and the electrical system was in bad shape. Around 2000, the theater closed, just a few years after the Arts Council had acquired it.
Not to be deterred, after a number of years the Council pursued reopening and drastically updating the Soper Reese. “Some planning was done and the Arts Council hired a local architect, Lyndon Ernst, and they designed it very close to the layout the theater has now,” said Adams. The design allowed for steps up to the stage, a new seating arrangement and an excellent sound and lighting system.
In 2004, Adams and a new group became involved in the project. They set up a business plan and started the process that would lead to a revamp of the old building. “We brought people who had already donated back, including Mr. Soper. We showed them the plan and we began fundraising,” explained Adams.
The fundraising couldn”t have been more successful. To this date, including Soper”s original $300,000 investment, the Lake County Arts Council has raised an astounding $1.7 million for The Soper Reese Theatre.
It”s clear that the theater is just as important to the Lake County community as it is to the Council. “The tremendous financial support that we”ve been given is a reflection of the community,” an incredibly grateful Adams commented. “If you think about it — 1.7 million dollars — that”s phenomenal.”
The theater has certainly received an enormous amount of validation from the community. “They seem to have said, ”Yes, you”ve done a good job,”” remarked Adams. And the 1,100 people on the email list alerting subscribers to upcoming events is a number that speaks for itself. “We have regulars that seem to come to everything we have,” Adams said.
“The purpose of the theater is to provide a professional venue for the performing arts in Lake County and I think we”ve gone past that,” said Adams. “We certainly have a venue for the performing arts, but what we have is a community center that”s available for all kinds of events.”
The list of events is incredibly diverse, from Teacher of the Year awards to art auctions to plays by the local theater company. But Soper Reese isn”t just for local acts; Beatles versus Stones, a battle of the cover bands type of act, performed at the venue. The act previously spent five months in Vegas and contacted the Soper Reese specifically, asking to perform. “They were on tour and they called and asked us if they could come,” said Adams. “I said, ”I don”t think we can afford you,” and they said, ”What if we rented the facility? How many seats do you have?”” After receiving all of the information, the act decided to rent out the theater.
With excellent acoustics, artists are realizing that the Soper Reese is more than a small town venue. “Word has gotten out that it”s a great place to perform,” said Adams. “We”ve been getting more and more calls, asking to come to the theater.”
With all of the community support, the Arts Council has been able to give the building a new roof, electrical system and a complete sprinkler system. The lighting and sound are state of the art, the seats and dressing rooms are brand new and when they partnered with the Lake County Symphony, they were able to get a piano and build a piano storage unit. With the completion of these improvements, the Council has moved onto the next phase of revamps, which include a ramp for the theater and transformations to the facade. Once completed, the outside of the building will “reflect the great stuff that”s going on inside,” said Adams.
Today, due to all of its success, Adams and the Arts Council are looking to turn the Soper Reese into a business. The theater is almost exclusively operated by a volunteer staff, with the exception of lighting and sound technicians (who are paid per performance) and a marketing person. “We”re in the transition of becoming more of a business operation in the sense that we”re able to pay people to do key positions,” said Adams. “We started that with marketing because we thought that would produce greater attendance…We thought that was a good first step.” The Council hopes that with an increasingly paid staff, attendance will rise and the already numerous events will continue to grow.
The theater looks to be in a good position for the future. “We have no debt,” said Adams. “In the last year or so we have run in the black just slightly…We didn”t lose money.” This is promising, especially for a non-profit. They also have money in savings to ensure that the theater remains a place for community events. “We do have a healthy reserve which we maintain for operating in the future.” In addition to operational funds, the Soper Reese has raised enough money to begin improving the outside of the building. “Last year we got two donations of $250,00 which will allow us to start moving forward on the new addition,” said Adams.
But more than prominent artists and state of the art lighting, the Lake County Arts Council is thrilled with the amount of support the community enthusiastically gives the theater. “The all-volunteer staff is just the community. They”re people who have shown up asking to help,” Adams said of the people who usher performances or help to set up for events. “And then the next thing you know, they”re in charge of some particular area of the theater.” The community”s excellent relationship with the Soper Reese has been occurring ever since the theater opened in 2007, and it only continues to improve.
People donate in large and small amounts every year, especially around tax season. Sometimes $200 donations come in and sometimes it”ll be $25, but no matter how small or how large, the Council is exceedingly grateful. “They say, ”Here”s something I believe in,” so they make another contribution to us,” said Adams. “We wouldn”t be where we are if the community didn”t invest.”
“Everyone in the theater is really amazed at the level of support the community gives,” he said. “The community really deserves the credit.”
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019
