LAKEPORT >> The renovation and expansion campaign, which patrons asked for including ADA-compliant restrooms are on the horizon, promises the Soper Reese theater. management.
Theater manager Michael Adams was on hand Saturday afternoon with blueprints for the rehab spread across the lobby glass top display case. Once the audience was settled in the theater, he informed supporters where the company is going, where they’ve been and some of the people involved. “We’ll do a little groundbreaking,” he said. “I’ve got some shovels; painted gold and we’ll auction them off.” Pointing to the Theater Screen, Adams identified Jillian Billester, executive director of the Lake Cunty Arts Council in the 1990s “An older gentleman came in the Arts Council one day, he looked around and said, ‘oh this is really nice and if you ever need a donation for the cause at this gallery’…”.
“So, Jillian put that in her memory. But the theater closed in the 1990s and was vacant for a while, but we’re proud to have you here today, “Adams gave a shout out to Patty Reese, daughter of Bob and Margaret Reese, who started the theater in 1947. Bob Reese returned to Lake County after World War II, and his father had a little theater across the street from their home, which Bob and his father had built up from the remnants of brick walls Bob, met his wife Margaret when she attended the theater periodically, explained Adams. Eventually they married and the two of them ran the theater with their children.
“Then in the 1990s it was getting close to their retirement after the theater had been in operation nearly 50 years,” said Adams. “So, they got some partners together and built a cinemaplex on Soda Bay Road and left the theater vacant.” But Jillian Billester came upon the idle theater and wondered if there would be an opportunity to buy it and make it a performance art facility. They had some fund raisers but then Billester recalled the patron at the Arts Council gallery and decided to make a proposal and called upon him to inquire if he could contribute $350,000 dollars and he answered in the affirmative and gave her a check for that amount. That gentleman was Jim Soper and he and the Reeses became the namesake of the iconic venue.
Yet it required conversion to attain the status of a live performance theater. “So, we started some piano concerts that were very successful from some generous people who to this day sustained their largess,” said Adams. Still more rehab was required to extend the stage and a green room, which Adams built with two colleagues after he retired from Mendocino College. Once his colleagues departed, circumstance left Adams in charge of the theater. “And I thank the community to allow me to have so much fun here,” he confided. When the theater reopened after a pause in 2008, the symphony started performing, and then, all different kinds of entertainment troupes. But it also served as a venue for civic events, such as a regional conference to mitigate homelessness, classic movie series appeared and traditional acoustic string bands, as well as pop groups and public forums concerning wildfire resiliency.
“We were open to all kinds of stuff so; it became a great place for our community, and for us to gather,” Adams said. “It was made for a movie house and was a repository of memories. So, we had a piano concert every year and it made a great fund raiser for us. And we had the Friends of Mendocino College career scholarship hosted here.”
The vision continues to be alive with plans to provide better access for handicap patrons and to increase the options for uses due to the efforts of many volunteers, the generosity of the community to increase local donations to $300,000, and grants from HUD and the City of Lakeport redevelopment agency total $450,000.
Work will be performed in phases noted Adams. In Phase 1, restroom plumbing will be mitigated, the loading dock extended and building foundation will be strengthened. The cost will be $184,000 and funding has already been pledged. This construction is expected to be complete during the fall. In Phase 2, which begins only after the $350,000 estimate has been secured. Here is where the restroom shell will be completed. In Phase 3, restroom interiors are expected to be completed. Then in Phase 4, the enlargement of the lobby for capacity audiences and compliant ADA ramp to connect the restrooms. “The goal of construction is to improve the audience experience, improve safety and make Soper Reese a venue for all,” Admas said.
