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Senior Performing Arts Students, Mayor Rally
To Save Movie Theatre
A group of senior Clemson University performing arts students have teamed with the mayor of Clemson to save the Astro III movie theatre, located in downtown. The 16 students and Mayor Larry Abernathy are working together to stage a rally that would bring attention to the closed movie house and their plans to refurbish it into a multi-use arts center.
The Save the Astro Rally, planned for Friday, Nov. 21, 4 pm to 8 p.m. on College Avenue, is intended to show public support for saving the Astro as well as bring attention to the importance of the arts in general, said the Abernathy. “For a community to strive, it needs a place for the arts, a place for local artisans to express themselves and build a sense of community; place where people can come together to laugh, cry, and celebrate humanity.”
“The rally is about creating a movement to support and nourish and encourage the arts here,” said senior performing arts Kendall Sherwood. “The rally is only the beginning. The long-range plan is to acquire the property and refurbish it into a multi-purpose arts venue that would show popular and foreign films as well as showcase live acts, including theater, comedy, music, and poetry.”
“To state it simply,” explained Abernathy, “my hope is to save the building. Afterwards
, it’s my desire to transform it into a community arts and entertainment venue, where popular films are played in one area and foreign and independent films are shown in another. A third space could be renovated to include a stage appropriate for music, small theater productions, and a place for writers to read their works.” The free street festival will have children’s events, such as face painting and arts and crafts. Live music and entertainers are also planned.
College avenue businesses and restaurants will be on hand selling special merchandise and food, with proceeds benefiting the effort. “The Save the Astro Rally is way to recruit more allies and to demonstrate a sense of community around this effort,” Abernathy said.
In addition to planning the rally, the students have written the Mount Pleasant family that owns the property, urging its members to donate the land and the theater to the city. They are working alongside Clemson residents who also want to save the Astro and have set up a Web site for Clemson students, university alumni, and citizens to voice their support. Sign the online petition.
“We are also circulating a petition around campus and town for people to sign,” added Sherwood.
Clemson University performing arts majors are required to research, plan, and implement a community service project during their senior year. The senior project is designed as an opportunity for the arts to impact the community. In the past, students have raised money for AIDS victims on Broadway and the New Orleans Youth Orchestra after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the organization. They have also organized theater and music activities for local children’s homes and hospitals.
“The sudden closing of the Astro provided an opportunity for this class to do something that affects the entire community,” said Mark Charney, the Clemson theater professor who is advising the students. “This project has taken the students out of the recording studios, rehearsal rooms and off the stage and put them in the middle of city hall, local businesses and community organizations--place that traditional music, theater, and audio engineering students rarely venture. They are getting first hand experience in how the arts directly affect community.”
“We know saving the Astro won’t be easy, but it’s something that our class believes is important to Clemson students and the city,” said Sherwood.
“When people come together for a good cause, good things happen,” added Abernathy. “And this is good cause.”
