ROANOKE - 5 months ago one of the pillars of Roanoke’s arts community, the Mill Mountain Theatre had serious concerns about its future.
It shut down performances due to hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt it owed.
Fast forward to now and there's good news.
The theater is back in the black.
It’s been more than a year since folks handed over a ticket, filed through the doors, and sat down to watch a professional Mill Mountain Theatre production.
"I truly can't go anywhere without someone saying what's happening with Mill Mountain, fill me in on what's going on with the theater, what's the plan, so I know that we've got that support within our community," said Ginger Poole, the theatre’s managing director.
After year in the dark, supporters will be happy to hear theatre president Jack Avis says, they're financially back on track.
"The debt will not be an issue going forward. We've worked out arrangements with our vendors and debt holders that no new money being donated to the theater or for ticket sales will be going to pay off debt," Avis explained.
Avis tells Ten On Your Side, right now the education program is the theater's biggest source of income, followed by collaborations and ticket sales. With the money generated from those sources Avis hopes to have seats filled as early as the summer of 2012.
"We won't be producing as many productions ourselves," said Avis.
In years past, Mill Mountain Theatre produced between 9 and 11 shows a year.
Avis says under the reinvention plan that number will dwindle to five and the rest will be co-productions and presentations.
Collaborating is a money maker for the theatre, but it still has a long way to go before another show hits the stage.
Mill Mountain Theatre will kick-off a fundraising campaign this summer.
In order to re-open in 2012 the theatre needs to raise $2 million.
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