Back in the rootin’, tootin’ cowboy days of the Civic Theatre, things could be rough-and-tumble. The new Nelson Civic Theatre’s iconic usher Josh Wapp remembers the bad ol’ days when boys were boys.
“When I was in junior high school (a time long, long ago, before cell phones or the internet) I had a friend who worked as a cleaner at the Civic Theatre. Since I lived out of town, and sometimes stayed over at his house, I would follow him to work and help out a little,” he says, describing the leaf-blower used for chasing popcorn from between the rows during post-movie clean-up.
“My friend, and some of his friends who also worked at the theatre, had a pellet gun hidden from the boss in some old, dark corner somewhere, and they used to set up the pop cups on the balcony ledge for target practice, standing right by the front stage! I’m sure there’s a few pellets in those walls if one were to dig into the old plaster.”
There is a strict No Firearms Allowed policy at the re-opened Civic, but otherwise the main policy is to enjoy our new community theatre.
At the upcoming first Annual General Meeting on September 22 at 1 p.m., members can learn about the work of the Nelson Civic Theatre Society, vote on new motions and new board members, and take a stand for that continued enjoyment.
We promise an efficient, enjoyable meeting. You’ll hear about where we started, how far we’ve come, and where we’re going. We’ll give you the financial pulse of things, and a heads up on the challenges ahead.
And we’ll vote to change the by-law that says we have to have 10 per cent of our membership at the AGM for a quorum, because when we incorporated as a society in June 2012, we never thought there’d be 2,000 of you! The trick is to get at least 200 members out for the AGM in order to make that change. Which is where you come in.
You have to be a member as of September 1 to attend and vote at the AGM. That’s also the deadline for applications to the board of directors (there are four two-year positions available) and Notices of Motion (such as the number of people required for a quorum at an AGM). Go to civictheatre.ca/AGM for info, and buy your membership online or at Marketfest this Friday if you haven’t already, so you can come to the Nelson Civic Theatre Society’s first AGM.
And you do want to come! Because it’s your theatre, because you love having it back, and because you care about its future. As a bonus, we’ll show a free movie, with popcorn (non-GMO, with real butter!) and a drink, after the meeting. How many AGMs do that?
After the 200-plus members — including you! — have left, we’ll use that time-honoured leaf-blower to chase popcorn from between the seats, just like the old days. But target practice we’ll leave to the rootin’ tootin’ ghosts of Civic Past, when boys were boys, cell phones and the internet were the stuff of science fiction, and all popcorn was non-GMO — with real butter. And ushers looked a lot like Josh.
Anne DeGrace is the president of the Nelson Civic Theatre Society. If you have a memory to share please email anne@civictheatre.ca.