Along Came Tom

I cannot take credit for developing the theater by myself. A friend came to my rescue, but he says that if he had known what he was getting into…

Tom DuFore was a delightful addition to the project. I was new to the area and he knew everybody. One day he stood in the doorway of the back barn and said he had the perfect name,”Little Theater on the Farm”. I knew instantly that he was the right. It would be several years before we learned the history of “Little Theaters.”

Tom was the local code enforcement officer and building inspector. Everything we did had to be according to code. Ray Campanaro called him and said he had a barn full of theater seats, did he know anyone who could use them? “Free” is my favorite word. When Tom told me about them I arranged to pick them up, just one mile from my home. We say that the theater seats 71 ½. The old wooden seats came in sections of up to ten seats, which would not fit on my truck. I took a sawzall and cut a couple of seats in half so I could transport them. When we did the layout for the theater we had small spot to fill, therefore we added the ½ seat, which my granddaughter Maggie thinks is her special spot.

We saved money whereever we could. I am a recycling fanatic. A man, who was demolishing an 1840’s house in Fort Edward, asked Tom how he could dispose of the beams, lumber and bricks. Within an hour I was there with my trusty-rusty red truck. We used these materials to build the lobby and restrooms in the area where they used to load the manure spreader

Tom’s son, a contractor, was hired to demolish a 50’ solarium and brought us all of the windows and aluminum trim. We used some of the windows in the lobby and recycled the aluminum for $340.00. We became known as, “The stop before you take stuff to the transfer station.” What we could not use we sold at garage sales.

Immediately upon planning the project I formed a non-profit corporation. Once again Tom came to the rescue. The people who headed the Washington County Alternative Sentencing Program asked Tom if he knew a non-profit that could use help. They had to place their “clients” in work projects. Within two weeks we had a steady flow of workers. You know your project is on the right track when things fall into your lap like this. One of the first people to show up was a master electrician with 400 hours to serve. He rewired the main barn, lobby, theater and backstage.

The is the north side of the dairy barn when I bought it.  My son just shook his head.  It has been fully restored, including an interior steel beam found at a garage sale ,of course.

The picture to the right is of the theater when we removed the back to put in 2 -14' doors to accomodate overflow crowds.  Tom's idea and handiwork.

To the left, a shot of the complex featuring the theater in the center with backstage being the lower building attached.  The last is the green room.

This is the entrance to the complex.  Patrons enter the dairy barn,

walk past the exhiblits to the lobby where they buy tickets and use restrooms.  They proceed into the theater and are amazed by the charm of the 1840's barn.

For more pictures visit our website: http://www.littletheater27.com/

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