![]() ![]() “It’s in a pretty good state, otherwise,” he said. The theater also needs projection equipment and some upgrades for safety, Lawrence said. It’ll never be perfect, of course, but it could add that historic touch.” “We still have the original Malco screen in there, and it’s ancient,” he said. “Now, with the price of everything going wild, we’re talking to folks and pursuing all avenues to (get new equipment.)” “I had sold my entire sound system in there thinking I was sailing off into the sunset,” he said. Showing movies - or any use of the theater space - is still months away, though, Lawrence said. We are planning on starting small, but we want to make sure we can meet that need.” One thing that’s never been done here is a film festival. “We don’t want people to think art is painting or drawing. “We don’t want to be a one-trick pony,” he said. Gibson said he wants to get back to The Princess’ roots as a place to see movies. “The great thing about that room is with the right setup the sky’s the limit.” “We’re looking at film, at live music, at stage performances,” Lawrence said. The theater seats about 350 on the floor and has a balcony with a capacity of 200, putting it right in the sweet spot between smaller venues and Trotter Convention Center. ![]() “You hear so much that there’s nothing to do, and when you would give people something to do they would say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know about that,’ or ‘That’s not what I wanted.’ It’s frustrating.” “I feel like even before (the COVID-19 pandemic) downtown was in a lull, commercially and creatively,” he said. Lawrence said The Princess is a perfect venue to help downtown snap out of a “lull.” “(Lawrence) was coming to a lot of our events, and I think he saw what the CAC is doing and our direction, and our goals kind of lined up with where he wanted to be.” ![]() “We want to help make sure there is live music, there are poetry readings, there are activities going on, and we’ve got to get out to do that,” he said. Gibson said both he and Lawrence want to be part of what they see as a re-energized downtown. “A lot of what makes a thriving art community is getting out in the community, and we’re going to try to make sure we’re part of everything that’s going on without people having to come through our doors.” “The CAC is desperately trying to get (beyond) the four walls of its building (Rosenzweig Arts Center),” Gibson said. Lawrence’s desire to change dovetailed neatly with Gibson’s desire to have a higher community profile. “I had thought I was out of the nightlife business forever, and, coming back into it, I definitely didn’t want to go back to what we were doing before.” “I had seen some of the events that the church had in the theater, and they had a great response,” Lawrence said. Lawrence, along with Columbus Arts Council Operating Director Salem Gibson, have designs on reopening it as a community arts venue. While the basic functions of the bar - beer, karaoke, pool - are up and running, the theater portion remains closed, for now. ![]()
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