Company managing Colonial Theatre to participate in virtual sessions

LACONIA — The Belknap Mill’s new theatre program, Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative, will be hosting virtual opportunities to introduce Spectacle Management to the Lakes Region community.

Spectacle is the company that will be managing the Colonial Theatre in Laconia when it opens later this year. Powerhouse will be the resident theatre company at the Colonial and will help Spectacle get to know the local arts community.

Lakes Region groups that might want to use the Colonial for their own events will have two opportunities to meet the Spectacle team and ask questions about scheduling, rental rates, ticketing, etc.

“We understand a lot of groups are excited to find out how they can get involved at the Colonial, but also that they don’t know what the process will be. This will be the perfect opportunity to get those questions answered,” said Bryan Halperin of Powerhouse.

Besides theater, dance, and music performances, the Colonial will be appropriate for groups that want to host speakers, videos, large meetings and other kinds of events.

The Zoom meetings will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 6:30 p.m. and Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 11 a.m.

Advanced signup is required, and it is requested that groups choose one or two people to represent them so there is time in each session for each group to introduce themselves and have their questions answered. Those representatives can then bring the information back to their organizations. Along with Bryan and Johanna Halperin as facilitators, Peter Lally, Dan Berube, and Brandon Caron from Spectacle will be present.

“In addition to the National Touring Artists Spectacle Management will bring to the Colonial, community and nonprofit events will become a key part of the building’s schedule,” said Spectacle Management Marketing Director Dan Berube.“ "The Colonial is going to be an exceptional theatre, and will be able to host a wide variety of events, including live theatre, dance competitions, galas, speakers, and much more. We look forward to introducing Spectacle to the Lakes Region, getting to know the community, answering your questions, and working to make the Colonial the center of a vibrant downtown Laconia.”

Spectacle and Powerhouse are making plans for the 2021 season, but recognize that there is still a lot of uncertainty in the near future about producing live events. A “Grand Opening” will be delayed until it is safe to fill the audience, but a “soft” opening may happen this spring or summer with some smaller, socially distanced events.

To sign your group representatives up for one of the virtual meetings in January go to coloniallaconia.com/ or check out the Colonial or Powerhouse on Facebook. Questions about the event can be addressed to Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative via powerhouse@belknapmill.org.