“Inspiring Community Voices”

April 8, 2008: For Nigel Redden, managing director of Piccolo Spoleto, the closing last year of the Garden Theater on King St. was a wake-up call for those who arrange concerts and community activities: the city was running out of performance space. A solution came in a major capital improvement and development program to upgrade Dock Street Theater and the Memminger Auditorium.

Dock Street was found to have deteriorated severely, some damage due to past remodeling that did not properly consider the safety of the building. Walls were ready to cave in at the time of any earthquake or hurricane, the HVAC system was worn out, plumbing gone and many problems with respect to handicapped people.

Memminger has been empty since Hugo; the school board, who owned it, could not themselves justify the cost for an auditorium serving a small school. It, too, needed virtually everything. Thus was born the Inspiring Community Voices campaign, co chaired by John and Norma Palms. The project requires a 25 million dollar investment. The city pledged over 8 million, FEMA has helped as the spaces can be used in emergency. 6 million in repairs and 3 million in endowment to run the auditorium’s programs in the future will go to Memminger. Upgrades will include a garden, storage building, totally flexible new theater unlike anything currently in greater Charleston and an elevator. The reworked building is scheduled to reopen the end of May.

The work at Dock Street is even more extensive given its size and age. John Palms was recruited to find the way to raise the needed money for the combined project. Many people from current students to those who used and performed in both locations in the past have been inspired to work on the project. Donors are being sought to name chairs, boxes, gardens, dressing rooms and more for both facilities. Dock Street is scheduled to reopen in 2010. To learn how to help contact www.spoletousa.org/inspiringvoices.

Reported by Fred Sales, Keyway Committee