Community comes together to support the Sixth Street Theater

WALLACE – A local landmark is looking for help and luckily the call has been answered.

Team Wallace is a philanthropic group of people who have taken responsibility for ensuring that Wallace’s businesses survive no matter what.

The ongoing pandemic has crippled several Wallace businesses, especially those that rely on tourism dollars – dollars that suddenly weren’t around when COVID-19 hit.

The Wallace team raised a total of over $ 15,000 for businesses like Slab Meat Co., Woodland Market, Q’s Haircuts, Brooks, the Wallace District Mine Museum and they are now focusing on the Sixth Street Melodrama and Theater.

The Sixth Street Theater is an incredibly popular attraction for Wallace tourism throughout the year, as it offers visitors and locals something to do in the evening.

According to Norma Douglas, a member of the Sixth Street Theater board of directors, just keeping the lights on costs between $ 500 and $ 600 a month, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg in the entertainment world.

“If we are using a script that was written by a current board member, community member, or founding member, the costs are around $ 500,” said Douglas. “This includes a minimum wage for the director, the box office manager and the sound engineer. The other costs would be for any material necessary for the staging and promotion. If we are using a script that requires royalties, add an additional $ 2,000 to $ 3,000 depending on the number of shows and the cost per show.

To give readers a perspective, in their attempt to race for the hilarious “Church Basement Ladies” the theater actually lost money due to the early shutdown, but having already paid the royalties they also lost money. lost money during their 2020 summer season attempt.

With vaccines being rolled out and the COVID crisis appearing to be drawing to a close, Sixth Street is investigating the potential for a series of summer shows, as long as funding is available, but they guarantee a winter season.

“We are planning performances in November, Christmas and March 2022 for sure,” said Douglas. “All of these shows are written by members of the board of directors. We hope to have some sort of summer season, but we won’t know until June what it will be. All funds will help keep the lights on until we can get back to a more normal season. We cut costs where we could, including temporarily disconnecting our phones and the internet. We will do whatever it takes to keep our local theater open.

In the meantime, the theater was available for rental for personal events, including showing films on the big screen, which brought in money, including donations from guests who attend the organized events.

If you would like to help Sixth Street Melodrama and Theater, you can contact them directly through their Facebook page, or by contacting Team Wallace organizer Marcy Hayman at 208-752-1019 or by email at [email protected]