Buskirk-Chumley to open for public viewing

Few, if any, Bloomington residents have seen the backstage area of the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre -- unless they've performed in a community production or logged hours moving and painting sets. \nBut this weekend, IU Musical Arts Center manager and longtime Buskirk enthusiast Ted Jones will open the theater in its entirety to the public. \nThe theater, located at 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., stands much as it did when it opened in 1922, boasting the area's first talking film. \nAnd while theater promoters no longer send mules wearing advertising placards through town to promote the venue's latest acts, supporters of the Buskirk-Chumley refuse to let go of tradition.\nThis weekend, the Bloomington Area Arts Council will provide the Buskirk and other arts venues around town to showcase their facilities and histories. The Council's weekend-long Open House will afford Bloomington residents and IU students the opportunity to visit the John Waldron Arts Center, the IU Art Museum, the Musical Arts Center and the Buskirk-Chumley.\nCollaborative initiatives like the Open House are vital to sustaining interest in the local arts scene, said Sally Gaskill, interim executive director of the BAAC. \nThe BAAC began planning the event last spring after consulting with more than 100 artists and representatives of the Bloomington arts community. BAAC members approached individuals driving the arts to determine how to encourage greater participation and attendance at local events. \nThe idea of a collaborative open house is a "natural outgrowth" of those sessions, Gaskill said. Originally envisioned as a day-long "arts walk" between venues, the idea has since expanded to encompass an entire weekend. All venues, representing the spectrum of arts entertainment and education opportunities available locally, will be open at some point during the three-day period. \nOpened as a movie house in 1922 by Bloomington couple Harry and Nova Vonderschmidt, the Buskirk-Chumley has hosted acts running the gamut from alumnus and piano prodigy Hoagy Carmichael to contemporary female a cappella student group Ladies First.\nRecently, venue officials debated how to keep the financially-strapped facility open. \nIn what many consider a controversial move, the Bloomington city council voted Wednesday to allocate $600,000 from the city general fund to the Buskirk. Formerly the Indiana Theatre, the venue has faced financial difficulties since its reopening in spring 1999 as the Buskirk-Chumley. \nThe BAAC pledged $3.2 million to help the fledgling theatre, but current debt stands at about $1 million. \nThe BAAC's regular operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is about $650,000, Gaskill said. That money -- raised "almost entirely from scratch" by the BAAC -- must drive programs at both the Waldron and Buskirk-Chumley. \nWhile Gaskill said "no guarantee from year to year" exists for city and state-appropriated arts funding, the Bloomington community consistently embraces arts education and is thus a healthy source of earned income. The Buskirk also rents space to community organizations to gain additional revenue, and programs such as this weekend's Open House allows greater accessibility to the theatre's resources and history, Gaskill said.\nThe IU Art Museum is also featured in this weekend's lineup. Originally established as a gallery in 1941, the facility outgrew two venues before building a larger facility next to the Fine Arts Building in 1982. The Art Museum includes three permanent galleries and a special exhibitions gallery and houses over 30,000 objects, said museum director Adelheid Gealt.\nVisitors of the IU Art Museum may also visit the facility's special exhibition, "Art and Life in Pottery: Vessels of the Southwest and the Mississippi River Valley," which continues through Oct. 28. The collection features ornate North American ceramics from those areas and artifacts dating to the thirteenth century. \nNew to the museum is the Revolving Door Series, a suite of 10 prints by surrealist photographer and sculptor Man Ray. The exhibit, located in the First Floor Gallery of Western Art, runs through Sept. 30.\nThe stage in the IU Auditorium will also be open, with volunteers on hand to answer questions about the upcoming performing season, which features acts such as David Copperfield, the 1998 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "Rent" and Willie Nelson. The control rooms and observation facilities also will be open to the public, according to General Manager Bryan Rives. \nVisitors to the Waldron will be exposed to performances by local music and dance groups and international exhibits in the visual arts galleries. In addition, registration for classes at the Center will be offered at a special reduced fee. \nThe event's organizers hope to add similar collaborative efforts to the upcoming arts season in Bloomington and on campus. But for those goals to come to fruition, the community must step in -- something Gaskill said she is certain will happen.\n"Individuals in Bloomington have always been so supportive of the arts," Gaskill said. "This effort is an example of the willingness now and in the future to collaborate." \nThe MAC will be open 1-3 p.m. Friday; Saturday, the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St., will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the Buskirk-Chumley will be open from 1-3 p.m. Saturday; the IU Art Museum will be open from 2-4 p.m. Saturday; and the IU Auditorium will be open from 1-5 p.m. Sunday.