April 25, 2025
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Princeton Theatre Group is in need of new storage for Festival 56 sets

Board of Directors seek a new facility to save stage materials from being destroyed

By Goldie Rapp

Members of the Princeton Theatre Group Board including Ron McCutchan (from left), president, Rita Hanna, board member and Amber Harper, vice president, assess the dire need for a new storage facility for Festival 56 stage sets. The sets are currently being stored in an old barn in Princeton exposed to the outdoor elements, which has caused damage to many of the set pieces. (BCR Photo/Goldie Rapp )

PRINCETON — The Princeton Theater Group is desperately searching for a new facility to store its sets and stage materials used at the Grace Performing Arts Center for Festival 56.

Currently the theater company is using an old, dilapidated barn on the edge of Princeton to store the items. The inside of the barn is exposed to all outside elements, and rodents for that matter. Over time, the poor conditions have taken a toll on many of the hand-built set pieces, whether from a leaking roof or the rodents living inside the materials. Plus, the old condition of the barn poses as a danger to many of the set directors and volunteers that are loading or unloading the items in and out of the barn. There is also no electricity in the barn.

Princeton Theatre Group is currently using this old, rickety barn for storage of sets used for Festival 56. The location has become less than ideal for the theatre company as exposure to outdoor elements has ruined many of the set pieces. The board is currently seeking a new storage facility for its sets. (BCR Photo/Goldie Rapp )

Ron McCutchan, president of the Princeton Theater Group Board, said while the board is very appreciative of the patron who is lending the barn for storage, a move to a new location is greatly needed.

The poor conditions of the barn have caused many set pieces to be ruined and destroyed — a loss Festival 56 can hardly afford on a shoestring budget.

Members of the board have been networking to find someone who may be willing to lend the theater company a facility for storage. Also, a local realtor has been on the lookout for a location, but nothing has yet turned up. Ideally, the perfect location would be an enclosed, temperature-controlled facility within the Princeton area.

Some may questions why the theater company doesn’t just purchase a storage unit, and it comes down to those poor finances. The board is struggling to make ends meet. At the end of a Festival 56 season, Amber Harper, vice president of the Princeton Theatre Group Board, said there are zero profits. Either the board is able to just make even, or the theater company loses money on a season. Being shutdown last summer during COVID didn’t help budget matters either. Luckily, through grants, the small theater company has been able to keep the stage lights on.

It doesn’t help matters that the Grace Performing Arts Center, located at 316 S. Main St. in Princeton, is an antique of its own. The old building is in constant need of repairs. Right now, compressors for the air conditioning unit is at the top of the repairs list and is estimated to cost $38,000.

“Just when we think we’re getting ahead, something else breaks or something else happens,” Harper said.

The Princeton Theater Group is also still paying a mortgage on the Annex building, located on East Peru Street in Princeton, which houses costumes and set decor in the front of the building and is a construction shop in the back of the building where the sets are built each summer before the season kicks off. The space leaves no room to store any set material currently located in the barn.

Keeping up with the needs of Festival 56 has been a challenge this past year, but those who do it are determined to make it work for the love of community theater.

Each summer, Festival 56 is a draw for Princeton tourism. The professional theater festival welcomes more than 4,000 patrons to its shows each year. Around 40 visiting artists from around the country stay with host families during the summer months as they bring to life productions for audiences of all ages.

For more information about Festival 56, visit its website at www.festival56.com, email Festival 56 at boxoffice@festival56.com or call 815-879-5656.

A photo of inside the old, rickety barn Princeton Theatre Group is using to store set pieces for Festival 56 shows just how exposed the pieces are to the outside elements. While the board is appreciative of the patron who is currently allowing storage of the set pieces inside their barn, board members are on the hunt for a new enclosed facility that is temperature-controlled that will prevent further damage to sets. (BCR Photo/Goldie Rapp )