REVISITING THE BACKDOOR THEATER

by Pam North

It's a unique accomplishment that a town the size of Nederland can
boast of having its own theater.  Born in concept 6 years ago, and
operational for the last 3 1/2 years, the Backdoor Theater is a real
mountain treasure.  It is unique in that it is one of only a
handful of non-profit theaters in the country showing 35-millimeter
movies.  Contracts to show movies are complicated, and the Backdoor
Theater Guild, aided by a particularly helpful Dallas film broker,
manages to procure a steady roster of first-run popular films.

The theater has had to recover and regroup from the March, 2003
blizzard that hit Colorado.  The 7-foot accumulation of snow not only
brought life, as mountain folks knew it, to a complete standstill, it
also caused the collapse of the peaked-roof section of the Nederland
Community Center.  The wooden support girders, spaced too far apart
and weakened by age, buckled under the load of heavy snow.  The
Backdoor Theater, housed in another part of the same building, has a
flat roof, which ironically survived, but the theater was closed for
several months afterward while the possibilities of compromised
structural safety and mold issues were investigated and eliminated.  A
new Baldwin grand piano, purchased just three days before the storm,
also was an object of the theater guild's concern, as it was sitting
on the inoperable theater's stage.  Heating had been shut off while
the safety questions were being answered, and climate control is an
important factor in the care of a piano.  The instrument, not covered
by the theater's insurance umbrella policy, was ultimately placed in
an alternate location to ensure a stable environment until it could be
returned to the theater.

Early in July, the Backdoor Theater reopened, much to the delight of
area residents who had missed being able to conveniently catch the
latest movies.  The momentum the theater had managed to create had
been impacted to some degree, however; it took a while for the word to
get out that the theater was back in operation, and for attendance to
return to previous levels.  

The Backdoor Theater is currently doing well again.  The weekend
evening movies have returned (watch for Monster, Mystic River,
Triplets of Belleview, Girl With A Pearl Earring, Touching the Void
and Hidalgo as forthcoming offerings); another series of chamber music
concerts is scheduled for Sundays in August, and the traditional
summer outdoor screening of a movie is again planned. The theater is
in a comfortable holding pattern, but much more appears to be on the
horizon.  Its visionary guild of directors (Kayla Evans, Ruth Baldwin,
Brent Warren and Jan Cooper) has always had a grander plan.  Not
content to rest on the laurels of already having accomplished many
major improvements for the theater (comfortable seating, better sound
and lighting, repainting), the guild members see the theater as a
future local center for the performing arts and cultural education,
with youth and families as a focus.  Live theater, summer music camps,
workshops and instruction in classical music and theater, classic
movie and cartoon festivals all are being considered as some of the
components of what the center could eventually offer.  The building
itself is likely to undergo some much-needed metamorphosis when
insurance coverage funds replacement construction, and in that process
the new structure could be more suitably oriented toward the broader
scope that is imagined, functioning also as an auditorium and
conference center, and having the capability of being in use more
frequently.

The theater is lucky to be in the charge of such capable individuals
who look after its interests with care and passion; its attending
public mostly thinks little beyond wishing for the addition of cup
holders.  The theater's directors and the volunteers are what makes
the enterprise function so well; they've almost become a family, and
that's an important ingredient to be fostered in a community.

As the theater expands, it could become an even more integral part of
the community, complementing existing businesses.  A recent showing of
the movie, Big Fish, which brought in a record 245 people in
attendance, took place the same evening as the Kathmandu restaurant
experienced its biggest night ever.  A coincidence?  Perhaps so, but
the concept of a comprehensive package of entertainment
(dinner/theater/drinks after) is a natural plan.  As the public
becomes more sophisticated, it stands to reason that its tastes will
evolve simultaneously, and Nederland's business economy will grow to
provide the options.

Surprisingly, many local residents are either still unaware of the
Backdoor Theater's presence, or simply have not made the effort
to acquaint themselves with it.  Their loss.