Guests: Ronda Anderson, Photographer and Janice Walz, Proctors Historical Committee

April 5, 2016, 18th Year – Show #927, Filmed at Open Stage Media, Proctors, Schenectady Thirty Years of Change at the Classic Schenectady Vaudeville Hall!

An empty dressing room, eerie sunlight peeking in, suggesting stories of days gone by; a brightly painted dressing table, signed by the cast, a glimmer of now.

These kind of juxtapositions—the ship-like rigging of the original Proctors stage contrasted with the high-tech system of today—are at the heart of photographer Ronda Anderson’s beautiful exhibit A Personal Journey of Our Theatre, which opened on March 31 at the Fenimore Gallery at Proctors, 432 State Street, Schenectady (admission is free).

Anderson, a longtime volunteer at the theatre, began capturing images of the building’s interior in the mid-1980s. Then house manager Bob Warlock approved of Anderson’s efforts, setting her off on a path she still travels, three cameras and as many decades later. Her goal was to distill what she calls, “the wow factor of Proctors.”

“As a photographer, I can bring people into the secret spaces of the theatre—the narrow catwalks above the chandelier, the projector room with its decades of graffiti, the breathtaking height of the fly loft, the quiet grace of the dressing rooms and the most curious corners of the basement.”

Mission or Purpose of the Historical Committee: To preserve and promote items related to the history of Proctors Theater and to support and promote current activity.

Organization: Proctors Historical Committee

Event: Photo Exhibition at Proctors

Location of event: Proctors Fenimore Gallery

Date/Time: Mar 31-Apr 29

Cost: Free and Open to the Public

Contact Information: Audrey Hughes at [email protected]

Website: www.Proctors.org