DENISE SMITH - STATE THEATRE

Denise Smith, Vice President of Development for the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Easton was our speaker on March 10. Denise joined the State Theatre in 2006 after a career in newspaper advertising and marketing. Denise is responsible for management and growth of the membership program, sponsorships, grants, events and other activities that engage the community and help sustain the non-profit theatre.

Denise shared the history of the theatre from its construction in 1879 through its various iterations as a vaudeville theatre, a movie house and performing arts theatre. By the late 1970’s, the theatre had changed hands many times and was in a horrible state of disrepair. In 1981, Andy Daub (from the Brown-Daub auto dealerships) organized a community group to purchase the theatre for just $25,000 with the goal of restoring it to its past glory. Over the last thirty-five years, individuals and businesses in the community provided major financial support to the theatre to fund restoration projects and acquisitions of adjacent properties. The result is a beautiful theatre with a robust schedule of concerts, plays and other performances throughout the year. The steady stream theatre patrons has helped revive downtown Easton with a number of new restaurants and shops.