Aurora Theatre Seeks Help After Fire Destroys $250,000 Worth of Items

The Lawrenceville theater stored costumes and sets in a basement beneath shops on the square. A fire damaged that space earlier in the month.

By Vanzetta Evans, Lawrenceville Patch
March 25, 2013

Nearly two decades worth of work was lost following a fire on Crogan Street on March 4th. The Aurora Theatre housed costumes, props and furniture for their plays in a storage space beneath some of the shops on the square. Smoke and water destroyed a majority of the collection. It took 17 years for Aurora to gather the items, valued at about $250,000.

“Let’s say you have a period piece,” said Al Stilo, Director of Sales & Marketing at Aurora Theatre. “You can’t just go get a Revolutionary War costume at Marshalls’ or Ross. You can’t just go to Walmart and get a monk’s costume.”

The Lawrenceville community quickly came to help the theater following the fire.“A couple of people on the square let us take some items that were salvageable, like Rock, Paper, Scissors and the Gwinnett GOP headquarters,” said a grateful Stilo. “They let us store items there.” But now the theater is looking for a new storage space and needs help moving items.

On Wednesday, March 27th, they need as many hands on deck as possible to load items saved from the fire onto a truck to be transported to a temporary storage space. Volunteers are asked to meet at the theater at 128 W. Pike Street at 11:00 AM.

A truck donated by the Geva Theatre in Rochester, NY will move the props and costumes. Aurora Theatre partnered with Geva on shows such as Bob! Some props from the show in Lawrenceville along with a number of Aurora’s actors are currently in Upstate New York wrapping up performances of the play there.

The Aurora is also in need of a very low cost or donated storage space. They are looking for a space of at least 2400 square feet located near the theater. Contact Aurora Theatre General Manager, D.H. Malcolm, III at dh@auroratheatre.com or call 678-226-6232 if you would like to help.“This is going to affect us over the long run,” said Stilo. “Whereas we had 17 years worth of items, we now have to replace them.”

Stilo said another way to support the theater is to become a Season Ticket Holder. “A season ticket will help us weather these tragedies like a fire or a natural disaster.” Supporters are also asked to make a donation to Aurora’s Annual Fund. “The silver lining on this gray cloud of this fire is knowing how many people came out to support,” said Stilo.You can find more information about buying a season ticket or making a donation on their website www.auroratheatre.com.
Donations may also be mailed to:

Aurora Theatre
PO Box 2014
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
Questions may be directed to the Aurora Box office at 678-226-6222.