The Roanoker - January/February 2015 - 66

tion in 2015. As always, the company's "Nutcracker"
performance in December at the Roanoke Civic Center
will be a highlight, but May will see the performance
of the popular "Cinderella" and March 18, the Step
Sister Goal will be held in the Crystal Ballroom at the
Hotel Roanoke.
There will be master classes and a performance at
Festival in the Park, as well as other fundraisers that
will help meet the funding goal of between $175,000
and $180,000 ("Nutcracker" alone costs between
$50,000 and $60,000 to produce, says Szalay, but also
brings in enough money from corporate support and
ticket sales to just about break even).
"This is my ninth year," says Szalay, "and we have
taken the company to a different level with paid staff
and a lot of volunteers. It is rare to sustain this type of
organization for 25 years. We are bringing professional
productions to the community." svballet.org

Rocky Mount's Harvester Performance Center is a
popular new destination.

ROANOKE BALLET THEATRE
RBT Executive Director Sandra Maythaler is looking
excitedly at its three major performances in 2015 and,
"We will also perform at events like the Latin Festival
and Local Colors, and at the invitation of other organizations, for instance, the Ballet and Butterflies events at
the Science Museum."
Maythaler says marketing has changed with the
times. "Using social media has become a much larger
part of advertising and maintaining audiences," she says.
"People are much more media-savvy than in the past,
and demand to know about events at the touch of their
fingertips."
That adaptation to the modern world continues
through just about everything. Says Maythaler: "Right
now the Center in the Square organizations, of which
we are one, are working on developing new ways for the
organizations to work collaboratively for the benefit of
all. CITS has released a new ticketing opportunity where
the public can visit many museums or performances at a
reduced ticket price. These kinds of strategies should be
helpful to draw people to our organizations."
The annual budget, Maythaler says, "has remained
fairly constant in the last several years, maybe because we
were hit economically earlier than some other organizations. We work on a tight budget, but continue to look
for every opportunity to 'reduce/reuse/recycle' materials
to reduce our operating budget.
"We utilize volunteers extensively, repaint sets instead
of starting from scratch, reuse or recycle costumes, rent
out our studio space, and apply for as many grants as
possible."
roanokeballet.org

HARVESTER PERFORMANCE CENTER
This music venue in Rocky Mount has become a regional

66 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Mill Mountain Theater's Ginger Poole
rehearsing for the immensely popular "To Kill a
Mockingbird," presented recently.

star in less than a year. Begun in April with the goal of
drawing 20,000 people in the first year, it had 15,000 in
four months and met the goal easily shortly thereafter
with acts like Asleep at the Wheel, the Bacon Brothers,
Dan Hicks, Patty Larkin, Marshall Tucker, Livingston
Taylor, Atlanta Rhythm Section and a lot more, appearing
with extraordinary frequency.
The former warehouse seats 480 (570 standing) and
can be configured for each show as needed. Downstairs
is the Landing Pad, a venue for small shows.
"We feature all genres: beach twice a month, country,
rock, comedians, bluegrass," says assistant GM Sheila Silverstein, who gave up her job in Baltimore to join what
she calls an "exciting" new venue. The Harvester lured
veteran performance venue developer and concert promoter Gary Jackson as its general manager and he has
kept both the road and the stage hot since starting.
"We're drawing from Roanoke, Lynchburg, Seattle,
Ohio, Wales, Australia, everywhere," says Silverstein.
"The draw is fan-based." The Town of Rocky Mount's
council is behind the creation of the Harvester. "It was
their dream for 10 years. It's about economic developTHE

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The Roanoker - January/February 2015

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