Virginia director talks upgrades, upcoming events and pivots

CHAMPAIGN — Between comedians, musicians, movies and theatrical productions, the Virginia Theatre is settling in for a bustling final quarter of 2024.

And while the theater is set to go dark for the first few months of 2025, parks officials are looking forward to coming back better than ever in April — and not just because of fly system upgrades.

The Champaign Park District’s board will vote on whether to purchase a $46,355.57 stage monitor system for the theater from TC Furlong Inc. at its 5:30 p.m. meeting today.

Virginia Director Steven Bentz wrote in a report to the board that while the park district upgraded the theater’s sound system in 2021 — which included “concert-quality loudspeakers, amplifiers, and a professional digital mixing console” — the facility still lacks a stage monitor system.

Such a system consists of specialized loudspeakers, a separate mixing console, amplifiers and “other peripherals” that are operated by professional sound engineers and allow performers to “better hear themselves and their fellow performers during a show,” Bentz said.

“It’s a piece of equipment we’ve never had in our inventory, and it’s pretty standard gear for a theater this size,” he told The News-Gazette.

At present, when an act doesn’t bring their own stage monitor system, the Virginia will lease one, which can cost as much as $1,000 to $2,500 per use or even more, Bentz said.

The theater’s stage monitor system will be paid for using $50,000 in grants that the Champaign Parks Foundation received from FedEx Cares. The grants also will cover $1,260 paid to Threshold Acoustic in January for consultation and design services on the project.

If any funds are left over, the parks district would look to spend these on “ancillary equipment” to support the system, Bentz said.

He is unsure when the stage monitor system will arrive.

“With any luck, we’ll have it before the end of this year, but if not, we’ll definitely have it, I would assume, before we reopen in April,” Bentz said.

The district’s board previously voted in August to approve a $635,990 bid from Bodine Electric to replace and upgrade the computer controls to the theater’s fly system.

According to Bentz, the Virginia will close this winter for the work, with Jan. 1, 2025, as its first day offline. The plan is to reopen for Ebertfest, which is set to run from April 23-26, 2025.

“These are just major upgrades to the space, and it will be a thrill to get the building reopened, fully upgraded in that way and see it so busy for the spring and into the summer,” Bentz said. “So we’re wanting to get through those months, do some projects, get advanced on the shows that are coming and just face a very busy 2025.”

There are some annual events that have had to pivot due to the closure.

Jenette Jurczyk, national director of That’s What She Said, said in a previous interview that next year’s event, which is set for Feb. 8, will be held at Parkland College. She added the show is scheduled to return to the Virginia on Feb. 28, 2026.

Bentz said the theater was able to block some dates out ahead of time to avoid cancelling bookings.

“There was an awful lot of things that were pitched to us that, unfortunately, we had to either shift to later in the year or let go,” he said. “And the number of the shows that we’ve had to simply say no to is relatively small, just because we were able to anticipate that issue.”

The park district’s youth theater program is trying to relocate its winter production due to the closure, he said, and the district’s spring dance arts production had to schedule a later date.

As for other local acts, Bentz said there are a couple of student organizations that typically use the Virginia for large dance competitions. UIUC UDAAN, a Bollywood dance competition, is usually held in late January and was not able to confirm a date with the Virginia for 2025, and the theater had to turn down Raas Mania, which is typically held in early February.

There were also touring shows they could not book due to the renovations.

While parks officials had discussed the possibility of having certain events moved to Krannert Center or the State Farm Center, he said that both venues have very busy schedules in early 2025.

“That’s all good news, as far as we’re concerned,” he said. “That means there’s a lot going on, no matter what.”

The 2024 fall season has been “nice and busy” for the Virginia and will continue to be so for the next few months, Bentz said.

The Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company’s recent production of “The Sound of Music” in August was a success, he said, and an audience of nearly 900 thoroughly enjoyed comedians Jen Smedley and Kristin Hensley in “#IMOMSOHARD” on Saturday.

“They were just as funny as could be,” Bentz said.

There are plenty of events on the theater’s calendar for the last three months of 2024, including:

• Comedians such as Brad Williams and Mike Birbiglia.
• Musicians such as Jeff Tweedy, Mannheim Steamroller, and Natalie Grant and Danny Gokey.
• Dramatic productions such as “Dracula, a Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really” by Illinois Theatre.
• A number of classic movies, such as “The Wizard of Oz.”
• The park district’s annual “Holiday in Whoville” event.

“We’re always doing something, so if there’s nothing on the calendar in between one of those big, touring shows, you can pretty much guess that we’re hosting a movie or a private rental, a private event,” Bentz said. “Or we’re building the show on the stage.”