Saratoga News

Eagle Wing Theater Company makes slow but steady progress

By Sarah Lombardo

It's been almost a year since the idea was first introduced, but plans are still in the works for turning an aging barn in Saratoga Village into a theater. Ken Carter, music director at the Saratoga Presbyterian Church, said the project is moving slowly but progressing just the same.

"We're still in a money-raising phase right now," Carter said.

Carter and his EagleWing Theater Company have worked out a deal to lease the barn, located behind Bella Saratoga restaurant. Carter said he hopes to renovate the former warehouse into a 140-seat theater.

"We're doing person-to-person, one-on-one fundraising at the moment," Carter said. "That will expand at a later date."

A task force is also in the works and will be in charge of moving the project along, Carter said.

Eventually, Carter hopes the new theater will house a repertory company that would stage productions concentrating on family values.

The barn used to be home to the Sam Cloud Hay and Feed Warehouse and was built in the early 1900s. As it stands now, the building is used only for storage and needs work to be brought up to safety standards.

Carter first presented the idea of the theater to the Saratoga Business Development Council early in the year, and to the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce last March.

Bill Cooper, owner of Bella Saratoga, said he thought the theater would be a good addition to the Village, a good use of the building and in line with Saratoga's identity as a place for the arts.

Cooper said his only concern about the proposed theater would be parking, pointing out that theater-goers park their cars and leave them for hours at a time.

"But I think that it's something that we can work out," he said. "It's not an insurmountable obstacle."

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