Local Theatre Plays Well with Area Businesses

Theatergoers to Square One Theatre's performance of Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" last fall might have recognized a prop on the stage from a local restaurant.

Indeed, a large red chair from the lobby of Augustyn's Blue Goose Restaurant was used as a "regal fireside throne" during the production's five-week run last year, said Richard Pheneger, the theatre's general manager. 

"The Monkswell Manor (the setting of the play) is a converted old mansion and we needed something that looked regal to fit our set," said Pheneger.

Carole Fanslow, a member of the Friends of Square One Theatre, suggested the high-backed red leather chair at Augustyn's Blue Goose Restaurant, said Pheneger. The restaurant's owner, Bill Augustyn, signed on to the idea and let the theatre borrow it for five weeks, he said.

In thanking the restaurant, artistic director Tom Holehan presented Augustyn on Saturday, July 9, with a three-paneled frame depicting two photos of the chair as it was used in "The Mousetrap," along with a formal thank-you note in the center.

A "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours" approach

Working with area businesses is nothing new for the theatre located at 2422 Main St.

"While we are in production we go to various restaurants, and certain restaurants agree to give a discount to theatergoers who eat there [before a performance]," said Pheneger. Such businesses include Station House Wine Bar & Grill, Acapulcos Mexican Restaurant and Rivenova, he said. "We try and work out something that is beneficial to all restaurants within walking distance of the theatre."

Over the past three years, Tom Fellegara, owner of Stratford Floral, has donated 300 flowers for each production, said Pheneger. At the end of a performance, women can pick up a complimentary flower -- in past years it's been a rose, a carnation or a tulip -- on their way out of the theatre. Along with the flower is a coupon to Fellegara's shop at 2505 Main St.

Fellegara estimates he gives away 2,000 flowers a year to Square One Theatre patrons. In turn, his business is rewarded through word-of-mouth advertising in this "grassroots" approach, he said.

Square One Theatre is currently on summer hiatus. The next production to premiere at the theatre on Nov. 4 is "Time Stands Still," which is a play about a sudden return to domestic life.

Holehan is still casting for the production, and will hold general auditions at the Stratford Library in September.

Pheneger said the household setting will require a lot of "knickknacks," which means the theatre might reach out to local antique dealers to help adorn the stage.