On Saturday, the Exeter Theater Company announced that it had of getting 1,000 members by March 31. In fact, the group eclipsed that goal by a healthy margin, finishing the month with a total of 1,340 supporters.
But as the Exeter Theater Company's Carol Walker Aten reminded everyone on Saturday, "this is just the beginning."
So what's the next step for Ioka owner Alan Lewis and the group working to revive the historic theater?
According to Walker Aten, she will meet today with Lewis's staff to go over his list of the next steps for the theater. Then she will take six days of well-deserved vacation.
When she returns, work will start on developing a business plan for the theater. There will also be a lot of contractors coming through the Ioka in the second week of April, she said.
"We're going to be seeing a whole new Ioka coming out in April," Walker Aten said.
And while she said she has no doubt the Ioka will be a theater again, she also acknowledges that there's a lot of work to be done before that dream becomes a reality.
"There are a lot of things to work out," Walker Aten said, including fundraising, once the business plan has been finalized. "We don't know the number yet."
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