Moorestown Theater Company Proposes New Use for Old Library Building

Moorestown Theater Company Artistic Director Mark Morgan just wanted to get a dialogue going, and that’s what happened during Monday night’s council meeting at town hall.

He presented a petition to Moorestown Council, requesting use of the space on which the old library building currently stands.

The old library building has not been in use since construction on the new town hall and library complex wrapped up last year.

At the same time, council gave its approval to knock the old library building down after a study conducted by Ragan Design Group found it would cost about $3,400,000 to repair the old building and update it to meet current building codes. It would cost an additional $3,000,000 to fit the building for another use, bringing the grand total to $6,400,000.

Earlier this year, council discussed the possibility of using that spot for open space.

Morgan is proposing a brand new building be built in that spot. He said his group would raise whatever money is necessary to put a new building in that spot, but that the building would belong to the township. Moorestown Theater Company would rent the building from the township for a nominal fee, similar to the arrangement the township has with the Perkins Center for the Arts.

He collected 1,000 signatures for his petition.

There was some opposition from an independent performance artist who said the building should be open to all performers in the township. He said if the township moves forward with the plan that he hopes for a more modular setup that might benefit experimental performers who incorporate their surroundings into their performances.

Morgan reiterated that the proposed building would be open to not only other performers or performance groups in Moorestown, but those outside the township, as well as different schools and churches.

He said his theater company would only need the building for about 20 weekends a year. The rest of the weekends could be reserved for other organizations.

He said they could either charge a flat fee for those who wish to rent the building for performances, propose a 50/50 split with those who rent the theater for the day, or some hybrid of both.

As for whether the money would go to the township or the theater company, Morgan said that’s something that would have to be ironed out.

Council previously voiced concerns about traffic in the area, as well as parking in the municipal parking lot, which is home to the town hall, the new library and the rec center.

“I understand parking is a concern, but our performances would be when town hall is closed and during summer days when parking isn’t as much of a concern,” Morgan said.

“Town hall being closed doesn’t impact parking,” Township Manager Scott Carew said. “The biggest problems are the rec center and the library.”

Carew added that the township doing its due diligence before making a decision shouldn’t be seen as the township being “anti-theater.”

“This building costs $160,000 a year to operate, and there has to be a certain knowledge that we won’t end up with a similar albatross (as the old library) down the road.”

He also said that Rick Ragan of Ragan Design Group previously proposed an addition to the rec center that could be used for rehearsals by the theater company as well as displaying art work.

Members of council said they would be willing to look into the possibilities.

“I was pleased that council didn’t just say no,” Morgan said following the meeting.

He said he’s spoken to people interested in donating to the cause who want to make sure it will happen before committing any money. He’s also more encouraged to look into the specifics of how much it would cost and other factors.

The Moorestown Theater Company has been in existence for 13 years and has put on more than 100 shows, but has never had a home. It has performed in 12 buildings over this period.

Having a permanent home would be a great advantage for the theater company, which spends a lot of time moving equipment from one place to another.

“We could go room-to-room rather than moving everything by car,” Morgan said. “We just waste so much time. We could make our shows even better, and we’d have more time to focus on fundraising. We wouldn’t have to acquire rehearsal time. If we had our own place, I could just set the schedule. The customers would know where every show is. I’ve had people going to our fall show that go to where our spring show was and I have to explain to them ‘No, that was where that show was and this is where this show is.’”

The attached image is a Patch file photo