Stranded

Why have I not been blogging at all recently? Well, I'll tell you...

I pace around the dimly light theater, glancing here and there, looking for a good angle. Now I'm up at the ticket booth, chatting with the manager and laughing at her amazing stories. I wander over to the concession stand and watch as one of the employees makes art with M&M's and water. I am at The Strand, and I am absorbing all I see and hear.

This has been my life for the past few weeks. For months now I have been researching and planning a documentary for a film class I am taking on campus. I'm not alone in my endeavor, I have a partner in crime: Lexie. She's the techie, I'm the artistic mind, we're an unstoppable team. Now we've truly immersed ourselves in The Strand, a historic, independently run movie theater in downtown Delaware, OH, and the subject of our film.

We love it. We've been magnetized to it. Maybe it's all the stories we've heard. Maybe it's the immense history that surrounds the building. Maybe it's the whirring of the film and the singing of the film platters as they spin. Maybe it's the anticipation of glimpsing one of the the ghosts that walk the halls, theaters, or projection booths. Maybe it's the friendly, personable, and laid back manager, Kara. Maybe it's the feeling of welcome you get when you smile and say hello to everyone working there and they smile back, ask you how you've been, and just take some time to talk. Maybe it's all these together, everything that makes The Strand such a rich and wondrous place. Whatever it is, I'm hooked, and there's no going back. It's grown on me, this theater, the way it's grown on hundreds who've worked there, grown up coming there, or even just have gone for a couple of shows. There's always something to see or hear at The Strand, there's never truly a dull moment.

The challenge for Lexie and I is capturing the spirit of The Strand. How can we put it all into one 30 minute film? I don't know, but we're going to try. Truly though, you must experience The Strand to really understand why I am so drawn to her, the theater that's been standing and showing pictures for 93 continual years. She's survived it all, and she will keep on running as long as she has people who love her as so many of us do.

If you're here in Delaware, come by sometime. You are missing a huge part of this town if you do not. Look for the old marquee lights, red and white, and follow them into a whole new experience. Tell Kara I sent you.

Image courtacy of Jacques Strappe on flicker.com