The Rigas Family Theater, located within the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, has been grossly overused this season, its agent says.
The agent for St. Bonaventure University’s Rigas Family Theater said Monday her client was weary and worn out due to recent overuse.
“St. Bonaventure has been riding Rigas Theater for several weeks now and it has taken its toll,” said Scarlett Borrus, in a press conference. “The theater is not used to carrying such a load and refuses to host another event for at least one week.”
Borrus said Saturday’s four-hour Rock the Vote event, during which Rigas Theater hosted three bands on its stage, physically exhausted the 13-year-old structure.
“The theater complained of stage soreness and just generally feeling like its structure had turned jelly, with an overwhelming need to just lay down,” she said. “Our specialist originally thought it was meningitis, it was so bad. Even though it’s not, he recommended an extended period of rest.”
Rigas Theater came to St. Bonaventure as a package deal with the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, which shares Borrus as an agent, in January 1995. Since then, Borrus has restricted university use of the structures, as they are self-operated.
St. Bonaventure spokesman Colton Crosswire said St. Bonaventure’s administration would resolve the issue internally, but noted the theater should be able to handle more responsibility.
“We understand Ms. Borrus’ reasoning in wanting to keep her client fresh and well-rested,” Crosswire said, “but we also believe that Rigas Theater is underutilized for as nice a structure as it is. We’d love to make more use of it because it’s such a wonderful space.”
For several years, university community members have complained about the difficulty involved with booking Rigas Theater.
“We tried hosting a poetry slam there two years ago,” said senior Patty Duncan, former Poetry Club president. “[Borrus] just wasn’t having it. She said Rigas was a big-event theater only. Well, you don’t get in the Hall of Fame by hosting only the big events.”
Besides Rock the Vote, the theater has recently hosted several speakers on its stage and will accommodate SBU Theater’s production of “Dead Man Walking” for four nights in early November. Borrus noted this was an especially heavy load in comparison with past years.
Crosswire said St. Bonaventure was considering putting the theater on the 15-day out-of-commission list, but only after its own specialist examined it.
“We’d like to make sure Ms. Borrus’ claims are substantiated,” he said.
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