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FAIR THEATRE
Rental Agreement, Effective January 1, 2011 
 The
Town of Somerville purchased the Fair Theatre in 1999 from
Mr. And Mrs. Norman Fair. The Fairs built the movie theatre
in 1935, and on a special night in October of 1935, the projectors
were turned on for the first time in the new theatre building
on East Market Street of downtown Somerville, Tennessee. The
Fairs continued to show movies until the theatre was damaged
by fire in June of 1953. It was renovated and reopened in
April of 1954. The new theatre featured wide-screen CinemaScope
pictures with improved sound.
Mr. and Mrs. Fair were a vital part
of employment for the youth and teenagers of Fayette County,
utilizing them in every aspect of the theatre, from selling
tickets, running the projector, working concessions, and ushering.
Age and declining health prompted
the Fair family to sell the theatre to the Town of Somerville
in 1999. Since the Town acquired the theatre, it has benefited
the community for a variety of uses, including its original
purpose of showing movies, local religious groups have held
worship services there, youth meetings and musicals, and puppet
shows for children. The American Cancer Society Relay-for-Life
teams continue to use it as a fund raising location, holding
musical shows and beauty pageants. Several groups have leased
the theatre to hold family musical events. Political groups
have used the facility for political rallies. The Fayette
County Cotton Festival holds a live auction annually in the
theatre, plus other Cotton Festival events. Professional story
tellers, in conjunction with the Fayette County Library and
the Memphis Arts Council hosted the Fayette County School
children for a storytelling event.
The theatre was the stage for acting
lessons for local children taught by Ms. Irene Crist, an actress
originally from Maryland. Ms Crist assisted in the great effort
to revive the performing arts of Tennessee with her weekly
instruction of adolescent and youth.
We have hosted the Germantown Symphony
Orchestra and the Opera of Memphis, sponsored by The Bank
of Fayette County, for our citizens to experience the culture
of a live symphony. It has been used for a 6th grade graduation/promotion
ceremony.
FAIR Theatre began live plays in 2006, and continues to present such as "Always...Patsy Cline",
"Smoke on the Mountain", "Diamond Studs...The
Life of Jesse James", and "Our Town". Local
actors and musicians were used to produce these plays. Many
volunteers and sponsors help make these presentations possible.
The purpose of the Fair Theatre is
to produce the highest quality professional theatre of artistic
merit for the people of West Tennessee, residents of Somerville,
Tennessee, Fayette County, Tennessee, and the surrounding
areas, drawing the citizens of these areas closer together,
and allowing the different schools and cultures to pull together
and work together for the benefit of our citizens.
The Fair Theatre has four goals:
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To have an impact
on people's lives by creating theatre that simultaneously
questions and entertains .... |
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To develop within
the community an appreciation for ... And an understanding
of .... The art of theatre and its themes .... |
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To make theatre
central to Somerville's surrounding towns, Fayette County's
adjoining counties, and the metropolitan Memphis, Tennessee
area .... |
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To make an artistic
contribution to the American Theatre by developing a creative
environment where talented theatre artists can work on
classical, contemporary, and new plays of merit and stature
.... |
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JUDY
H. SIDES
Theatre Coordinator
Town of Somerville, TN
Date of Hire: December 10, 2001 |
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The Fair Theatre is governed by The
Town of Somerville Marketing and Business Development Committee,
Sandra Myers, Chairperson. It is under the direction of the
Theatre Company, composed of Alderperson
Sandra Myers, Theatre Coordinator
Judy Sides, and Property Master and Set Designer Bridget German.
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