by K. G. Beavers, Messenger Staff Writer
The Sewanee Union Theatre, affectionately known as the SUT, has been showing movies since the 1920s and is one of the oldest movie theatres around. Lately, the SUT has been idle because of persistent problems with the projector.
“The 35-millimeter projector is old,” said Alex Bruce, associate dean of students for campus life. “We were looking at a movie artifact that was plagued with problems.”
Each semester, he said, “we had one major issue with this projector that normally could be fixed. This time, the problem was that we needed a new part to make the projector work, which proved to be difficult as this projector and its parts are not made anymore. Our repairman said we could get used parts to fix the projector. The question was, would the projector work with the used parts? Then, what would be the next problem down the line?” said Bruce.
The best solution was buying a new digital projector for the SUT, which the University purchased. “The University agreed the SUT was vital to the life of the whole community and bought the projector,” said Bruce. “SUT will have to pay for it in the long term.”
One of the ways the SUT will be able to pay for the projector is with a new pricing structure beginning at the end of May. All students, elementary through college, will still pay $3 for a ticket. Non-students will pay $4 for a ticket. Bruce says concession prices will not go up.
Bruce encourages all who have current SUT movie passes to use those before the end of the semester.
With the added income from increased ticket sales, another way the SUT will recover the cost is through shipping prices. It costs approximately $150 to ship cans of film. The cost to ship a DVD is around $20. Bruce expects it will take three to four years to pay back the money. The SUT will still have to pay licensing fees to show the films, which cost at least $700 per film. The new digital projector opens up a world of possibilities for the SUT. “This could be a truly student-run project,” he said, including festivals of locally made films.
Bruce said that while the SUT was closed, broken chairs were replaced, and the screen was made larger by removing some of the black mat. “Now we really have the largest screen between Chattanooga and Tullahoma,” said Bruce.
“The sound system was also enhanced without having to replace the whole sound system.”
Currently, work-study students help to run the concessions and the ticket booth. The projectionists are community members. University admissions counselor Sarah Butler picks the movies to show that would be popular with the students and the community. Groups of families run the SUT during the summer. In the future, Bruce thinks students will be trained to run the new digital projector. Bruce also wants to have a celebration of the SUT.
Bruce said there is a way for the community to become involved with the SUT. “We are suggesting a community organization run the Friends of the SUT to help with costs,” said Bruce. “This would also help the Cinema Guild and expand summer offerings.”
The Cinema Guild, a student organization, presents free films once a week during the academic school year. The SUT presents second-run movies Thursday through Sunday. The SUT is located in the Thompson Union on South Carolina Avenue. For box office information call 598-1500.
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