Victory Theatre

2021 Workshops Part 1

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Auditorium, Victory Theatre Holyoke, MA.

Here’s the workshop lineup for the first half of 2021. All of the workshops are limited in size and masks are required due to the ongoing pandemic.

Orchestra Level, Orpheum Theatre – New Bedford, MA.

First up is a return to the Orpheum Theatre in New Bedford, MA on May 1, 2021. This is one of my favorite workshops as there is so much to shoot. A theater, a ballroom, and a shooting range. To sign up visit: http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/orpheum-theatre-workshop

Auditorium, Everett Square Theatre – Boston, MA.

Up next is the Everett Square Theatre in Hyde Park, MA on May 15, 2021. This is a great one for people who haven’t photographed anything abandoned before. It’s a smaller theater,  but still has a lot of great details. To sign up visit: http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/everett-square-theatre-workshop

Auditorium, Victory Theatre Holyoke, MA

Next is one I haven’t done for a few years – The Victory Theatre in Holyoke, MA on June 12, 2021. The Victory was one of the first theaters I photographed, and the first one I held a workshop at back in 2014. To sign up visit: http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/victory-theatre-workshop

Auditorium, Colonial Theatre – Augusta, Maine.July 24, 2021, is a return to the Colonial Theatre in Augusta, Maine. When I first photographed this theater there was a giant hole in the middle of the auditorium,  luckily that has been fixed and it’s much easier to move around the place. To sign up visit: http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/colonial-theatre

Auditorium, Goodwill Theatre – Johnson City, NY

I had a workshop planned for the Goodwill Theatre in Johnson City, NY in April 2020 but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I’m still working with the owners on finalizing a date but it should be sometime in the Spring of 2021. I will put out an update the second the date is locked.

There are other locations in the works (outside of the New England area) but that announcement will have to wait for another day.

Photo Workshops 2016

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View of the Victory Theatre from the side of the balcony.

View of the Victory Theatre from the side of the balcony.

I’m excited to announce that I’ll once again be partnering with photographer/founder of Abandoned America, Matthew Christopher for photo workshops in 2016!

First, we will be returning to the Victory Theatre in Holyoke, MA on April 9, 2016.  The Victory Theatre opened on December 30, 1920 and closed 58 years late on December 15, 1978. It is currently owned by the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts, who plan to renovate the theater and reopen it as a performing arts center. Past workshops have generated over $4000 for MIFA.

More information as well as how to purchase tickets can be found at: http://www.abandonedamerica.us/after-the-final-curtain1abandoned-america1

View of the stage from the main level of the auditorium.

View of the stage from the main level of the auditorium.

We will also be returning to the Variety Theatre in 2016. The details for that workshop will be announced at a later date.

The Variety opened on November 24, 1927 and after a number of different uses (including a wrestling gym called the Cleveland Wrestleplex) closed in the late 1980s. The building was purchased by the Friends of the Historic Variety Theatre on June 12, 2009, and they plan to restore the theater as a multi-use venue.

For more information go to: http://www.abandonedamerica.us/the-variety-theatre-an-after

Q&A with Kathy McKean, Managing Director of MIFA Victory Theatre

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main floor, victory theatre

The main level of the auditorium.

I recently spoke with Kathy McKean – the Managing Director of the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts. MIFA owns and is renovating the Victory Theatre in Holyoke, MA. 

1. What is MIFA?

“MIFA is a Holyoke based International Festival that brings world-class events to Holyoke and the Pioneer Valley. MIFA’s 2011 Season included Hal Holbrook in ‘Mark Twain Tonight’ and Silent Film Night The Last Command. Other presentations in Holyoke have been Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’, contemporary Irish Dance in ‘Irish Cream’, Eddie Palmieri in Concert, a series of French Dance, Enchanted Circle Theatre in ‘Sojourners Truth’ and Mikhail Baryshnikov 2004 World Tour. MIFA is a vehicle for community restoration and historic and architectural preservation and is renovating and reopening the historic Victory Theatre, a 1600 hundred-seat Broadway style theater in downtown Holyoke. The iconic theater will be returned to its original use as a live theater house for Holyoke, the Valley and the Northeast.”

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Victory Theatre

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Balcony Level, Victory Theatre

The two Vincent Maragliotti murals on either side of the stage have been removed for restoration.

The Victory Theatre opened on December 31, 1920 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The 1,680 seat theater was built by Mowll & Rand, an architecture firm based out of Boston.  The firm was also known for the design of the Calvin Theatre in Northampton, Massachusetts. The Victory was commissioned by the brothers Samuel and Nathan Goldstein of Western Massachusetts Theatres Incorporated.

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