The Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House is closing on Jan. 2, 2013 for two months to allow for extensive renovations and enhancements to the auditorium and projection booth, including new seats, new carpeting, new lighting, more legroom, and digital projection. The theater — one of the world’s leading and oldest archival venues — will reopen March 2.
The Dryden Theatre
The current theater seats are original to the Dryden when it opened in March 1951. They will be replaced with new ones larger in size and burgundy in color with wooden armrests. A “Take a Seat” campaign is currently under way for those wishing to sponsor and name seats. Darker paint, carpeting of all floor areas, and enhanced ceiling and aisle lighting — reminiscent of the great cinema houses of the past — will bring the new 500-seat Dryden a different look and improve overall sound absorption and minimize reflection on the screen.
The installation of a Barco digital projector will enable the Eastman House programming and projection staff to present contemporary cinema through digital media. A key component of this project is the museum’s commitment to honor the aesthetic choices of filmmakers by projecting moving images, both analog and digital, as they were meant to be seen — acknowledging the rise of digital formats while continuing to showcase historic film prints.
The Dryden is one of only five theaters in the country equipped for the projection of original nitrate film (film made before 1951) and this capacity will be maintained in the upgraded projection booth. The projection systems are being designed and installed by Boston Light & Sound. A new loop system for the hard-of-hearing also will be part of the 2013 renovation project, as well as automated masking for the screen to accommodate all cinematic formats. Dryden patrons will be pleased to learn the popular gold curtain, which rises before each screening, will be re-hung after the renovation and that the balcony layout is being reconfigured to allow for more legroom. This will lower the number of seats in the theater from its current 535 to 500 seats.
The Dryden Theatre is named for George Eastman’s niece, Ellen Dryden, and her husband, George, who funded its construction in memory of Eastman’s contribution to motion pictures. Eastman is heralded as the father of motion picture film, having provided the film for Thomas Edison’s movie machines beginning in 1889, and dominating the industry for all decades thereafter. The Dryden has welcomed hundreds of filmmakers and actors in its 62 years and more than 1 million audience members. The repertory screenings feature titles from studios, fellow archives, and the George Eastman House motion picture archive, which is the third largest in the United States. – www.eastmanhouse.org