Variation on a venue

The Hartley/Vey Theatres are coming out from the shadow of the Manship Theatre with an event to encourage new uses for the fledgling spaces. An Aug. 10 fundraiser—dubbed “The Next Stage,” with music from Prom Date—is set to raise money toward the rebranding and creation of a separate identity for HVT.

And if it’s successful, Manship Theatre’s Director of Marketing John Kaufman will lose his three-years-in-the-making five o’clock shadow in support.

“John’s gotten a lot of attention in the past year with the changes made at the Manship and downtown—a lot of people know him,” says Liz Siccone, Manship Theatre’s director of grants and memberships. “’Shave John Kaufman’ is kind of a fun face for launching [the HVT changes].”

Along with the Shave John Kaufman campaign, the Manship team formed a community committee and a Kickstarter campaign that will be active this month. Hartley/Vey Theatres includes a studio space with a 175-person capacity for concerts, seminars and more, and a workshop and rehearsal space.

“The community needed to have a say-so and be vested,” says Heather Kleinpeter Savoy, director of community relations. “We got people we knew, artists and some others who believe in the space and want to see it succeed.”

The HVT has had limited usage, mostly through renting the space. Changes will include opening it up to the community, booking all-ages events, earlier showtimes, lower ticket prices, memberships and artist-friendly workshops.

Kaufman sees the HVT as an extension of the city’s creative boom. “I think [the Baton Rouge arts scene] gets better and better every day,” he says.

There will also be physical changes to the theatres later this year, giving them a separate entrance to North Boulevard’s Town Square and bathrooms. These changes are funded through a larger Shaw Center renovation.

Besides the poppy dance music of Prom Date, the Aug. 10 event will encourage community support through HVT memberships and donations and, of course, converting Kaufman to a baby face.

WHAT: Hartley/Vey Theatres fundraiser, featuring Prom Date
WHEN: Aug. 10
WHERE: Hartley/Vey Theatres in the Shaw Center
ONLINE: manshiptheatre.org