First Street Community Center’s stage and First Street Community Center experienced a major act of vandalism Tuesday, July 4.
According to the board of directors of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Theatre, the incident happened sometime between noon and 4 p.m. Tuesday. A fire extinguisher was sprayed across the entire theatre space by parties unknown, damaging seat upholstery, carpets and technical equipment needed for the group’s coming show.
“Our soundboard was completely coated,” said the board of directors. “We are still conducting tests and cleaning the board to try and salvage it.”
As well, the signs supporting LGBTQ+ individuals were removed from the center. Rick and Trude Elliott said those would be replaced.
Moving forward, the theatre and gym spaces will be locked when there is no staff in the center to prevent incidents like this from happening again.
There are no cameras currently in the building, and the door to the theatre was unlocked to provide access to the elevator located in the theatre space. MVLCT is currently going through technical rehearsals for “Peter and the Starcatcher,” their summer show.
MVLCT is investigating security cameras and better shop vacs.
A police report was filed on the incident. Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department chief Doug Shannon noted that there have been other instances of vandalism in the community this summer, including spray painting that occurred to the space between the old fire station and Mount Vernon City Hall and damage to the Skate Park in uptown Mount Vernon.
Anyone who has information on any of these incidents is encouraged to contact the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department.
By Thursday, July 6, MVLCT had leads on sound boards they could borrow if their board did not function appropriately after being cleaned, as well as a lot of community support and outreach and offers for help. The upholstery and stage were also cleaned, thanks to the work of Bill Royer and Rick Elliott.
“The show will go on,” the board wrote. “We will not let this violation of our space deter us from our mission of providing inspiring quality theater for our community. Our cast and crew are incredible and we are so excited to share their work with you.”
MVLCT encouraged people to get their tickets now for their upcoming shows and continue to support the arts in the community.
“We simply do not have words for the gratitude we feel,” the board wrote. “Thank you for every share, kind word, donation and offer of help. We are so lucky to be loved by such a wonderful community.”
Remnants of fire extinguisher left on the floor of the community center auditorium.