Despite Smith’s best efforts, it hasn’t been easy for the Gray Duck during the pandemic. “We've had to close completely twice, limit our capacity, and only do curbside coffee,” he said. In 2020, the theatre’s revenue was down 83 percent from 2019.
Renting out the theater for private screenings, though, has worked. “It has been great,” Smith said. “We've already made more money in one month of focusing on rentals than in July when we first returned to regular showtimes.”
For non-members, the fee to rent the theatre is $150. For ‘Flying V’ members ($17-20 per month), the fee is $100. This is a reduction from the typical $250 rental fee in non-pandemic times, Smith said.
Both non-member and member rental options are for two and a half hours. Patrons can watch anything in the theatre they have personal, legal access to view. Those renting the theatre can bring in any food or beverage that doesn’t compete with Gray Duck’s coffee and drinks ($2.50-6.50 per beverage) and popcorn ($3.50-9.00 a “pop”). No alcohol is allowed. The maximum occupancy is 16 people.
If you have 16 people in your bubble, that’s only $9.37 per attendee. However, when I attended with my family of four, the per-ticket price was significantly higher.
But since it was the first time we’d felt safe enough to see a movie in a theater since the pandemic began, the splurge was worth it.
The Sievers set the sound and lighting jsut the way they liked it as the watched "The Personal History of David Copperfield" and ate lunch from Forager at their private showing in the Gray Duck Theatre & Coffee House.
When my family and I attended our private screening, besides feeling safe, we had a lot of fun having the entire theatre to ourselves. Daughters Abigail and Eleanor could try any seat in the house. The seating is currently clustered in arrangements of two or four, with each cluster spaced six feet apart.
We brought lunch along from Forager Brewery, which is right in the neighborhood, and got some sodas from Gray Duck, so we had both a private dining room and a private screening. We watched “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” an adaption of the Dickens novel. One of the things I liked about our experience is that we could have the lights and volume set to the level we felt comfortable with.
Smith hopes there may be a way for his theatre to survive and even thrive in 2021. Theatre rentals might be at least one of the answers. “Hopefully people are eager to return to the movies and events in the community,” he said. “Gray Duck is meant to build community around film, and I think people miss both things terribly. We look forward to having people discover and re-discover us in a post-pandemic world.”
If You Go
What: Private movie screening
Where: Gray Duck Theatre & Coffee House, 619 6th Ave. NW, Rochester
Cost: $150 non-members, $100 members (invoiced to email and paid by credit card)
How: Contact Andy Smith at andy@grayducktheatre.com to arrange a rental. More information at grayducktheater.com.
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