Lynn Gelormino has been the executive director of The Warner Theatre in Torrington for the past three years. But before that, she was a longtime volunteer involved with nearly every aspect of production, as well as front and back of the house. But her connection to the theater goes back even farther, because it was the Torrington native's go-to movie theater as a child, which explains why she is so passionate about it and proud of the community that continually supports it. With The Warner at the center of it all, Torrington is becoming more and more of an arts destination, something Gelormino has been championing for years. I was born and raised in Torrington, so the Warner has always been part of my life. When I moved back here to raise my children, I started volunteering and continued that for many, many years. I've worked in every single department, on some level, for the last 19 years. Three years ago, the board asked me to be the interim director while they looked for someone permanent. After a year as the interim, I thought, what the heck, I'll put in my application and go through the interview process to officially become executive director. I feel lucky to be doing something at my age that I'm so passionate about.
What is so magical about The Warner is that it's the ultimate grassroots story. Years ago, in the '80s, people wanted to tear down it down because they couldn’t keep up with the maintenance or compete with the big cinema chains. Community members got together to take out a loan and bought the building to protect it. Some of them would come at night and work on repairs, plaster the walls and do carpentry. A board was established to determine how much it would cost to restore The Warner. It came to $8.7 million, which the community raised. We have one gentleman who gives a monthly donation because he met his wife here back when it was a movie theater and it has such a close affinity to his heart. It's a community institution. We have national acts, but we owe a lot to this community.
I love all the Warner traditions, like Momix and anything from the Nutmeg Conservancy, which is right next door. Their Nutcracker is wonderful and we love having it on our stage. We're so rich with arts and culture in Northwest Connecticut. From Infinity Hall to the Thomaston Opera House, people have so many options. As people are more and more tied to their electronics, live theater begins to lose some of its audience. But you cannot replicate the sound and experience of live theater and I am passionate about exposing people to that. We have afternoon programming for schools; some students may not have ever been to a show before. And our most expensive community theater ticket is $30, so we keep it affordable. It sounds trite to say we have something for everyone, but we do try to program for all. Torrington is becoming an arts center. I always had rose-colored glasses because our downtown is so beautiful, but people are coming downtown and the Main Street Marketplace really proved that. Now we have Five Points Gallery and the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council, which which we collaborate. We have a grass roots movement for the arts downtown and we even have an arts relocation page for Torrington. A couple who wanted to get out of the city saw it on Facebook and came in to see about opportunities for young artists. I always say to people, if I can get people here, I can get them to fall in love with the place.
