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2015 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 848
Commending Swift Creek Mill Theatre.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 20, 2015
Agreed to by the Senate, February 25, 2015

 

WHEREAS, Swift Creek Mill Theatre, Chesterfield County’s only professional theater and one of the Richmond area’s premier theatrical venues, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2015; and

WHEREAS, Swift Creek Mill Theatre in Chesterfield County is housed in a historic gristmill that dates to 1663; the site is on the banks of Swift Creek and borders U.S. Route 301; and

WHEREAS, Swift Creek Mill Theatre was founded in 1965 by three local families who had a dream of bringing theater to residents south of the James River; today, the non-profit theater features five main stage productions each season, as well as three plays for young people and summer theater camps; and

WHEREAS, Swift Creek Mill Theatre offers the best of drama, comedy, musical theater, and children’s theater; many aspiring actors, musicians, directors, and other theater lovers have received their first professional stage experience at Swift Creek Mill Theatre; and

WHEREAS, in 2015, Swift Creek Mill Theatre continues its tradition of quality productions that appeal to a wide audience; the theater is presenting a musical premiere, Those Harvey Girls; an original barbershop musical, Two Bits; and its youth series includes Twain’s Tales and The Elves and the Shoemaker; and

WHEREAS, each season, more than half of the audiences at Swift Creek Mill Theatre are children; many young people in the area are economically disadvantaged and their visit to Swift Creek Mill Theatre may be their first introduction to live theater; and

WHEREAS, in addition to being an important cultural attraction in the Colonial Heights and Petersburg areas, Swift Creek Mill Theatre supports more than 50 full-time-equivalent jobs each year and puts more than $1.7 million back into the local economy; and

WHEREAS, the historic Swift Creek gristmill celebrated its 350th anniversary in 2013, and the theater also underwent a major renovation that year; the mill, which is a Virginia Historic Landmark, is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Swift Creek Mill Theatre in Chesterfield County on the occasion of its 50th anniversary in 2015; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the manager of Swift Creek Mill Theatre as an expression of the General Assembly’s congratulations and admiration for its five decades of producing quality theatrical performances as the Commonwealth’s oldest theater south of the James River and best wishes for the future.