Displaying items by tag: Teddy Foster

Universal Preservation Hall, a new 700-seat theater-in-the-round performance space, just prior to the first-night opening of the doors, on Feb. 29, 2020. Photos by SuperSource Media, LLC.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — “How do you like us now!”

Teddy Foster beamed beneath the sparkle of stage lights Saturday night, unveiling the grand room to the eyes of several hundred theater goers. 

“I’ve been waiting to say that a long time,” said the newly named director of Universal Preservation Hall, which stands on Washington Street, one block west of Broadway. “A really, really long time.” 

Foster joined the board at UPH in 2006, became its president three years later and has stewarded the grand old church building from the brink of obliteration to its present-day promise as a thriving performance and community center in downtown Saratoga Springs.

It was built in 1871 and served as a Methodist church for its first 100 years, as well as playing a role in the city’s civic life by providing a venue for visiting statesmen including Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, William Jennings Bryan and Frederick Douglass. But by the 1960s, it had fallen on hard times. Downtown Saratoga was in decline and the Methodist congregation relocated to a new building outside of town. The church sat empty for several years. A local Baptist congregation bought it for $18,000 in 1976 but hadn’t the means to preserve and restore the aging structure.

In 2000, the city condemned the building. Local preservationists organized a nonprofit group and reached out to the Baptist congregation to help save the structure. Donations paid for an initial wave of renovation work beginning in 2003. The building was stabilized but the restoration effort ground to a halt with the economic collapse of 2008-09.

The venue had housed a smattering of events in recent years – from fashion shows to First Night celebrations, and concerts by Colin Hay and John Sebastian. Max Weinberg – drummer of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, brought his 15-piece big band to UPH in 2010, and Brooklyn-based band Cuddle Magic performed a memorable mixed-media show at the hall with pianist Phyllis Chen and novelist and short story writer Rick Moody in 2014. Because the renovations were only partly completed, however, the maximum occupancy of the hall was severely restricted.

 “I was smart enough to realize I needed either a plan to move forward or an exit plan,” Foster said, speaking about the future of UPH in 2015. “You’re remembered not for how you start something but how you leave it. I didn’t want to be remembered as the woman who let down Universal Preservation Hall. So, we got busy.”

In the summer of 2015, following three years of discussions, an operating alliance was created with Proctors, the historic theater in downtown Schenectady that has served as a performing arts destination in that city since the 1970s.

A $13.5 million renovation project followed. The original stained glass windows and the building’s pews have been restored. New seating descends from the rear balcony and, on the other end of the 7,000 square-foot room, ascend into the apse. Movable platforms allow the space to open up, depending on the requirements of any given performance. There is a new glass atrium entryway and elevator, and a state-of-the-art sound system. The architecture maintains its Gothic accents and re-opened to the public on Feb. 29, Leap Day.     

“When we saw it was possible to open on this day, we leapt,” quipped Proctors CEO Philip Morris on opening night. The Proctors Collaborative includes Proctors in Schenectady, Albany’s Capital Repertory Theatre and now UPH in Saratoga Springs. 

The 700-seat theatre-in-the-round set-up is not alien to longtime regional theater goers, sharing the performer-audience intimacy of the former Starlite Music Theater - which began its life as the Colonie Musical Theater in 1958, before taking the more familiar Colonie Coliseum name in the early 1970s. 

It seems fitting Rosanne Cash was selected as the debut performer in the re-christening of the grand hall. The eldest daughter of Johnny Cash was 9 years old when the Man In Black performed at the 5,000-seat Convention Hall on Broadway on a November night in 1964 in support of his then-new album “I Walk The Line.” One year later, Saratoga Springs’ largest indoor venue went up in flames. The emergence of UPH marks the return of a mid-sized, year-round venue to the downtown district. According to a statement issued in 2018, UPH will serve an estimated 65,000 visitors per year, with a $3.5 million annual economic impact as a year-round venue space. 

As for parking, UPH is located within a few hundred feet from the four-level parking garage on Woodlawn Avenue. The structure, built in 2012, holds about 450 vehicles. The garage will provide easy access to a planned glassed-in entryway to the east of the hall’s current entrance.

Upcoming concerts at UPH include:  An Evening with Chris Botti 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 6. $79.50 - $179.50; Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame Ceremony 6 p.m. Monday, March 9, $50; Howard Jones Acoustic Trio 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14, $29.50 - $69.50; Irish Hooley with the Screaming Orphans 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 15, $25.

Rochmon Record Club which began its monthly gathering under the guidance of music savant Chuck Vosganian, AKA “Rochmon,” will mark its return to UPH at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, when the offering will feature a presentation of Paul Simon’s “Graceland.” Tickets are $25.

Tickets for all shows are available by phone at 518-881-4500, online at universalpreservationhall.org or at the Box Office at 25 Washington St. 

Photos provided.

Initially fearing the challenge of saving Universal Preservation Hall, Teddy Foster has fallen in love with what she calls "our beautiful old gal."  When the $9.4 million renovation will be completed next year, 'the opportunities will be endless,' she says. 

Originally built in 1871 as a Methodist Episcopal Church, Universal Preservation Hall (UPH) became a hub for the creative economy of Saratoga Springs and remained so for over a century.  The Church was built as not only a place of worship but also as a venue for famous speakers of that era. Presidents William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt have spoken there, as has the abolitionist Frederick Douglass. The congregation, Saratoga residents and summer visitors by the hundreds attended. Almost 100 years later (1976), the Methodists sold the building to the Universal Baptist Church. The building fell into dangerous disrepair and so the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation and the City became involved in 1999 to move the congregation to a safe venue and condemn the building.  The situation looked hopeless. 

In 2000, a group of concerned citizens led by Jeff Pfeil and Tom Lewis formed a partnership with Reverend Minnie Burns of the Universal Baptist Church to restore the building as well as create a non-profit community cultural center. With a successful $3 million fund-raising campaign to salvage and stabilize the building for seasonal use, Universal Preservation Hall was "born" in 2003. 

Teddy Foster entered the picture in 2006. Shortly after moving back to Saratoga Springs after three years in Virginia, where she had been working for Genworth Financial, she joined the UPH board at the request of a friend. 

Reluctant at first because preserving and renovating the building seemed to be an overwhelming project, Foster remembers thinking, “Dear God, please don't ask me to be on your board! Please, no. I don't have anything to offer you.” 

She tells this story with humor that's infectious. That's one of many qualities that makes her a great fundraiser. Elected president of the UPH Board in 2009, Foster led the group until 2015 when she negotiated an affiliation with Proctors Collaborative in Schenectady. At that time, she stepped down as board president to be hired as the capital campaign director. Wayne Akey followed in her footsteps as board president and in January 2019, Kathleen Fyfe, program director of Leadership Saratoga, for the Saratoga County of Chamber of Commerce, has been named to lead UPH's board.

It was anything but love at first sight for Foster, but she soon fell head over heels for this huge, crumbling structure and became a passionate preservationist. Working as a volunteer for many years driving UPH's preservation and, now, as paid staff (Campaign Director) to raise $5.5 million toward a restoration that will cost in total $9.4 million. 

“Back then, UPH had no money to pay me,” she smiles. So, Foster started a health and wellness business she called "Foster Good Health" so that she had some income while she did the important work she wanted to do for UPH.

With a background in sales training from her 12-year career with Genworth Financial, Foster has used the sales skills she used to teach others to obtain donors for UPH's Capital Campaign.

The 'Living Room' of Saratoga 

“I’ve always viewed it as a blank canvas,” says Foster, describing the vast array of events for which the new UPH can be used.  Both the 700-seat theater in the round upstairs and the 200-seat community room can be rearranged to accommodate virtually any event. 

UPH will focus on presenting more than 200 nights a year of music, live theater, Broadway cabaret, and more. The Great Hall that's the main performance space will have excellent acoustics, lighting and sight lines.  There will be comfortable seating and a movie screen that can be lowered from the ceiling. 

“I think all we are doing is very cool and makes UPH unique,” Foster says, delighted by her vision of the Great Hall. "The opportunities provided by a newly renovated UPH are endless. We'll be the 'community living room' of Saratoga the year round." 

For the last several months, Foster and her operations manager, Mary Beth McGarrahan, have been working out of temporary offices at 3 Franklin Square. They'll stay there until early spring 2020, when the building is scheduled to open if all stays on schedule. Foster is confident that will happen, given the team of contractors, and acoustic/theatrical engineers that are working on the building. 

"Saratoga does not have a downtown cultural center that's year-round,” she says. “People come here, and they say, 'There's so much culture here.’ No, not all year round. UPH will fill that gap and ensure the long term economic good health of Saratoga Springs and the surrounding region." 

”UPH is in the heart of downtown and will be open almost every day of the year," she continues. "We look forward to lots of collaboration with other arts organizations, local and regional. It's going to be a place people can walk to and share wonderful cultural and community experiences," she promises. 

A 'Game Changer' 

The road for UPH has been long and challenging but all obstacles have been overcome.  Thirteen years after her first involvement with UPH, Foster is excited to be under construction on the massive restoration.  She's just $300,000 from achieving the project's $5.5 million fund-raising goal. 

“The bulk of the financial resources for the restoration have come from generous individuals and businesses who have given their support because they believe in our vision and understand how important UPH will be to a vital and vibrant Saratoga Springs and surrounding region in the future,” Foster notes. 

"We call UPH our 'beautiful old gal' and are dedicated to its future as a thriving venue for all to enjoy.  We know that Saratogians and visitors will benefit year-round and enjoy their experiences with us for years to come. Please join us!"

A student-driven communications agency, the SMARTACUS Creative Group is dedicated to the economic and cultural development of Upstate New York. 
A senior at Saratoga Springs High School, Ben Weatherwax is president of the chamber orchestra and a member of the varsity rowing team.  Ben enjoys fishing, skiing, and spending time outdoors.