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The Tull Family Theater
The Tull Family Theater is a film-based arts organization created to strengthen cultural, educational and entertainment experiences in the region northwest of Pittsburgh.

The Tull Family Theater provides an additional cultural option to communities northwest of Pittsburgh: cinematic arts programming. With few offerings of this sort otherwise, the immediate communities don’t even benefit from a regular movie theater. Nearby underserved communities feel this cultural void more strongly, as limited public transportation routes and no financial assistance make it very challenging to attend the multiplexes. Arthouse films, typically available only in metro areas, will be accessible to communities on the edges of Allegheny County and in Beaver, Butler and Washington counties.

Strategically located in Sewickley, the theater will present quality programming that will appeal to children, teens, families and seniors as well as cinematic connoisseurs. The theater plans to leverage the benefit of the arts through cross-promotion and collaboration with other nonprofits, schools and universities.

Brief History
In October 2011, a group of Sewickley area leaders identified a resource missing from communities northwest of Pittsburgh: an arthouse film theater. The group studied cinematic art trends developing throughout the country and concluded that the best approach would be to create a nonprofit theater that could propel change for the better within the region.

The group named its effort “Village Theater Company,” formed an active board, established itself as a nonprofit organization and initiated conversations with key organizations such as Robert Morris University, Sewickley Valley YMCA, Laughlin Memorial Library in Ambridge, and Laughlin Children’s Center in Sewickley, which serves children and families from over 30 school districts.

Sewickley Borough demonstrated its belief in the initiative by offering an attractive land-lease deal, reducing the total funds needed for construction. The 29-year lease is renewable with the option to purchase the property in the heart of Sewickley’s business district. To establish that local residents would support this effort, the group focused on fundraising within the community. Once individual commitments passed $1M in early 2015, fundraising expanded to include corporate sponsorship and foundation interest.

Early in 2016, Thomas and Alba Tull sponsored the naming rights for the building, which became The Tull Family Theater. Since then, Esmark and the Bouchard Family have shown their support by sponsoring the naming rights for the flexible community room, which will serve as a space for live, small-scale performances, educational outreach and special events. Huntington Bank has joined the effort with sponsorship of a screening room and will extend further resources for programming and outreach.

Steps to Opening
In 2014, TribLive had written another article about the theater's interest in additional parking. The theater wanted ample space for patrons and discussed the possibility of a parking garage in the future. TribLive wrote an additional article later that year: Hoeys Run Project Holding Up Sewickley Theater Project. The article detailed the lengthy process of stabilizing Hoey's Run-a stream that runs beneath the property-, and this process would then delay breaking ground until further notice though theater was financially ready. After consideration of Hoey's Run, The Village Theater Company had decided to push the location back in order to accommodate for Hoey's Run. This was good news for the theater, as it allows them to break free of the complications with Hoey's Run. More on this is detailed in the TribLive article: Stream Alters Theater Blueprint in Sewickley. The conflict of Hoey's Run is further mentioned in John Linko's blog, as he and his mother have witnessed the damage that Hoey's Run can wreak.

In 2015, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote an article detailing the plans for the construction, design, and branding. The article states: "The Village Theater Co. has named the building the Vanguard Theater and introduced a new logo in varying shades of red and white. The logo depicts V-shaped klieg lights, used in filmmaking. The 'V' in the logo also represents the trusses of the Sewickley Bridge." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also stated that The Village Theater Company plans on beginning construction in the summer of 2015.

The Opening
Right around the time of opening in 2016, The Tull Family Theater was heavily recognized in the media. Carolina Beyers notes the excitement for opening and offering these resources to the Sewickley community. Beyers and president, Brain Duggan, also detail their gratitude and appreciation for the support from the Sewickley community in TribLive. Moreover, director of communications, Karen Ferrick-Roman notes her excitement for the project and her gratitude for the support she has received. She also notes the importance of this nonprofit organization and having this theater in Sewickley. The Tull Family Theater was also picked up by CBS Pittsburgh. The article noted the facilities offered at The Tull Family Theater and its similarities to The Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill.

In 2017, TribLive wrote an article announcing that the Sewickley Borough has plans to use the space where Hoey's Run for a park, making a more grand entrance to The Tull Family Theater. In another article written by Triblive, it details the design for the park space.

Outreach and Impact
Ever since the beginning concepts of what is now The Tull Family Theater, news articles have been written in great anticipation. In 2016, TribLive had written an article detailing the naming of The Tull Family Theater. In the article, the theater is recognized as being vital and a huge contributor to the Sewickley community. The article goes on the say, "leaders first announced plans late in 2011 to bring a movie theater back to Sewickley after a nearly 30-year hiatus. Since then, the group raised $1.5 million in donations and pledges."

By 2013, the theater had been getting even more recognition. TribLive wrote a piece titled "Forward Thinking: Sewickley's Cultural Venues have Big Plans for Next Year." In this piece, Barron notes the progress that had been made up until 2013. By 2013, the theater had created a team of board members including Janis Pereira, secretary, Doug Florey, Susan Kaminski, vice president, and Brian Duggan, president. Additionally, Barron notes how the theater plans to host events the go beyond just film and to outreach to other organizations in and surrounding Sewickley.

In 2016, The Tull Family Theater began to reach out to the public and get involvement from the Sewickley community. As a part of the annual Harvest Festival in Sewickley, The Tull Family Theater offered hard-hats tours around the construction site as well as the chance to try out the movie theater seats. This was detailed in a TribLive article.

Ever since the opening of The Tull Family Theater in 2017, the theater has received a numerous amount of praise and recognition from the media. On May 10th, 2017, the Sewickley Herald had recognized The Tull Family Theater as the 2017 Citizen of the Year. In this article, the Sewickley Herald applauds The Tull Family Theater for boosting the cultural offerings of the region. The Tull Family Theater has also been mentioned in Steel Cinema and well-praised in the Pittsburgh Magazine's "Sewickley's Shining New Cinema."

The story and information surrounding The Tull Family Theater has been well represented in the media, as the theater has been featured on multiple occasions in the Sewickley Herald, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Film Journal International, Pittsburgh Business, Beaver County News, and Tribune-Review. In these articles, writers tell the story of how a small group of Sewickley leaders came up with a dream and that dream turned into a well recognized and praised business.

Sponsorship and Support
In 2016, there was a significant increase in momentum mentioned in a TribLive article, as the Tull Family had sponsored naming rights for the Sewickley movie theater. Previously named the Vanguard Theater, the theater would now be named The Tull Family Theater. A partial owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the founder of Legendary Pictures,Thomas Tull's involvement is "'rocket fuel. Our initiative is now stronger and poised to make a more powerful impact in the region,'" states executive director, Carolina Beyers. The signing rights was additionally mentioned in Worldwide News in an article titled Tull Sponsor Sewickley's New Art House Theater, and the signing was mentioned in the Pittsburgh Business Times in an articled titled Tull Sponsors Sewickley's New Art House Theater.

Later in 2016, Esmark and the Bouchard family sponsored the community that would be held in The Tull Family Theater. Pittsburgh Business Times highlighted the excitement of everyone when news broke of the sponsorship of the involved, philanthropic Bouchard family in an article. North Hills Monthly also featured this information. This same year, TribLive receives information that The Tull Family Theater plans to be completed with construction in early 2017, which is stated in their article.

Toward the end of 2016, Huntington Bank and Allegheny County's Regional Asset District decided to support the efforts of The Tull Family Theater. Huntington Bank additionally decided to sponsor one of the screening rooms in the theater. The support from both of these corporations made a big impact in the scope and outreach of the theater. This news was featured in numerous articles from Pittsburgh Business Times, TribLive, and Film Journal International.

Staffing
In 2016, The Tull Family Theater's increase in staff is highly recognized in the media. Pittsburgh Business Times notes the addition of Paulo Nzambi to the Board of Directors. Pittsburgh Business Times also features an article about the addition of Karen Ferrick Roman who was named the director of communications for The Tull Family Theater. These two additions to The Tull Family Theater were also outlined in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Big News Network, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, InCommunity magazine, and Pittsburgh Business Times all mentioned the naming of the programmer, CFO. Pittsburgh Business News goes on to state the addition of Jeffrey Jacobs as the programmer for The Tull Family Theater, Debbie Beck working by contract as the CFO, and Hollywood-based Rival Creative as the marketing and branding firm.