Lights Out Oakland
by Reynard Seifert
The Parkway Theater used to provide good alternative programmihng to Oakland photo Valerie Cochran/www.yourwaitress.comCatherine and Kyle Fischer founded the Oakland Parkway Speakeasy Theater twelve years ago. Since then, the Parkway has become one of Oakland's most beloved institutions. Unfortunately, it was also a vulnerable institution.
Eclectic programming, cheap ticket prices, beer and wine, pizza and hot wings - that's what the Parkway Speakeasy was all about. Offering everything from an African Diaspora film series and the world's only Black GLBT film festival to Swedish vampire flicks and second-run blockbusters, the Parkway wasn't just a movie theater; it was a true pillar of Oakland's diverse community.
Picture this: a white woman and a black man open a movie theater, fall in love, get married and raise a family together - sound like something that would only happen in Hollywood? Well, it happened in Oakland. When they first started the theater, Catherine and Kyle were just close friends, but they soon became romantically involved, and now their family is inextricably bound to the theater. Ironically, it is concern for the well-being of their family that led to the decision to lock the doors. Adding more irony, the Parkway also figured in Rob Nilsson's feature about a struggling theater.
The recession had been hurting the theater for a while, but the Fischers were confident they'd be able to weather the storm as they had before. However, as the recession continued over the course of 2009, it became clear that the Fischers might not be able to keep the theater open. After trying unsuccessfully to renegotiate with their landlords, they made the difficult decision to hang it up on March 22, 2009.
"We were juggling a lot of balls and we were hoping that we could keep them all in the air and finally they all came crashing down," Kyle Fischer said, in a video the couple made for their patrons. According to Kyle, part of the problem was with their vendors, who were also affected by the economic downturn. He explained, "What used to be an extension of credit for two months has become two weeks."
As times got tough, a multitude of financial problems exacerbated one another. Basically, each time the theater couldn't pay off the debt to its distributors, their exhibition options waned. Perhaps this led to fewer patrons, and those patrons still attending spent less on food and drinks, all of which culminates in bad news for any movie theater, but especially one specializing in cheap thrills.
"Everyone is being squeezed in this economy, and it's hard," Catherine said. "The more we can all work together in taking care of our families and each other's families, the better off we'll be." The Fischers encourage their former patrons to visit their remaining theater in El Cerrito, which also serves food and alcohol, and will begin offering some of the programming previously available only at the Parkway.
Will "The Thrill" Viharo's campy film series Thrillville is celebrating its twelfth-anniversary show at the Cerrito on April 9th with a double billing of Ed Wood's classic Plan 9 From Outer Space and Stuart Gordon's Re-animator, as well as the East Bay premier of Ernie Fosselius's short film "Plan 9.1 From Outer Space."
Barely Legal Productions is moving its weekly Saturday night performance of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" to the Cerrito very soon. The group has been doing the show in the East Bay since 1995.
Will "The Thrill" Viharo: With his wife, Monica (a.k.a the Tiki Goddess) Viharo programmed Thrillville, the Parkway Theater's cult movie cabaret, which began in April 1997. Portrait by Waylon Bacon, filmmaker, cartoonist and 'zine-ster featured on page 6.The baby brigade will also come to the new location. Every Tuesday infants under one year old are welcome to attend the first screening on these family movie nights.
Unfortunately, Kyle's mother Taylor Fischer will no longer program African Diaspora Cinema. The series concerning serious subjects with a post-screening forum enjoyed ten years at the Parkway and will be missed. Apparently Mrs. Fischer is working on a new project, so perhaps we will hear about that soon.
But all is not necessarily well at the Cerrito Speakeasy. As Kelly Vance reported in The East Bay Express, the El Cerrito Redevelopment Agency claims that Downey Street Productions, the Fischer's business, owes the city of El Cerrito $150,000 in back rent. Following the success of the Parkway Speakeasy, the City of El Cerrito approached the Fischers with the idea of opening an expansion in the vacant theater.
As many have suggested, it's possible that the expansion actually hurt ticket sales at the Parkway. A lot of people seem to prefer the Cerrito theater to the Parkway, simply because it is a nicer theater. This issue of venue over programming could have been the very thing that led to the Parkway's demise, so will the programming save the Cerrito? Only time will tell.
But the Fischers aren't ready to give up on their original location just yet, nor is the community at large. http://www.Iliketheparkway.com has already been registered. It currently points to the "Save the Parkway Speakeasy in Oakland" Facebook group. The group posts upcoming events that could determine the fate of the Parkway and acts as a forum for supporters of the theatre.
A petition to bring back the Parkway was created and signed by many attending the last screenings at the Parkway. The petition is now available at two locations: Rooz CafŽ and Woody's CafŽ. Or you can sign the online petition, see the Facebook page for a link.
However, it's not clear what, if anything, a petition will do to bring back a movie theater that requires a great deal of money to run. The organizers are hoping that something like the El Cerrito situation will occur, but with the City of Oakland deeply in dept, it's highly unlikely that any action will be taken by the city itself - no matter how much they agree with the supporters of the Parkway.
"If we can't get back into the Parkway, we're going to find someone who can," said Kyle. "This community does not need a vacant Parkway theater. We know what that was like."
Posted on Apr 06, 2009 - 11:41 PM
by Reynard Seifert
The Parkway Theater used to provide good alternative programmihng to Oakland photo Valerie Cochran/www.yourwaitress.comEclectic programming, cheap ticket prices, beer and wine, pizza and hot wings - that's what the Parkway Speakeasy was all about. Offering everything from an African Diaspora film series and the world's only Black GLBT film festival to Swedish vampire flicks and second-run blockbusters, the Parkway wasn't just a movie theater; it was a true pillar of Oakland's diverse community.
Picture this: a white woman and a black man open a movie theater, fall in love, get married and raise a family together - sound like something that would only happen in Hollywood? Well, it happened in Oakland. When they first started the theater, Catherine and Kyle were just close friends, but they soon became romantically involved, and now their family is inextricably bound to the theater. Ironically, it is concern for the well-being of their family that led to the decision to lock the doors. Adding more irony, the Parkway also figured in Rob Nilsson's feature about a struggling theater.
The recession had been hurting the theater for a while, but the Fischers were confident they'd be able to weather the storm as they had before. However, as the recession continued over the course of 2009, it became clear that the Fischers might not be able to keep the theater open. After trying unsuccessfully to renegotiate with their landlords, they made the difficult decision to hang it up on March 22, 2009.
"We were juggling a lot of balls and we were hoping that we could keep them all in the air and finally they all came crashing down," Kyle Fischer said, in a video the couple made for their patrons. According to Kyle, part of the problem was with their vendors, who were also affected by the economic downturn. He explained, "What used to be an extension of credit for two months has become two weeks."
As times got tough, a multitude of financial problems exacerbated one another. Basically, each time the theater couldn't pay off the debt to its distributors, their exhibition options waned. Perhaps this led to fewer patrons, and those patrons still attending spent less on food and drinks, all of which culminates in bad news for any movie theater, but especially one specializing in cheap thrills.
"Everyone is being squeezed in this economy, and it's hard," Catherine said. "The more we can all work together in taking care of our families and each other's families, the better off we'll be." The Fischers encourage their former patrons to visit their remaining theater in El Cerrito, which also serves food and alcohol, and will begin offering some of the programming previously available only at the Parkway.
Will "The Thrill" Viharo's campy film series Thrillville is celebrating its twelfth-anniversary show at the Cerrito on April 9th with a double billing of Ed Wood's classic Plan 9 From Outer Space and Stuart Gordon's Re-animator, as well as the East Bay premier of Ernie Fosselius's short film "Plan 9.1 From Outer Space."
Barely Legal Productions is moving its weekly Saturday night performance of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" to the Cerrito very soon. The group has been doing the show in the East Bay since 1995.
Will "The Thrill" Viharo: With his wife, Monica (a.k.a the Tiki Goddess) Viharo programmed Thrillville, the Parkway Theater's cult movie cabaret, which began in April 1997. Portrait by Waylon Bacon, filmmaker, cartoonist and 'zine-ster featured on page 6.Unfortunately, Kyle's mother Taylor Fischer will no longer program African Diaspora Cinema. The series concerning serious subjects with a post-screening forum enjoyed ten years at the Parkway and will be missed. Apparently Mrs. Fischer is working on a new project, so perhaps we will hear about that soon.
But all is not necessarily well at the Cerrito Speakeasy. As Kelly Vance reported in The East Bay Express, the El Cerrito Redevelopment Agency claims that Downey Street Productions, the Fischer's business, owes the city of El Cerrito $150,000 in back rent. Following the success of the Parkway Speakeasy, the City of El Cerrito approached the Fischers with the idea of opening an expansion in the vacant theater.
As many have suggested, it's possible that the expansion actually hurt ticket sales at the Parkway. A lot of people seem to prefer the Cerrito theater to the Parkway, simply because it is a nicer theater. This issue of venue over programming could have been the very thing that led to the Parkway's demise, so will the programming save the Cerrito? Only time will tell.
But the Fischers aren't ready to give up on their original location just yet, nor is the community at large. http://www.Iliketheparkway.com has already been registered. It currently points to the "Save the Parkway Speakeasy in Oakland" Facebook group. The group posts upcoming events that could determine the fate of the Parkway and acts as a forum for supporters of the theatre.
A petition to bring back the Parkway was created and signed by many attending the last screenings at the Parkway. The petition is now available at two locations: Rooz CafŽ and Woody's CafŽ. Or you can sign the online petition, see the Facebook page for a link.
However, it's not clear what, if anything, a petition will do to bring back a movie theater that requires a great deal of money to run. The organizers are hoping that something like the El Cerrito situation will occur, but with the City of Oakland deeply in dept, it's highly unlikely that any action will be taken by the city itself - no matter how much they agree with the supporters of the Parkway.
"If we can't get back into the Parkway, we're going to find someone who can," said Kyle. "This community does not need a vacant Parkway theater. We know what that was like."
Posted on Apr 06, 2009 - 11:41 PM
