This past December, Mercer University acquired the historic Capitol Theatre located in downtown Macon–and in February, they rebranded as the Robins Financial Capitol Theatre with multi-year support from the Robins Financial Credit Union.
This change-in-leadership is significant because Mercer University already owns the Grand Opera House and Capricorn Studios. Mercer University’s Larry Brumley plans to retire from his role as Senior-Vice President for Marketing Communications and Chief of Staff, but as part of this transition, he will oversee how these three music venues will work together to serve both Mercer students and the public for the next year.
“They’re very different venues,” Brumbley explains, “They all offer unique experiences, particularly to musicians who want to do concerts.” He went on to explain that Capricorn is more of a music incubator with office spaces, a commercial recording studio, and is a great venue for hosting events with around 80 people. The Robins Financial Capitol Theatre can hold up to 650 people, and the Grand Opera House can hold up to 1000. Brumley explained that the three venues complement each other, “There’s going to be synergy between those three, because we can offer performers and renters three different types of experiences to fit their needs.”
NewTown Macon, a nonprofit charged with revitalizing downtown, approached Mercer last August to help find a new owner for the Capitol Theatre. Brumley explained that they didn’t want the venue to close. “We believe that a vibrant Macon helps us recruit students and faculty and staff, and so Mercer has been investing in downtown for decades,” Brumley said.
Mercer’s School of Music is launching two new bachelor’s degrees, one in music production and another in music business, this fall. The dean of the school of music said that the Capitol Theatre would also be good for students because the school needs more performance space. “They’re running out of room on campus,” Brumley said. He explained that they started looking into buying the Capitol theatre in August, went through due diligence, and purchased the theater in December.
Brumley explains that students “will have opportunities to intern there, to get hands-on experience with both the business side of running the theater, but also the technical side of putting on shows at the theater.”
The Dean of Mercer’s School of Music, Dr. Gary Gerber, explains, “The students in the new music production program will be able to observe the workings of a live theatre as shows come to the theatre. This is integral to their studies and program.” Gerber explains that students in these programs will be interning at the theatre during their senior year as a culmination of their coursework, running sound, and working with guest artists as staff for the shows. “This will be a great opportunity for students to work in a live theatre.”
As Brumley moves out of his current position in the cabinet for Mercer University, he explains that he will continue to work with the venues until the end of this year, “I’ll be working with the staff at those three venues to find ways to collaborate even more and to bring these three downtown venues closer together in terms of cooperating and developing synergies that will help them operate more efficiently and effectively.
