The Carolina Theatre: Historic Haven for the Community and the Arts

Newly-minted Durhamite, Annaliese Ruhle shares her appreciation for the Carolina Theatre as a haven for her to experience, create, and be inspired by art.

The Carolina Theatre of Durham will always be a special place to me. Having relocated to the area in 2020, the Carolina Theatre was my first formative Durham experience and my introduction to the community. The very first show I attended was Delta Rae, a band that was formed in Durham, NC. The performance was powerful.

After that concert, I knew the Carolina Theatre was a special place and that I wanted to spend more of my time there. Whether it was going to see movies in the cinemas or rocking out to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in Fletcher Hall, I always tried to find ways to come back. So much so that I decided to become a volunteer, assisting with Carolina Theatre productions as well as volunteering with events located at the Carolina Theatre, like the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.

Throughout all of these rewarding experiences, some of the most memorable have been the times I performed on the Carolina Theatre’s Barnes Stage with Durham Ballet Theatre (DBT). My first time doing so was in 2023 with their “Enchanted Stories” production, followed by DBT’s 2024 performance of “Peter Pan,” where I was a pirate performing on aerial silks. What an experience it was to learn both about the performance and production sides of a show of that scale. You also get an incredible view of the space when you’re that high in the air!

The Carolina Theatre and the opportunities it has created have been such a positively transformative experience for me, and I look forward to seeing what it will continue to do for the community over the next 100 years!

Whether you are a volunteer, artist or audience member, or all of the above, like Annaliese, your support of the historic Carolina Theatre is what allows it to remain a home for shared experiences, creativity, and connection. We hope you will consider making a gift to our annual appeal —your generosity will help us reach our $120,000 goal and ensure that the Carolina Theatre continues to serve and uplift our community through through the arts, and and set the stage for generations of artists and audiences to come.

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