One year ago, Ryan Tolley was hired as executive director of the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center and in that capacity, took his first tour of the 100-year-old structure, taking it all in.

 

Construction had begun earlier in 2017 and once again, there were big dreams for the theater which had been the hub of the bustling Clarksburg community back in the early-20^th century.

 

“It had been built in 1913 and went through a number of changes throughout the years. The entire construction plan involved a good bit of renovation, but they first had to address some demolition to remove certain elements and some infrastructure changes. It was basically stripped down to the bare bones of the building,” said Tolley, a 2007 graduate of Bridgeport High School. “Even before I even applied for the position, I knew it was a big job, but after walking through the doors, that became much more of a reality.”

 

The challenge before him wasn’t just the physical renovations of the building, but also fundraising for the $15 million project and developing programing that would accommodate the interests of area residents.

 

“There were so many memories of the Robinson Grand. It was not only a great opportunity for me, but a great opportunity, period, just to be involved in this project and help our community,” he said.

 

After graduating from BHS, Tolley relocated to Orlando, Fla. and attended Full Sail University, ultimately earning a master’s degree in entertainment business. With his long-term sights set on returning to West Virginia, Tolley said he first wanted to build a resume and did just that by working at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla.

 

“It’s a large five-star diamond property, similar to The Greenbrier, but on the ocean,” he said. “I started out as a technician, but quickly moved up the ranks and when I left in early-2017, I was director of staging and production.”

 

Tolley worked with a team to execute high-end social gatherings and Fortune 500 conferences involving A-list entertainers, including Dave Matthews and Sir Elton John.

 

“We set up ballrooms and meeting spaces with custom elements: Sound, lights and video,” he said.

 

It was exciting and rewarding work, but Tolley said he missed the people, scenery and food of his home state.

 

“I wanted to combine my skills and area of focus, but in North Central West Virginia and that’s not always an easy thing to find,” Tolley said.

 

Then the Robinson Grand position was announced.

 

“I knew what a gleaming light it could be,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of entertainment offerings here. We can go to Pittsburgh or Charleston and there are some opportunities in Morgantown. We’re very fortunate in our community – especially Bridgeport – to have lots of sports-related activities, which is huge, but what we don’t have are lots of arts and cultural-related areas and the Robinson Grand could fill that void. I wanted to be part of that.”

 

In addition to the cultural appeal was the economic appeal, Tolley said.

 

“When a project like this comes to fruition – and we’re getting very close now – it brings additional traffic into the region and particularly downtown Clarksburg, making it much more viable for other businesses – entrepreneurs and restauranteurs. We have this beautiful downtown Clarksburg area with hardly any of the storefronts being utilized. We see a lot of local businesses moving out of this area and I think that’s mainly because of traffic. Certainly, they’re apprehensive to start a business downtown without anything bringing people by. The theater isn’t a solve-all, but it’s a really great start to bringing people back to the downtown and helping it to grow.”

 

Looking back over his first year on the job, Tolley put his finger on his most valuable skill.

 

“Probably the biggest attribute and one I developed early on in Florida and continue to develop is the ability to switch gears very quickly,” he said. “It’s a learning curve, being able to be involved in the fine details of construction and renovation; making decisions on location that revolves around the needs of the theater, but also carrying forward a concept to plan programming and operations; working with donors and supporters of the project and carrying out the capital campaign and continuing to raise funds for this project, bringing on additional staff, training that staff and taking a concept developed early-on and putting it into motion.”

 

Tolley’s team of full-time employees includes Bobby Rexroad, operations manager, and Emily Moore, sales and marketing manager.

Rexroad is also a 2007 graduate of BHS.

 

“We worked together in the BHS auditorium on events there. Bobby and I also crossed paths professionally in the field, as well,” Tolley said. “The stars happened to align.”

 

Rexroad was working in Denver, Colorado, when he came to Bridgeport for a visit, meeting up with Tolley, who because of their shared passion for theater and the arts, invited him to tour the Robinson Grand as renovation was in progress.

 

Involving light, sound and other technical aspects, as well as concession services, the operations manager position became available and Rexroad, as well as numerous other applicants, expressed interest.

 

“With his qualifications and experience, we are very happy to have him on board,” Tolley said.

 

A former Robert C. Byrd English teacher and manager of the school theater program, Moore came on board at about the same time.

The pieces of the puzzle are coming together as the newly-renovated Robinson Grand Theater will hold its first major event and grand opening featuring Jay Leno on Oct. 20. Tickets went on sale Tuesday and the event was sold out in two hours.

 

“It surprised all of us. I knew tickets would be in high demand, but I didn’t expect it to sell out that quickly,” Tolley said. “It’s a great problem to have, but I wish I could snap my fingers and double the size of the theater. But one great thing is we are offering lots of other events and the schedule is out here for people to peruse.”

 

Renovations of the theater, which accommodates about 1,000, is expected to wrap up next week and to note that occasion, a soft opening will be held 7 p.m. Aug. 4.

 

“It will be a little less formal and we won’t have all the offerings as far as concessions are concerned, but the concept is an open house,” Tolley said.

 

The Dave Bram Trio will be set up in the ballroom and the main event in the theater is Appalachian Swing. Tolley and his team have called upon another 2007 BHS graduate to provide entertainment in the lobby. Sharing his acoustic guitar and vocal talents will be Nat Frederick.

Tolley and Frederick developed a close friendship while attending Simpson Elementary School.

 

“My family had Tolley Electric and his dad Gerald was an electrical contractor, so he and my father were very close,” he said.

 

While attending BHS, Tolley and Frederick had their own DJ business.

 

“While I attended Full Sail University, Nat went to WVU and we remained in contact,” Tolley said. “He was always a very talented musician and he started taking it seriously and performing publicly.”

 

Frederick is a natural fit for the soft opening and the theater’s goal to highlight local and regional talent.

 

Finding creative solutions is perhaps, in a nutshell, what Tolley does at the Robinson Grand.

 

“Entertainment is expensive and a lot of it is finding creative ways to bring it in, utilizing grant opportunities and finding corporations who can underwrite costs or working with bands and artists who are performing in the area and traveling through Clarksburg, so we can piggyback off that,” he said.

 

Tolley looks forward to the future of the Robinson Grand Theater and downtown Clarksburg, West Virginia.

 

See a full list of upcoming events and purchase tickets HERE. Learn more history about the theater and stay up to date with its offerings at therobinsongrand.com. 

 

Tolley is the son of Bobby and Babbs Tolley of Bridgeport. 

 

Editor's Note: Cover photo of Tolley at work at he Robinson Grand Theater is courtesy of Dominique Spatafore. Photos of the theater, both old and new, and of Rexroad and Moore, are courtsy of Robinson Grand. Also pictured above is Frederick.