There’s a new person in charge of Red River Theatres these days.
But don’t worry, it’s a familiar face to those who have been frequenting the local independent movie theater over the years.
Earlier this month, Angie Lane took over as the new executive director of Red River, returning to the downtown cinema after a year and a half away.
If you don’t remember, Lane was the events and marketing manager for a little more than three years until the middle of 2015, when she moved over to another nonprofit, NHPR, for more than a year as a donor services associate.
And Lane was happy with her job at NHPR, but when she got the inside scoop that longtime executive director Shelly Hudson was leaving to pursue other opportunities, she figured, “Why not?”
“I would have stayed there, but this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” she said. “A lot of people were like, ‘You have to go for it’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going for it.’ ”
While Lane had never held an executive director position, she has a passion for film, Red River and nonprofit work. Looks like that was good enough to convince that powers that be she was the right person for the job. It probably also didn’t hurt that she had worked there before and knew how just about everything worked.
“This job is obviously going to be a challenge for me, because it’s my first time being an executive director, but I’m so excited,” Lane said.
She got a crash course in fundraising from some of the best over at NHPR and plans to use that in her quest to take Red River in to its second decade, as the theater will celebrate 10 years of being open in October.
“Red River is so special and it’s my pleasure – and my job – to let people know we’re here,” Lane said. “Concord is super lucky to have us.”
Lane was at Red River the day it opened, merely as a movie fan and supporter of the new theater, and has been going there ever since.
“I was a huge fan even before I worked here,” Lane said.
While she doesn’t claim to know everything when it comes to film, she sure can quote from some of our favorite comedies and is a sucker for horror flicks. She doesn’t have the background of being the person in charge, but you wouldn’t get that sense by talking to her. And she has no hesitation asking people for money.
“Fundraising is about relationships, and the first thing is getting people in the theater,” she said.
But Lane, who also serves on the boards at GoodLife Programs & Activities and Intown Concord, the steering committee for the Concord Young Professionals Network, won’t be the first person to learn on the job – or even the first time she’s had to do it. She worked at the Monitor selling ads, but that was brand new to her. She had never held an events and marketing job, but did just fine with that – especially considering they’re bringing her back in an even bigger role. So something tells us she’ll keep Red River moving in the right direction.
“I’ve been so involved (with the community) for so long because I wanted to be, but it also paid off,” Lane said. “I’m such a townie, but I love Concord.”
Lane takes over as the Simchik Cinema is nearing its renovation completion date, which will greatly upgrade one of the three Red River viewing spaces.
“We have such a great fan base,” she said.
They will be offering two new film festivals in addition to the annual SNOB/New England Indie Fest in November, with an international showcase in May and an LGTBQ endeavor in September.
Red River already offers great programs like sing-a-longs and special one-night events, like the annual Oscar party in February (more details to come) and Lane would only like to add to that lineup. She plans to bring in more school groups and expand the number of events. She even wants to bring back a few oldies but goodies, like the horror movie marathon and trivia night.
Her job now is to promote Red River, which, if she can do it with the same gusto with the community as she did with us, your little community theater is in good hands.
“It’s my job to raise money and also our profile,” Lane said. “I just can’t wait to really get going.”
