FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is Schine On!?
Schine On!, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed to rescue, restore, and reopen Schine's Auburn Theatre as a working performing arts and cultural venue in downtown Auburn. Our goal is to preserve a landmark for Cayuga County and the surrounding region and return it to the life of the community.
Where does the project stand right now?
Schine On! and the City of Auburn have signed a purchase agreement for the theatre, which begins our due diligence period. This is the time to learn exactly what we would be taking on before we complete the purchase. Our board is in place, and our bylaws and governance policies are adopted. Schine On! received IRS recognition as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit on September 15, 2026, 88 years to the day after the theatre's 1938 grand opening. We've taken the time to dot every "i" and cross every "t," and we are now ready to ask for your help with this first essential step.
Who is behind the project?
This project was never going to rest on one person's résumé, so we built a board around it. Together, our board brings experience in fundraising and development, strategic planning and implementation, organizational oversight and management, live theatre operations, nonprofit governance, and financial stewardship. We've also engaged a nonprofit development and fundraising consultant to help build the capital campaign plan.
Our founder and Chair, Bree Kishman, brings hands-on experience in the performing arts. For 13 years she has co-managed and co-produced "Live and Let Die: The Music of Paul McCartney," a touring production performed around the world, often with Pops symphony orchestras. She negotiates the contracts and works directly with management and technical staff at prominent performing arts centers across the country. For the past six years she has also served as Director of a nonprofit dog rescue, where she leads all of its fundraising.
How did Schine On! get started?
It started by accident. One winter evening, Bree went to see a friend perform at Auburn Public Theater and left early because her daughter wasn't feeling well. When they stepped outside, there was the Auburn Theatre, and she couldn't stop looking at it.
The building caught her attention first, and its history kept her coming back. The more she researched, the clearer it became that this theatre had been a cornerstone of the community for decades. After a lifetime of community service, the chance to give that cornerstone back to Auburn turned her curiosity into a commitment.
What makes Schine's Auburn Theatre worth saving?
It's a rare piece of architectural history. The theatre was designed by John Eberson, one of the most influential theatre architects of the twentieth century. He built his reputation on the "atmospheric" movie palaces of the 1920s, with their painted skies and Old World courtyards. By the late 1930s his work had moved toward Art Deco and Streamline Moderne. The Auburn Theatre opened in 1938, in the depths of the Great Depression, and is one of the few surviving examples of that later period, which makes it rare even within Eberson's own body of work. Nearly every community once had a downtown movie theatre. Very few still do, and once they're gone, they're gone.
The architecture is only part of the story. This building was a pillar of Auburn through hard times and a gathering place for generations. Television and streaming changed how we spend our evenings, and we lost something along the way. People want shared experiences in a real place with their neighbors, and a restored Auburn Theatre gives Auburn that place back.
What's the difference between Art Deco and Streamline Moderne?
Streamline Moderne grew out of Art Deco, so the two styles are related, but they look and feel quite different.
Art Deco peaked in the 1920s and early 1930s, during the boom years. It's about glamour and ornament, with strong vertical lines, stepped setbacks, and decorative details like zigzags, chevrons, and sunbursts, often in rich materials such as polished stone and gold leaf. New York's Chrysler Building is a classic example.
Streamline Moderne took over in the mid-to-late 1930s, during the Great Depression. Inspired by the sleek, aerodynamic shapes of trains, ocean liners, and airplanes, it emphasizes motion and the horizontal, with smooth curved corners, clean surfaces, glass block, chrome, and parallel "speed lines." Ornament is pared way back.
A simple way to remember it: Art Deco reaches up and decorates, while Streamline Moderne stretches out and moves. Schine's Auburn Theatre, which opened in 1938, shows its Streamline Moderne character in the rounded corners of its facade, its smooth surfaces, and the flowing wave lines on its entrance doors.
What is the biggest challenge facing the restoration?
The unknown. After years of neglect, we won't know the true condition of the building until the inspections are complete. That's what the due diligence phase is for.
We do know some things already. A new roof was installed in 2018, and asbestos was remediated throughout the building. That work was necessary to protect the structure and make it safe, but it came at a cost: nearly 90 percent of the original interior was removed in the process. Today the theatre is largely a shell, down to the brick in many places. Bringing it back will mean carefully recreating much of what was lost, guided by historic photographs, original architectural drawings, and preservation experts, alongside restoring what remains.
We're grateful to everyone who fought to keep this building standing over the years, and we're picking up where they left off with the benefit of what they learned.
Due diligence goes beyond structural inspections. It also includes a feasibility study on what will best serve the area. We have a vision, and it has to line up with reality, so the findings will shape the plan. The same work will tell us what an accurate fundraising goal looks like, and our financial plan will be built on what we find.
Others have tried to restore the theatre before. What makes this effort different?
First, we owe a real debt to those earlier efforts. Their work helped keep this building standing, including a new roof and the asbestos remediation, and we're picking up where they left off with the benefit of what they learned.
What we can promise is how we're going about it. We built the organization before asking the public for anything: an experienced board with backgrounds in theatre operations, nonprofit governance, finance, fundraising, and real estate, along with adopted bylaws, a conflict of interest policy, and a development and fundraising consultant to guide the capital campaign.
We're also putting the hard questions first. Before we complete the purchase or commit to a restoration plan, we're investing in structural engineering studies, building inspections, and a feasibility study, guided by preservation professionals and the League of Historic American Theatres. Our plans and our fundraising goals will be built on what those studies show, not on hope.
Finally, we're committed to being honest about the pace. Restoring a theatre like this is a multi-year effort, done in phases. We'll share what we learn as we learn it, and we'll only make promises we can keep.
How will the restoration be funded?
Funding will come from several directions. The core will be a phased capital campaign combining state and federal grants, foundation support, historic preservation tax credits, and individual donors, alongside grassroots efforts that let the whole community take part.
Right now, we are raising funds for the due diligence phase: the structural engineering studies, feasibility study, and building inspections that will tell us what the theatre truly needs. We aren't setting a goal for the full restoration yet. That number has to reflect what these studies tell us, and our development consultant will help structure the campaign around it. When we announce a restoration goal, it will be one we've done the homework to stand behind.
What happens to my gift if Schine On! decides not to complete the purchase?
Your gift supports Schine On!'s mission to preserve and revitalize Schine's Auburn Theatre, starting with the professional studies needed to make a responsible decision about the building. These studies are valuable whatever the outcome, because they give us, the City, and the community a clear picture of the building's condition and future. If the board ultimately decides not to complete the purchase, gifts will continue to be used in support of Schine On!'s nonprofit mission, as determined by our Board of Directors.
What will my gift pay for right now?
During due diligence, gifts help fund structural engineering studies, a feasibility study, and comprehensive building inspections. Together, these will tell us what it will take to stabilize and restore the theatre and how it could operate in the future.
Is my gift tax-deductible?
Yes. Schine On!, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. You'll receive an emailed receipt for your records.
How will you keep the public informed?
Consistently. This website and our social media channels will carry regular updates, and you can sign up for our email list to hear from us directly. We'll share milestones through local media for people who aren't online, and once we're out of due diligence we'll hold public updates where people can ask questions in person.
Transparency and discretion are different things, and this project needs both. Inspection findings still being evaluated, negotiations, and vendors under review aren't ready for the public until they're complete and accurate. When something is real and decided, the community will hear it from us, clearly and promptly. This is Auburn's theatre, and no one should have to wonder what's happening with it.
What kinds of events will the theatre host once it reopens?
Our goal is for the Auburn Theatre to serve as a regional performing arts center: live theatre (musicals and plays), concerts, film events, educational programming, lectures, and community gatherings, happening often enough that the theatre becomes part of the rhythm of downtown again.
The specifics will come from the feasibility study. What the building can sustain depends on economic reality and on support from the community, local foundations, and corporate partners. The study will also guide the restoration itself, including seating capacity and technical capabilities, so the theatre is designed for the programming it can actually support. We'd rather do the homework than promise a schedule we haven't earned.
Can I become a member or join the board?
There's no membership program yet. We plan to add board members over the coming months as the project's needs grow, and we vet every candidate carefully. We want people who are fully committed to the mission and bring distinct talents to the table. Thinking "what a neat idea, I want to be part of that" is a fine start. Serving on this board means committing the time to evaluate every piece of information that comes before us and make the right decisions.
If you'd like to be considered, email your CV and a Board Statement (why you'd like to serve and how your service could benefit the project) to schineonauburn@gmail.com. Volunteer opportunities aren't available yet. We'll announce them on our social media pages once they are.
