S
ix years ago, a volunteer group of
Sewickley’s community leaders
came together to identify ways
to improve the community’s access to
cultural and educational programming.
After researching a myriad of options, the
group decided upon an ambitious, yet
attainable goal—to build a nonprofit art
house film theater that would bring diverse
arts programming to those who live in
Pittsburgh’s northwest neighborhoods.
In 2013, with escalating public support,
the group—going by the name Village
Theater Company—incorporated as a
nonprofit organization and continued
fundraising efforts. Corporate and
foundational sponsors came aboard, as
well as public funding from approximately
400 families. A June 2015 groundbreaking
ceremony followed, and the Tull Family
Theater opened its doors along Walnut
Street in Sewickley in February, 2017.
The theater is named for Thomas and
Alba Tull. Thomas Tull is the founder of
Legendary Pictures and is part owner of the
Steelers. Alba Tull is a photographer. The
couple sponsored the naming rights with a
$500,000 donation.
The state-of-the-art theater features
two auditoriums with 4K screens and 7.1
Professional Dolby Surround Sound; one
auditorium seats 169 and the other, named
the Huntington Bank Screening Room,
seats 69. There is event and performance
space in the Esmark and Bouchard
Family Community Room, which can
accommodate up to 200 people.
The theater is unique in its commitment
to strengthen cultural, educational and
entertainment experiences in the region
northwest of Pittsburgh, says Karen Ferrick-
Roman, Director of Communications and
Education.
“The theater holds accessibility in its
many definitions as its hallmark: geographic
accessibility as well as accessibility to
those with physical limitations and
those in underserved populations and
communities,” she explains. “As the
theater enhances accessibility, extending
the benefits of cultural arts to beyond the
metro core, it connects the benefits of the
arts to the suburbs and to residents of even
smaller towns and more remote and rural
areas. This initiative becomes significant
because the arts is reaching many who have
previously had limited or no accessibility to
a wide range of high-quality cinematic arts.”
The theater features assistive listening
devices, audio description and personal
Guests weigh their options at the concession stand.
closed captioning technology to help those
with hearing and vision limitations “fully
engage in the cinematic experience,” adds
Ferrick-Roman. “Many have shared that
this technology has allowed them to fully
enjoy a film for the first time in years.”
The theater also partners with the
Mooncrest Neighborhood Program, which
serves children facing socioeconomic
challenges, to offer children’s outreach
programming. In addition, it works with
numerous nonprofit, social service and
educational organizations to provide
local access to cultural options not readily
available in suburban areas.
For instance, this past summer, the
theater collaborated with Robert Morris
University to provide a special screening
of the Oscar-nominated documentary “I
Am Not Your Negro,” and was only the
second cinema in the Pittsburgh region
to screen the complete series of London’s
“National Theater Live” from the world’s
top theatrical venues. The theater also
partners with organizations such as Center
for Hope, Laughlin Children’s Center,
Quaker Valley School District, Lincoln Park
Center for Performing Arts, Girls Hope
and Carnegie Screenwriters to introduce
cultural programming to new audiences.
The Tull Family Theater has pioneered
low-sensory screenings in the region, which
allows families who are impacted by autism
and special needs to enjoy the theater
together, Ferrick-Roman says.
“There is nothing like the Tull Family
Theater around us,” she notes. “An
independent, nonprofit theater able to
access top-flight programming, the theater
is able to bring a very eclectic, wide range
of offerings that might only be found inside
the city core into the regions northwest of
Pittsburgh.