A Little House Unfolds Into an Outdoor Theater
This home has a secret. Even though it looks plain, some cranks of a hand winch unfold the house’s patchwork pink sides to reveal a surprising new purpose: an outside community theater to the town of York, Alabama.
Artist Matthew Mazzotta and the Coleman Center for the Arts in York worked together to reach the origin of what turns a town into a neighborhood. Speaking to the citizens of York showed a desire for shared space where everyone could gather. Mazzotta transformed an abandoned home to something special that brought neighbors together.
Before Photo
Matthew Mazzotta
Mazzotta creates art in public spaces that aids individuals interact with one another and appreciate where they reside. He switched into the people of York for inspiration, conversing together to hear their concerns. Conversation immediately revealed a lack of shared space in the community; with the exception of the grocery store and post office, the town had no regular meeting place.
BEFORE. A walk through York quickly shows the city’s hardships, such as a slumped property marketplace. The glowing peach-colored home sat directly across the road in the Piggly Wiggly, the town grocery store. “This is the only one,” says Mazzotta. “The home was only this mess that everyone had to see if they got food every day.” He also flashed the home’s siding, front door and window frames until the town fire department demolished the structure using a controlled burn.
Matthew Mazzotta
AFTER. The house’s original siding and a new tin roof currently top a smaller, more contained version of the older home. Set on the exact same website, the new structure looks like a playhouse dependent on the prior house.
Before Photo
Matthew Mazzotta
“I didn’t wish to erase the past by simply tearing it down and making something completely new,” says Mazzotta. “The distinctive part of this is realizing where we were coming from and pulling components of that away and putting new energy into it. It is better to have that than to wipe out the history, since it reveals growth and potential.”
Before Photo
Matthew Mazzotta
It requires four individuals and a half hours to unfold the home, turning it into the new outdoor theatre. The procedure requires effort, and the community has to organize and rally together to use the space. “Each time it opens, there has to be a will for it,” Mazzotta says.
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Matthew Mazzotta
Metal hand winches closely lower every section of the home separately.
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Matthew Mazzotta
The segments unhinge off the structure’s railroad-tie base to reveal five rows of chairs.
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Matthew Mazzotta
The rows of church-pew-style chairs all face a grassy, raised stage.
Before Photo
Matthew Mazzotta
Mazzotta also constructed the stage with a railroad-tie base.
Matthew Mazzotta
On June 15, 2013, York used their new community platform for the first time, initiated using a ribbon-cutting service by the Mayor Gena Robbins, followed by a gospel choir and neighborhood R&B funk band.
Matthew Mazzotta
Although everyone sat in the pews initially, eventually people got up and danced. “That’s the success of mepersonally, when people don’t get hung up on the piece,” says Mazzotta. “I mean, this used to be an abandoned dump, and now folks are here dance. It is amazing.”
Known as the Open House, Mazzotta’s job now serves the community of York as a theater for outdoor movies, concerts and other events hosted by the Coleman Center for the Arts. The home is situated in 202 Main St., York, Alabama.
Matthew Mazzotta
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