The Bardavon - Poughkeepsie

I chose to pick from one of the many landmarks in Poughkeepsie, and decided on The Bardavon 1869 Opera House, also simply known as The Bardavon. When I first tried to contact the theater on Saturday, March 1st to get a tour, I was sent to voicemail. I finally spoke to an actual person on Tuesday, and I was told they were simply too busy to talk to me because of the amount of shows they had, and to “talk to voicemail.” One woman eventually agreed to interview by e-mail. I knew this wouldn’t be helpful at all, but I gave it a try anyway. Sure enough, her response to my questions was “these are long essay questions and I am too swamped” and proceeded to copy/paste large paragraphs from the website. At first I was really angry - I wanted to get personal experiences and opinions from the people who worked there, not historical facts that could easily be found on the website. I then realized I would take a different angle. I decided to interview everyday people who have been to the Bardavon, and get their opinions on the theater itself, why they felt it was an important place, and how it was affecting the community. I ended up getting really great interviews with people around the downtown area, both Poughkeepsie natives and others from surrounding towns. I learned a lot about the Bardavon and how it is helping to revitalize downtown Poughkeepsie. At first I was really stressed about this article, but getting great interviews and quotes with everyday people really made for an interesting article, I think. I realized you don’t need to go directly to the “higher-ups” and focusing on the average person and what they’re thinking really provides great insight. The "Average Joe" isn't going to give rehearsed responses, they will tell it like it is.