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PARTY RENTAL FAQs
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Q. What are your office hours?
A. The Theatre is closed to the public on Mondays & Wednesdays. While the program director and business manager are here on Mondays working on programming, updating the website and our newsletter, paying bills, and other weekly duties, our event assistant does NOT work on Mondays. We are CLOSED on Wednesdays. The event assistant is a part-time position and will get back to you ASAP, but it may take a few days. We see every email and receive every voice mail. You will not be forgotten or lost in the shuffle!! To best reach us, please email: rental@wilmettetheatre.com but if you want to try to reach the event assistant by phone, you can call on Tuesdays between 3:00-6:00pm, and most Saturdays and Sundays between 10:00am-3:00pm (depending on the weekend rentals).
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Q. Can we bring in a movie or play a movie you already have?
A. Your choice! Most people like to bring in a DVD or blue-ray, and many rent one from the library. But, if you'd like to play a feature we already have, we can do that too. There is an extra ticket fee associated with current films, please ask us when booking a current film. We can also stream from most platforms.
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Q. Can my kids and their friends play on the stage in the Living Room Theatre?
A. Noooooo!! The stage is filled with sound equipment and instruments for our live events. It looks cool, but is NOT kid friendly. Please keep off the stage!
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Q. How long does it take to set up?
A. About 15 minutes. Our theatre is small, and we can supply a fold out table, but other than that, it shouldn't take longer than 15 to set up your decorations. Helium-filled balloons are welcome in the lobby, but not inside the actual theatres.
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Q. Can I have decorations delivered directly to the theatre?
A. We can't guarantee that someone will be available when your delivery arrives, so best to just bring your balloons and banners with you.
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Q. Can we decorate with balloons, signs and confetti?
A. Yes! Yes! NO!!! Feel free to decorate to your heart's desire with balloons and signs, but save the confetti, packing paper, stickers, and other sparkles for another space/time! All balloons must be weighted and kept in the lobby just outside of your theatre door.
Loose balloons + high ceilings = the opposite of fun.
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Q. Can we do crafts before/during/after our movie party?
A. Stickers? Glitter? Jewels? Markers? Paint? Unfortunately none of those things go hand-in-hand with a 111-year old vintage movie theatre. If you don't want those messes in your house, we don't want them in ours!
Please- don't add crafts to your party!!!
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Q. How long does it take to clean up?
A. As long as you need to return the theatre back to the way you found it! FYI- food fights take about an hour to clean up, so we highly discourage those. We understand spills happen, and we got you on those- but egregious messes will force us to charge a cleaning fee of $150.
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Q. Will other rentals be happening at the same time?
A. We do our best to stagger rentals, but there may be a time when your party is happening at the same time as another in the other theatre.
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Q. Do I need to stay in the theatre while the party is going on?
A. Yes! If you're hosting a group under 18 years of age, an adult/parent/guardian must be in the actual theatre (not the lobby) with the children at all times. You CANNOT leave the building!!
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Q. Are there added fees if my party is longer than 2 hours?
A. Yes- the fees depend on how much time and if your event will cut into regular programming. Fees are at the discretion of The Wilmette Theatre.
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Q. Are rentals only for children's parties?
A. Nope! Not at all! We host parties for all ages and for a variety of events, such as karaoke night, adult birthday parties, school events, fundraisers, anniversaries, graduation parties, and so much more.
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Q. Can we bring in outside food?
A. Quick answer no...
We love pizza and cake as much as the next person, but not when we have to scrub it out of the chairs and carpet!! Our theatre is a small non-for-profit and we rely on our guests to help support us by keeping our building clean and our concession stand busy!
BUT...
We offer Chuck Wagon hotdogs as a part of our concession package!! Just let us know how many people and we'll take care of the rest! Please give us at least a week's notice for your order- we need to inform CW and they need to prep too. Please do not go directly to Chuck Wagon!
Each guest receives one party size popcorn included with your rental.
You can also make it easy and purchase a concession package for $10 per person which includes a party popcorn, a choice of candy and a soft drink/water!!
Our snacks and candy range in price from $4.00-$6.00 and our soft drinks/water is $2.00.
Our candy changes week-to-week depending on supply.
If you still want to have that cake experience? Take-away cupcakes/treats are a lovely alternative!
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Q. How long is a typical rental?
A. We book in 2 hour increments-anything longer than 2 hours would be an extra charge.
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Q. What is capacity?
A. We have two spaces-Theatre 1 (with fixed seats) seats 110. Theatre 2 (living room) holds 140 STANDING, but we have seating for 55. We have very comfortable, padded folding chairs for larger groups, or we can remove most of the furniture to fit your needs.
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Q. Why is a weekday fee so much less than the weekend afternoon/evening fee?
A. While we are an awesome venue ready to host a variety of events, we are still a movie theatre and often run our regular programming during those times. In order for us to cancel regular programming, we have to charge more. If you'd like to rent the theatre later in the day on a weekend, the base fee is $475, but does go up based on the needs of the event and whether or not we have a big Blockbuster movie, as it will be harder to accommodate afternoon parties due to film industry/distributor terms.
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Q. Why would you need to change the theatre I booked? For example, if I booked the Living Room, why would you want to put my party in the Mirza Theatre?
A. We try not to do this, but sometimes we have to. Every now and again our system decides to override the settings and will book two parties in the same theatre at the same time- we then have to make the executive decision to move one party into the other theatre. The Living Room is also a very tempting space for certain ages, the stage, pillows, and couches can be overwhelming for some ages and we try to guide families best we can. Trust us, we've seen it all and know a lot! ​
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Q. How long does it take to hear back from someone at the Theatre?
A. It can take up to 48 hours for us to return your email and/or phone call, but rest assured, we did receive your message and will get back to you as soon as we can.
FYI-The Theatre is closed on Wednesdays to give our hardworking staff a day off! Email is often the best way to reach us, because even if we are at the theatre, we're often juggling many tasks at once!
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Q. Can the Theatre hold a date for my event?
A. Only if you submit a deposit!!
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Q. Are deposits refundable?
A. Life happens, and if you have to cancel, we get it- but we need to know within 14 business days of the cancellation and the deposit is all yours. If you cancel less than 14 business days, the deposit is forfeited to the Theatre.
Q. Who do I contact with questions?
A. You can reach out by phone, and that's A-ok, but sometimes we're a one-person show over here and can't get to the phone, annoying, I KNOW! But, our number is: 847-251-7424
You can also reach out to our Event Assistant by emailing, Rental@wilmettetheatre.com
We check this email every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday-we will get back to you as soon as we can. We might be slow at responding, but it's not because we're slow at our jobs- we want to make your party the best it can be and we're gonna make that happen- even if you have to wait a day or two to hear from us!!