TED Community » Kirsten Van Vlandren

About Me

As assistant director of the Colonial Theatre I program our classic, young audiences, documentary, cult and fright night film series; and organize TEDxPhoenixville. Prior to joining the Colonial's staff I worked in feature film production on Beloved, Twelve Monkeys and The Sixth Sense. I have an M.A. in Cinema Studies from New York University and a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania.

The 658-seat Colonial Theatre is located in the heart of downtown Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1903, the Colonial is the last surviving of four theatres once existing in the borough and is the only theatre of its kind in Chester County. In its early days, the Colonial was home to live stage shows, vaudeville acts and musicals including appearances by Harry Houdini and Mary Pickford. Real movie buffs know that the Colonial was featured in the 1958 science fiction classic, The Blob, starring Steve McQueen and filmed in and around Phoenixville. We celebrate our place in sci-fi kitsch history with BlobFest every July.

The theatre is owned and operated by the Association for the Colonial Theatre (ACT), a nonprofit corporation, which re-opened the theatre in 1999. The Colonial’s programming includes art and independent films seven nights a week, classic films, a young audiences series, live concerts, and community events. ACT is committed to the full restoration of the Colonial as a cultural arts center.