News File Photo Thunder Bay Theatre is still under construction, but TBT will offer summer camps for kids and teens in July at Alpena Civic Theatre.

ALPENA — Thunder Bay Theatre’s physical doors may not yet be open, but its online presence is active.

This weekend, join Thunder Bay Theatre for “Murder at Roland Manor,” an interactive online mystery play directed by Ciera Eis and written by Brennan Pickman-Thoon.

With performances at 7 p.m. tonight, Saturday and Sunday, patrons can choose which time to participate, interacting with live actors and actresses as they move through the virtual space.

Tickets are $15 apiece via Eventbrite. After tickets are purchased, a link will be emailed to the live, interactive experience.

For tickets, visit https://www.thunderbaytheatre.com/murder-at-roland-manor.html.

“Explore the virtual manor as you chat with guests, roam the grounds, and discover who killed Kenneth Roland — before they get to you,” a TBT press release states.

The online experience will be held on the Gather.Town platform. Learn more at www.gather.town.

Lisa Larkin, president of the Thunder Bay Theatre Board of Directors, said the online event is a fun way to interact with actors while supporting the theater.

“Earlier, in the summer, we hired three directors to do two shows each, and this is her second show,” Larkin said of Eis. “We have two more (online performances) coming up, sometime in the spring. We haven’t quite scheduled those yet.”

All of the offerings have been online while the theater has been closed, since the pandemic began in early 2020. Then a fire demolished the adjacent building, John A. Lau Saloon, on July 21, 2020, causing severe smoke and water damage to Thunder Bay Theatre, an historical building that has been standing for over 100 years.

The fire came just over a year after the lobby and bathrooms had been completely remodeled in May 2019, after an extensive capital campaign powered by the generosity of the community. Unfortunately, the bulk of the damage was to the lobby and bathroom areas, which were closest to the fire on the building’s north side. The theater seating area and stage sustained very little damage, compared to the lobby.

Right now, the TBT Board is waiting on a hazardous materials testing before they can be sure how much to seek in grant funding for repairs and renovation costs, Larkin said.

“That’s the one thing we’re waiting for, to be able to move forward,” Larkin said. “Because, once we get the grants, we can’t go back and ask for more. So, we have to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row, and all of our potential costs, before we can apply for those grants.”

Larkin did not disclose how much the repairs and renovations might cost, because they want to hear back on the hazardous materials testing first.

She hopes to resume in-person events in early 2022.

“I think people really want to get into the theater, and we wish we could, but, in that vein, we are, hopefully, in early beginning of next year ­– February-ish — hopefully, we’re going to be starting back up the Coffee House Fridays, in person,” Larkin said. “We’ll be hopefully starting back up the Let’s Talk panels, now that people can start gathering again.”

The TBT board will be hiring a part-time person at the beginning of 2022 to handle its social media and promotions.

“Just because, we’re a volunteer board,” she said, adding that most of the eight members have full-time jobs. “We want to keep the promotion and the communication going.”