Focus on Volunteers: From High Fashion to High Wire: Old Movies, Old Movie Houses, and Everything in Between.
By Karen Pier Hunt
For Nearly 10 years, Stephanie Nava has been coming to the Senate Theater to enjoy their unique film screenings. The Oak Park resident has been volunteering at the Senate since 2022, drawn by her love of classic movies and theaters. The Senate’s patrons often see her smiling face selling tickets, at the concessions counter, at the merchandise counter, or, most often, at the 50-50 raffle.
Although she enjoys all her Senate duties, she has a special place in her heart for the fundraising events. The Carrie Prom party fundraiser was one of her favorite events. All of the volunteers put in extra work to decorate the theater and create a fun and unique event to accompany the film.
“The fundraising events are always such a blast. The energy is great, and it’s a lot of fun, seeing people dress up.”
Everyone comes to love classic films in a unique way. Sometimes it’s from seeing old movies on television or from a film class in college. Stephanie came to love classic film from her love of vintage fashion
Years ago, she began collecting vintage fashion and discovered the fashion element in film “First, it was Audrey Hepburn’s style from the 1950’s and 60’s and it just spiraled from there, “she said with humor. The first vintage item she ever bought was a 1960’s cocktail dress that she found at a little thrift shop in Midland Michigan back in 2003. Stephanie still loves vintage fashion, now her collection includes dresses, pants, blazers, cloaks, hats, gloves, and a couple pairs of shoes.
Her interest in film has escalated substantially from her early days of exploration of fashion and film. When asked about her favorite classic film
About what her favorite film is “Oh, man, this is a very hard question. I feel like I have to break it up into multiple categories.”
“First, I love film noir–the darker the better! It’s hard to pick one film because the genre encompasses so many subtypes. For the sake of time and space, I’m going to go with Fritz Lang’s femme fatale classic, Scarlet Street.” She also loves the excitement and suspense of a good heist film as well
Stephanie likes other films, too. “Aside from film noir, I love many precode films, silent films, Italian neorealism, classic horror, such as Universal monsters, Hammer horror, Giallo, and gothic,” she adds.
Although those genres are her favorites, Stephanie said that she is also open to discovering new genres and new favorites “Admittedly, I’m not a very big fan of comedy, romance or musicals, but I try to keep an open mind, and I’m happy to explore suggestions!” she said.
The film Stephanie was most excited to see on the big screen at the Senate Theater was What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. She had never seen it on the big screen before, even though it’s one of her favorite films. “Watching a film you have seen a half dozen times before, on the big screen, is a fantastic experience. Every time you watch a film more than once, you are going to see and feel something different. Seeing a film in the theater, without distraction of your phone, or kitchen snacks, or pets creates a completely new experience.”
Stephanie loves old movie theaters so much, she even got married at the Redford Theater in 2018. But despite her appreciation of the Redford, she likes volunteering at the Senate because it’s smaller and more intimate. “You can really get the vibe off the crowd.”
Despite her love of film and the Senate, Stephanie has many other interests as well. “I have an extensive and ever-expanding garden,” she reports. “I travel often. I crochet. I collect vintage stemware. I enjoy reading horror comics, and I could go on!” she said.
“If I were independently wealthy, I would just hobby.” she remarks.
Along with her many interesting hobbies, Stephanie has an interesting side job. Drawing on her years and years of dance and gymnastic training, she works as an aerialist and as a fire performer in the Metro-Detroit area.
Stephanie graduated from Wayne State University with an M.A. in medical anthropology. She works at the University of Michigan’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, coordinating events for professionals and the general population to learn more about the disease. She lives with her husband, Adam, and their two cats, Sophia and Dario.