Without extensive changes to the equipment for 22 years, students and staff of Rogers High School gained crucial upgrades to the auditorium.
With updates to the lighting and microphones, theater productions have the opportunity to shine brighter than ever before.
Opened in 2001, and built in 1999, Rogers High School has not had a significant auditorium update since the school opened. Beth Hall, technical theater teacher, described the lights as “outdated and rusted.” Due to the size of the stage, a minimum of 48 lamps on the catwalks are necessary; the RHS auditorium only had eight that worked, Hall said.
With the renovations, technical theater classes will have the opportunity to use digital equipment at the school for the first time. Before these changes, the class cut colored gel sheets to overlay the lights, manually switching them out for each scene that required a shift in lighting color.
Further, the new LED system allows students to change the color of the lights with the click of a button. The department will be able to make quicker color changes, which will make the plays more accurate to the script, said Lily Hamilton, 11, technical theater student.
“I want to have some fun really creating mood and atmosphere with our lighting situation,” said Melissa Minton, theater advisor. Because of the ability to create more intricate lighting designs and focus on more than one character at a time, Minton said she can’t wait for the future shows to seem more professional.
The performances, with cleaner presentations, will allow the theater students to showcase their abilities on stage.
As an actor, Herr, 12, theater club president, plays a part in deciding what the new shows are and how to perform them. Due to these new abilities, Herr believes these changes will “get the creative juices flowing” and allow for a broader spectrum of shows.
