Construction of the E and F wings for the year is finished. The construction oversaw the addition of facilities for the theater department. The new facilities include two classrooms, a box office and black box. 

“I’m really excited about the department,” theater director Aaron Johnson said. “It’s a brand new space and it’s really cool. It has a box office with a refrigerator and I’m just very excited for our audience to be able to experience that. I think just breaking it in, getting our decorations up and creating some new memories in this space is what I’m really looking forward to.”

The technology and equipment in the new space will allow the theater department to take advantage of opportunities that weren’t available in the previous theater room.

“This is obviously a very professional space, and there’s a lot more we can do here that we weren’t able to do in our old theater,” Johnson said. “For instance, we have a brand new state of the art lighting system where we are able to show off some really cool technical and theatrical things that we just weren’t able to do in the last theater.”

Johnson’s favorite part of the new theater area is the lobby. He believes it’s easier to find when compared to the previous theater room. 

“I really like the lobby because it creates this aura of professionality,” Johnson said. “In our old space, we used to have kids stand at strategic points in the hallway and point to where the little theater was because there wasn’t any signage. It wasn’t obvious and it was a difficult place to find. However, here you can walk in from outside and see big, giant letters that say ‘theater.’”

Johnson believes the new theater room will enhance students’ learning experience. He also thinks the place will improve the quality of viewing for audience members.  

“The kids are going to be able to learn a lot more about what actually goes on in the theater world because we’ve been behind the times a little bit,“ Johnson said. “I feel very inspired to really get the most out of this and keep the kids engaged as much as I possibly can. It’s going to make for a special evening for people coming to see our shows, and I’m just very excited for our audience to be able to experience that.”