Part One Of A Two-Part Series: A Scene Change In Production For NHS Auditorium
When the Newtown High School auditorium renovation project is complete, students will enter a newly designed space for performances, gatherings, and events. As of Wednesday, July 6, Public Building and Site Commission Chair Bob Mitchell said the renovation work is waiting for the state to approve and sign off on documents for the project to go out to bid. Once it is approved, Mr Mitchell said the commission would have a better understanding of the project's time frame.
The 1970-71 school year was the first time "senior high school students will be housed in a brand-new high school in Sandy Hook," The Bee reported.
Since then, the high school auditorium space has remained similar to its original design, with some updates added in the mid-90s.
The September 4, 1970, edition of The Newtown Bee reported, "The new high school auditorium is one of the outstanding components of the new school. It is situated on the ground floor on the school directly to the left of the main foyer."
The stage was reported as 56 feet wide and 30 feet deep and had "ample storage rooms on both sides for scenery, sets, and props. It will seat 1,200 persons."
When Michelle Hiscavich, the district's director of visual and performing arts, arrived in the district in 1987, she said the auditorium was "exactly like you see it now, without the sound panels on the walls."
The sound booth was still in a back corner of the space, until an update in the mid-1990s moved it to its current central rear location. The work done in the mid-1990s, according to Ms Hiscavich, brought the space up to code then. At that time, seats were also removed to accommodate handicapped accessibility for seating.
But in 1970 when the doors opened for the first time, the walls were made of "special acoustical tile board stylishly trimmed with baffle strips, which add to the décor and assist in the excellence of sound reproduction in the theatre."
Above the stage, The Bee reported, were spotlights, gangs of light beams, and the numerous scrim rods.
When the high school opened, the "music department is a magnificent example of design and understanding of the problems involved in a department of this type," The Bee read.
According to Ms Hiscavich, a Yamaha concert grand piano, reported as part of the original equipment in 1970, is still at the high school.
A Place For Performances And Ceremonies
Generations of NHS graduates have participated in theater productions, musical performances, concerts, and ceremonies on the stage.
Performances over the years have also included premiere groups, Ms Hiscavich said, including the West Point Band and Choir. Events like the Chinese New Year Celebration hosted by NICE (Newtown International Center for Education) and graduation ceremonies were held in the space over the years. Once the auditorium renovation is complete, the Board of Education has discussed moving the eighth grade graduation ceremony back to the high school.
The auditorium also hosted regional music events, and in 1978, a young Ms Hiscavich entered the NHS auditorium for the first time to attend as a student performing in a Western Region Music Festival. When she entered the space again, this time as a district staffer in 1987, she said she recognized the room.
The high school hosted the Fairfield County String Festival three times, according to Ms Hiscavich, and local groups have also made use of the space. She also noted that NewArts held summer musicals in the space since its inception.
"It's a community space, and I think once this is done, it is going to be more so," said Ms Hiscavich.
With renovation work expected to last through the 2016-17 school year, and the end date yet to be scheduled, theater performances and classes typically held in the space will be moved elsewhere. NewArts, for instance, will hold its two summer musicals next month - a youth version of School of Rock showing August 5-7 and The Wizard of Oz showing August 11-14 - at Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, 156 Walnut Hill Road.
"My biggest hope out of all of this is that our talented, talented students have an appropriate space to showcase their talent," said Ms Hiscavich.
Ms Hiscavich likened creating an auditorium space with designing a football field. Just as a field needs the right grass, scoreboard, and space, the auditorium needs the right lighting, acoustics, and more. Newtown has a nationally recognized music program, theater program, and marching band program, Ms Hiscavich said.
"Think of what they could do if they had an appropriate space," said Ms Hiscavich.
In March, Mr Mitchell reported the Public Building and Site Commission learned the project's scope would cost $6.2 million. The project was then reevaluated by designers and local officials for a new plan to complete the required work.
Safety First, Then Acoustics
At his board's meeting on June 28, Mr Mitchell reported he believed the original scope of the project could be met by the $3.6 million budget. If funds are available in the contingency account once the project is completed, Mr Mitchell said, those funds could be used towards theatrical equipment, like lighting, that may not be covered by the budget, according to the meeting's minutes. On July 6, Mr Mitchell further explained all the physical aspects of the project will be completed within the budget.
"But it will be fully functional," Mr Mitchell said.
When it opens, Mr Mitchell said, the auditorium will have almost 1,000 seats and it will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
One of the first things Mr Mitchell noted would be corrected with the renovation was the acoustics on the stage. If someone was on stage left, he said, they could not hear what was happening on the stage, which caused difficulty.
Mr Mitchell said many ways to correct the acoustics were researched. One cause of the problem was from air conditioners in the space, originally from the 1970s. The air conditioners are being reworked in the project to be quieter. Moving the units, he said, would have cost $500,000.
The space, for the first time, will also have a rigging system, according to Mr Mitchell.
"Things that should have been done 40 to 50 years ago, that should have been done to save money… we are now doing," said Mr Mitchell.
For the 2015-16 musical production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Mr Mitchell said a scissor lift was used instead of a rigging system, and a scissor lift can be dangerous.
Mr Mitchell's first memory of the space is bringing his daughter, Samantha, to see a performance of Brigadoon.
"I think what amazed us was the quality, not only of the production, but of the students," said Mr Mitchell.
Disappointment set in as he realized over the years of seeing productions that an incredible group of students was performing in a second-rate space. When the high school auditorium was first completed, Mr Mitchell said no one would have planned for prominent productions to be performed there. He has fond memories though of watching his daughter and a group of her friends (since elementary school) perform on the stage before they graduated high school.
All of the productions at NHS have been of a professional level, he said.
When selecting the architects for the project, Mr Mitchell said, his commission looked for a group with theater experience.
"We didn't want it to be thought of as an auditorium that can be used as a theater," he said, "but almost the other way around."
Ms Hiscavich, Mr Mitchell, and others involved with the auditorium all noted a priority on safety.
"My hope is that we have a safe space, and a space that is worthy of the students that come through here," said NHS theater arts teacher Janice Gabriel.
NHS Choral Director Jane Matson agreed.
Ms Matson, a 1983 NHS graduate, and others shared their memories of the space. A second story focusing on those memories will run in a future edition of The Newtown Bee.