Wednesday, September 27, 2000

I was so glad to see [Michael Boylan's column Sept. 13] on the need for performance space for community theater groups.

I agree with you 100 percent! I was so sad to see your omission of Sandy Creek High School when evaluating the performance spaces in Fayette County. As the choral director at SCHS, I would like to spread the word about our lack of a performance facility.

When SCHS was built almost 10 years ago, the auditorium was cut from the plans to save money. Ten years later, our wonderful students and my outstanding fine arts colleagues are still struggling with this problem.

When we opened we were given a portable stage, sound system and permanent lighting fixtures in a multipurpose "commons" area. This commons area is perfect as a cafeteria and holding area for students in the morning and afternoons as they wait for their buses. The commons provides almost overwhelming challenges as a performing arts venue.

The portable stage sways under the feet of the performers as they sing and dance. Every time we rehearse or perform, we have to have at least two hours prep time to take down the cafeteria tables and chairs, set up the sound system and tape the cafeteria tables together and push them to form a wall for the backstage areas.

Then two more hours are needed at the end of each rehearsal/performance to take it all down, store it away and set up the cafeteria for use the next day. To use the stage lighting, springtime performances and lighting rehearsals must begin after 8 p.m. because the commons is surrounded in skylights and windows. The commons is unusable during the school day.

The audience is limited to 350 (the number of chairs in the cafeteria). Evening school bells sound during performances. A shared lobby with the gym means we cannot perform on basketball game nights. Students on their way to other practices and activities wander through our rehearsals and performances (door security is a nightmare). A 10-year-old failing sound system makes it impossible to hear. I could go on but I'll stop there.

In spite of all this, the SCHS Fine Arts Department has produced unbelievable productions of Broadway musicals "Oklahoma," "South Pacific," "Into the Woods," "Hello Dolly," "West Side Story," and "Little Shop of Horrors" in the last six years. We have extremely talented, hard-working students, giving and patient parents, and a supportive faculty and administration.

My performing arts coworkers, Kathy Andersen and Melissa Burns in drama and Mark Elrod and Curt Sanders in band, are the most gifted, tireless and creative people I have ever known. Our individual, as well as combined, efforts have enriched the lives of thousands of students over our careers and brought statewide recognition and success to our school.

Currently, one third of SCHS's 1,200 students are involved in the fine arts program, yet after 10 years, we still have no performance facility on our campus. We are grateful to the local churches who have allowed us to use their buildings as performance halls. Of course, we must schedule at their convenience and make arrangements for moving equipment in and out on performance day.

With the support of the parents, students and the community we are beginning to push to have a 600-700 seat performance hall added to SCHS. This will be of use to the 650 students at Burch Elementary, 900 at Flat Rock Middle School, and all 1,200 at SCHS both during the school day and in the evening. Band, chorus and drama concerts and productions, class meetings, guest speakers and performances, and large group testing are just a few of the uses for such a facility.

As much as I want this for my students, I also want it for the two-thirds of the SCHS students who have never experienced a cultural presentation at SCHS. These days, the cultural and aesthetic input for many students comes only from popular culture. Their lack of understanding and appreciation for the art of cultures other than their own is extremely limited. My choruses have performed at Spivey Hall and Carnegie Hall but not for the SCHS student body.

I knew you would be interested in our problem as our SCHS students are the concert and theater goers and performers of the future. They will support local community arts groups as adults because they had success as young artists.

So, if you come across any corporations or wealthy philanthropists who believe investing in the cultural future of young people should be a financial priority, please forward my number at SCHS - 770-969-2840, ext. 258.

Millie Turek

Choral Director

Sandy Creek High School

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