A new and improved Ferrol A. Sams Auditorium is rising from the old cinder blocks and mortar which formed the foundation of the center, built around 1960. The ghosts of past productions are still shadowed on the walls of the stage, which is stripped down in anticipation of a 14-foot extension, new flooring and additional lighting. Half-inch bolts mark the spots where the seats will be reinstalled following a complete reupholstering and paint job.

According to Mike Satterfield, construction superintendent for the Fayette County School system, the completion date for renovation is early December. The auditorium is booked solid for the month, he said, with the Fayette County High School Chorus scheduled as one of the first groups to perform in the updated facility.

Price tag for the expansion and modernization is approximately a half million dollars, paid in part by money allocated from an early 1990's bond issue and funds appropriated by the Fayette County Commission. Architects for the project are CDH Partners Inc. of Marietta.

Starting at the entrance, Satterfield pointed out changes and additional amenities. "We started working after school let out in June. We took the old store front windows out and increased the lobby size," Satterfield explained. "We also tripled the size of the bathrooms," he added. There are now six stalls instead of two in the ladies room.

Walking into the auditorium, he pointed out the spot where the sound booth will be installed. "We're also redoing the floor and the stage lights," he said.

A ceiling treatment will spruce-up the old institution-type panels. Curtains will be hung along the side walls to improve sound quality and also to conceal the cinder block walls.

The existing chorus and drama rooms which are just outside the auditorium will provide additional space for dressing rooms and can serve various functions depending on performance needs.

The auditorium seats approximately 850 people and will lose only one row of seating to the stage expansion, Satterfield said.

Sams will serve Fayette County High School as well as the local community's needs for staging large events. Satterfield said that arrangements for booking the auditorium can be made through the county's community school director, Jim Pittman. The community school number is 770-460-3547.

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