To the Editor:
Beginning June 1, the stage at Bell-Herron auditorium will be demolished. This stage has been a permanent addition to the auditorium since 1999 and has allowed the amazing quality of Carrollton’s plays and musicals to be possible. With the efforts of many parents and supporters, we have attempted to compromise with the Carrollton Exempted Village Schools administration but to no avail. If the stage is to remain a source of pride to the community as it is today, the community must protect it. Bono said “the world is more malleable than you think and it’s waiting for you to hammer it into shape.”
I am a student actor and a 2008 graduate of Carrollton High School who was involved with eight plays and musicals that took place on the Bell-Herron stage. My experiences with Carrollton Fine Arts have made me better equipped for the world outside of high school in many ways. I am much more confident and my public speaking and acting skills have allowed me to take part in college productions and to have other opportunities. These are essential skills needed to land a good job in these tough times. To take that advantage away from future Carrollton student actors is not in the best interest of our community’s youth. Within this program and on this stage, I’ve made many memories that will remain treasures to me until I die, but my favorite memories were those when I saw the smiles of satisfaction that our shows brought to the faces of our audience.
The Carrollton School Board plans to tear down the stage’s extension that was built under a gentleman’s agreement in 1999. The extension is about 60 percent of the stage according to my measurements; the entire stage’s surface being close to 1,600 square feet and the extensions being about 960 feet. Without the extensions, the stage’s surface is only about 640 square feet. The destruction of the stage does not mean the end of Carrolltons’s plays and musicals yet. However, I believe this would be a fatal wound that could bleed out the theater program to its eventual demise. Why cripple Carrollton’s future performances to insert such an unnecessary commodity as another lunchroom when the cafeteria in the high school has never been too full?
The school board claims they want to do this because of “safety reasons” concerning the middle school students crossing a one-way street to eat in the cafeteria. Along with tearing down the stage for floor space, they will also be adding three sinks, ovens, a freezer, a mop sink and a storage cupboard backstage which will further inhibit theater productions, as prop and costume change space are already limited. According to CHS Booster officers who have been in negotiations with Carrollton’s administrators, Superintendent Palmer Fogler is in favor of the new lunchroom and plans to implement “preferred meals,” a mandatory frozen meal lunch provider that was tested first at Augusta Elementary. It is only given to elementary and middle school students because the meals are too meager for high school students. Our much-needed stage is being sacrificed in order to provide substandard lunches.
The school board offers that the stage could be rebuilt before each production. However, while that was possible before the stage was permanently erected in 1999, things have changed since then. Before the permanent stage, Mr. Todd Casper was head of the theater department and had an army of supporters to help build the stage before each production, whereas currently we are lucky to have six volunteers to build sets. Also in the past, Mr. Casper was able to rent sets and set pieces from Carousel Dinner Theater, but that theater has since closed and now Carrollton Fine Arts does not have the resources to rent sets. Theater productions require many weeks of rehearsal with additional time to build the set. The stage would ultimately need to be rebuilt before this required time so the production set could be built and those involved could have proper and effective rehearsals. It is essential for the actors involved in the production to practice on the complete stage for at least six to eight weeks prior to the performance. However, when asked how much time would be given in advance to the show dates so the stage could be rebuild, Superintendent Fogler would not give an answer.
The stage is used at least 25 weeks of the year for productions and it would be next to impossible to rebuild it before every show with the Fine Arts Program’s current resources. I hope this cry for help was brief and that it will find its way into active hands and into the heart of everyone who loves theater. If you saw the recent CHS musical, “Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat,” or “Annie,” presented by Bell-Herron Middle School students, I’ll bet you were amazed and excited for next year’s production. If the community wants to enjoy Carrollton’s talent for years to come, then the community must speak up. If any readers agree that the stage extension should stay, please call the CHS administration office at 330-627-2181 and/or talk to a board member and let your voice be heard.
Matt Cairns
CHS Speech and Drama Alumni
Dellroy, OH
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