Thanks to Denver voters, TJ’s Theater will be upgraded this summer.
Photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya
Denver Public Schools is giving TJ’s theater a major change of scenery over the summer using leftover money from a bond.
In 2008, Denver voters approved a bond that brings major improvements to all DPS schools. “Most of the projects that have been done district-wide came in under-budget. Contractors were happy to bid lower because they wanted the work. So the district saved about $25 million,” said Assistant Principal Scott Lessard. Some of the projects that were already in the works were sports-oriented, so DPS decided to look at every auditorium and upgrade them. TJ’s stage will be outfitted with new curtains, battens, lights, and a new sound system.
Since TJ’s auditorium hasn’t been updated in many years, there are a lot of changes that will be made over the summer. The company installing the upgrades could begin as early as mid-May and will finish in early August. The renovations will begin after the senior graduation practice because after that point the auditorium isn’t needed until the next year. “They need the auditorium empty. They can’t have people going in, sitting in the seats, anything. It’s going to be a hardhat area; there’s probably going to be some asbestos abatement going on, so they really do need it empty. It’ll be sealed off; no one will be able to go in. Think about it. They’re going to be bringing in cranes. They may actually cut open the roof to do this. It’s huge. It’s a huge project to replace all that stuff,” said Lessard.
Upon completion, the company that installs the equipment will bring in Theater Director and Teacher Michael Palmieri, the Band Director Robin Johnson, and a few of TJ Theater’s top students to be trained on how to use the new systems.
Arguably, the most noticeable improvement is new curtains. The old curtains are going to be replaced by brand new ones, along with the battens and wires on which they hang. The wires will be controlled by electric winches instead of counterbalancing the weight of the batten with weights on the rope. The new system will be operated by a control station with a long cord so the battens and rigging can be adjusted from any place on stage. “The new curtains will look so much better, and we’ll be able to do scenery changes and curtain adjustments smoothly and more safely. To have things change during a production, for instance, we could have one set completely built behind a curtain, and one of the stagehands or tech team will be able to be on stage and when it’s time push the button and up goes the curtain,” said Palmieri.
All of the onstage lighting will also be upgraded. “That will include, if it goes according to plan, getting some of the latest generation LED lights which give you that intense, concentrated color on the stage. The latest LED technology has very bright colors so you can mix white light with the colored light and not have it wash out,” said Palmieri.
The control system for the LED lights will also be upgraded, and the people doing the renovations will add an outlet for the main light control board on the onstage balcony, allowing it to be moved from its usual location – the booth in the back of the theater balcony – to the stage itself. This move will let the student who adjusts the lighting be able to control all the stage lights from on stage.
One of the biggest changes is the improvement of the theater’s sound system. By the time students return in the summer of 2011, there will be new speakers, a digital soundboard, and a new wireless microphone system. “If the wireless system works well, and with good mics – I asked for headset mics – we may be able to do our own sound for the play as opposed to bringing in sound people. I’ve loved working with Mark Payne of ACA sound. He does a great job for us, but maybe for some of the smaller productions, students could run the sound; run the soundboard, learn how to mix wireless mics in different ways, learn how to be kind of high speed on the soundboard,” said Palmieri.
When students return in the fall, the theater will look and sound better with these new bells and whistles. New lights, curtains, and a new sound system will improve the quality of every presentation on TJ’s stage, ranging from Honor Roll award ceremonies to TJ’s theater productions.
