PORT ANGELES — The high school auditorium is a bit elderly and needs help to fully enter the 21st century, according to a new group called the Friends of the Port Angeles Performing Arts Center.
The 1,150-seat auditorium at Port Angeles High School, 304 E. Park Ave., was built in 1958 and remodeled in 1978, said Jeff Bohman, a member of the Friends of the Port Angeles Performing Arts Center committee.
A 2008 survey of school buildings found major concerns about virtually every system and portion of the building.
Replacing the building, which would cost millions, isn’t likely to happen any time soon, Bohman said.
But there are some relatively affordable improvements that can make the auditorium more usable, he said.
The committee is raising funds for the auditorium, also known as the Port Angeles Performing Arts Center, under an agreement with the Port Angeles Education Foundation.
Its first donation came from board member Sarah Methner, who turned over a check for $1,000 in the name of her great-aunt Margaret Mowry, a longtime supporter of the arts.
In addition to the auditorium’s use by students for concerts, plays and other school events, it also hosts performances by the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra, PALOA Musical Theater, Olympic Barbershop, Peninsula Men’s Gospel Singers, Arts Northwest, Ballet Workshop and others.
In 2011, it was tapped to host the national radio show “eTown,” which brought the California indie-rock band Cake, Texas Music Hall of Fame artist Eliza Gilkyson and singer-songwriter-banjo man Danny Barnes, to perform during the ceremonies that marked the beginning of the removal of the Elwha River dams.
On April 15, Arlo Guthrie will play at the venue, and the Juan de Fuca Festival schedules additional concerts nearly every month.
“If you want to bring a big act to town like Arlo Guthrie, it’s the only option,” said Dan Maguire, executive director of the Juan de Fuca Festival.
Ron Jones, fine arts chairman and director of the Port Angeles High School orchestras, led a short tour of the auditorium on Tuesday, and pointed out the front of the stage, which, even when the auditorium is fully lit, is very dark.
“You can’t see anyone standing near the front of the stage,” Jones said.
Additional stage and orchestra pit lighting would cost $3,000, according to estimates received by the committee.
Currently, the sound system and light controls are behind the curtains, Jones pointed out, where the operator cannot see what is happening on stage.
For $2,000, the house floor sound/light control station can be upgraded and moved to a location in the midst of auditorium seating, as can be found in more modern theater designs, he said.
The house lights, set permanently in the ceiling, run front to back, Jones explained, so even if there are only a few hundred people in the front of the auditorium, all of the lights have to be turned on.
For $6,000, the wiring can be rewired so that each section, front to back, can be controlled individually, so unused areas can be kept dark, saving the school the cost of lighting the entire cavernous building.
Similarly, a movable floor divider that can wall off back sections of the auditorium to create a smaller, more intimate venue, and keep the audience in a smaller portion of the building, can be purchased for $5,000.
The biggest item is a courtyard amphitheater, estimated to cost $20,000.
Currently, the courtyard outside of the theater is rough and surrounded by bushes, which are unsightly and require a lot of maintenance, Bohman said.
A redesign of the courtyard created by Gene Unger, a former Clallam County engineer, would replace the bushes with wide cement risers that can be used as a low stage for a warm-up act to welcome guests for a larger show, Bohman said.
The Class of 2012 and the committee are considering a class gift of $1,000 for a new sign to direct visitors from South Peabody Street to parking areas on that street.
Donations of $100 or more can be made to the Friends of the Port Angeles Performing Arts Center.
Donors will be honored in a permanent recognition wall that will be unveiled in the auditorium lobby later this year.
The group cannot accept smaller donations because of the administrative effort that goes into managing donations, committee members said.
For more information or to arrange for a donation, contact Bohman at 360-477-8881 or Bob Lumens at 360-460-6830, or drop donations off at Port Angeles High School, in care of Principal Garry Cameron.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
