OPHS Activity Center begins to take shape





By Lori Porter
Acorn Staff Writer

At a meeting of the Oak Park Theater Building Committee (OPTBC) it was clear that "less is more" perfectly describes the future Performing Arts Center, also known as the Oak Park High School Activity Center.


The center will apparently be less than OPTBC’s original vision of a state-of-the-art performing venue, but it will also be more functional than originally planned.


The facility will not only serve as a theater for plays, recitals and concerts, but it will also house Oak Park High School’s drama and music classrooms, a multipurpose room for meetings and dances, and an indoor eating area for dining during inclement weather.


OPTBC had already offered to use its money to help complete the school’s activity center. The group partially fulfilled its goal to fund, design and build a visual and performing arts center to enrich the arts curriculum for Oak Park High School. OPTBC also is helping meet other goals that had been set by Oak Park High School’s faculty and staff.


At a meeting last month, co-chairman Larry Jordan shared good news about the Activity Center. It will, he said, look and feel more like a theater than initially expected.


With about $20,000 in donated funds allocated to this project, the committee decided that the top priority was to reconfigure the electrical system to include effective stage lighting and wiring for remote controlled sound equipment, all of which needs to be finished before the final interior walls can be completed. Because of limited performance space, the committee also decided to use some of the money for a removable stage extension system which can be easily stored when not in use.


Considering existing inventories of light, sound and stage equipment, the committee expects the bid for additions and change orders to fall somewhere between $15,000 and $16, 000, which leaves a balance of about $5,000.


The committee agreed that the extra $5,000 should go toward a theater style seating system that Oak Park High School Principal Cliff Moore discovered while looking at the feasibility of the using the activity center as a performing arts venue.


Alhough the total cost of the seating system is estimated at $180,000, the committee believes the money will be raised through the Founders Circle, which is currently being established. The founders will soon begin to meet on a regular basis.


So far, there’s an estimated $40,000 in donations from those who’ve already expressed interest in becoming members of the Founders Circle.


At this spring’s production of the musical "Hair," an invitation to join the Founders Circle was placed inside every program. Similar invitations had also been included in school newsletters.


The Founders Circle will be structured to encourage and recognize multiple levels of donations with the following categories: Eagle, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Platinum and Founders Circle Partner.


Beginning with a donation of up to $399, an Eagle donation will go into a general equipment fund for the purchase and upgrade of any needed equipment throughout the year. These donors will be recognized in all programs and on a Founders Circle Wall of Donations inside the center.


Silver donors will have a donor plaque placed on one of the theater seats as well as having their name in programs and on the Wall of Donations. Gold, Diamond, Platinum and Founder Circle Partner Donors will have a plaque on two, three, four and five seats respectively. Founders Circle Donors, those who give more than $5,000, will also be recognized by a bronze plaque placed in the new building.


For future information on Founders Circle meetings and how to make donations, please contact Principal Cliff Moore at cmoore@opusd.k12.ca.us.



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