Brooke Holland
The New Canaan High School theater program has won countless awards for the all the performances they’ve produced. They’ve put on hundreds of plays of all types, this year’s lineup being The Orphan Train, Annie Jr., Into the Woods, and A Day in Hollywood, A Night in Ukraine.
Because of the many performances from NCHS theater, the program has been and still is hard at work to try and raise the money they need for a new sound system.
Alan Sneath, head of visual and performing arts at NCHS, is a big part of the fundraising process. “What’s happened is that over the last two years we’ve put pieces in place. We’ve actually rented equipment for our shows, to help broaden the experience for the audience,” Mr. Sneath said. “They have been doing fundraising for about two years, it’s an expensive piece of equipment.”
The main fundraiser for the sound system is the annual gala held here at NCHS. Although the theme of the gala changes each year, its purpose of raising money to purchase new system has not.
Senior Berlin Charles has been in the gala over the years, and he’s sparked interest for a new system. “In shows people’s voices would go in and out, and the microphones on our faces would have to be in perfect position in order to hear us,” Berlin said. “If a microphone didn’t work with a costume would be annoying because no one could hear us,” Berlin said.
Anthony Medaglia sheds more of a technological light on why the new system is needed at NCHS. “There are several issues contributing to the poor sound quality. The rooms barrel effect which causes an echo-back acoustical issue, partial working speakers, need for a new microphone system, a broken digital signal processor,” Mr. Medaglia said. “The equipment is over 15 years old, which is the other factor contributing to the interest being sparked.”
Senior Jacob Freedgood is anxious about raising enough money for the new equipment. He sees benefits outside of sound improvement that will come with the new system. “The sound system we are hoping for is one of Broadway quality, so our director says it will make it less of an auditorium and more of a theater,” Jacob said. “We need district funding too, so it would show community support of the arts.”
The new sound system would be a huge improvement to an already great theater program. The members of the New Canaan High School community can hardly wait for the money to be raised, because they’re excited to see the improvements. “I’m excited for us to be able to be heard and to use more efficient microphones,” Berlin said.
