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St. James High School English teacher and play director Sandy Sunde calls it a “big step,” a “step into the 21st century.”
She was talking about the new lighting system in the school’s Little Theater which will debut this weekend in the school’s annual One Act Comedy Festival.
“We are able to light as well as new theaters like in Le Sueur and Blue Earth,” said an excited Sunde this week.
Fifteen students and local theater enthusiasts learned how to use the lighting technology on Monday. The new system is a big upgrade, says Sunde. They can now tinker with more and varied positional lighting, fade-in/fade-out options, gelling, even special effects.
(Spoiler alert! Following quote reveals a surprise in one of this weekend’s plays!)
“This weekend one of the One Act Plays has thunderstorms frequently so the boys on the light can just touch a button that makes it look like lightning and thunder,” said Sunde. “Then this spring for Les Misérables the barricade scene it will be able to look like a fire.”
Total cost of the project was just under $15,000 said local activist Sue Harris. About one-third was paid for by School District #840, with the rest paid for by Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council (through their legacy money), the St. James Theater and Arts Board, and the Lions Club.
The previous set of lights -- two sets of 12 blue and red incandescent bulbs -- dated back to the early 1960s. The new lights will get plenty of use starting this Saturday with the One Act Plays and continuing this spring with the community’s performance of Les Misérables.
St. James High School English teacher and play director Sandy Sunde calls it a “big step,” a “step into the 21st century.”
She was talking about the new lighting system in the school’s Little Theater which will debut this weekend in the school’s annual One Act Comedy Festival.
“We are able to light as well as new theaters like in Le Sueur and Blue Earth,” said an excited Sunde this week.
Fifteen students and local theater enthusiasts learned how to use the lighting technology on Monday. The new system is a big upgrade, says Sunde. They can now tinker with more and varied positional lighting, fade-in/fade-out options, gelling, even special effects.
(Spoiler alert! Following quote reveals a surprise in one of this weekend’s plays!)
“This weekend one of the One Act Plays has thunderstorms frequently so the boys on the light can just touch a button that makes it look like lightning and thunder,” said Sunde. “Then this spring for Les Misérables the barricade scene it will be able to look like a fire.”
Total cost of the project was just under $15,000 said local activist Sue Harris. About one-third was paid for by School District #840, with the rest paid for by Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council (through their legacy money), the St. James Theater and Arts Board, and the Lions Club.
The previous set of lights -- two sets of 12 blue and red incandescent bulbs -- dated back to the early 1960s. The new lights will get plenty of use starting this Saturday with the One Act Plays and continuing this spring with the community’s performance of Les Misérables.
