At every Believe event in October, La Salle’s largest annual fundraiser, money is raised through paddle raises and other donations towards renovating a specific area of the school, including the recent upgrades of the cafeteria and the main hallway.

This year, it was the theater.

Reflecting on how he felt when he found out the news, theater teacher Mr. Michael Shelton noted that he was joyful.

“It feels like it’s valuable to the community,” he said. “It feels like it matters. It feels like people are paying attention to it, and they can be a part of something larger than themselves, instead of walking into a space and feeling like it’s a forgotten corner.”

After Believe, it was officially announced to theater students that renovations would be taking place; however, at the time, sketches of what the final design looked like had yet to be released to them. 

It wasn’t until the end of the year that photos capturing the vision of the end result could be spotted on the walls outside the theater lobby.

“It definitely was a surprise to me,” said senior Miles Timberlake, who has been involved in theater since his freshman year and was recently cast as Mr. Darcy in the upcoming fall production of “Pride and Prejudice.”

“Every single year we would get closer and closer, like something needs to happen, and then, now it’s happened,” he said. “It’s about time.”

Notable upgrades to the theater include new seats, paneling on the side walls, a staircase to the loft, a new projector and screen, and additional improvements to the control booth. 

Phase one of the theater renovations, included in the master plan, which is a structured outline designed to guide improvements around the campus, involved the theater lobby and control booth in 2018. Phase two consists of the current renovations with the theater and the extension of the control booth.

With the positive response from the community at last year’s Believe event, which earned $50,000 from a paddle raise designated for the theater, they became more confident that kickstarting the renovations was possible.

“Being able to have that extra little influx of funding really impacted the level of quality we’re able to provide at the end of the day,” Mr. Winningham said.

$350,000 was set aside for the project, but the final total came in slightly under budget, according to the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Mr. Matthew Winningham, who helped supervise the project.

Vice President of Advancement & Communications Ms. Andrea Burns helped with the design elements in this project, and President Mr. John Huelskamp assisted in managing the campus development committee with Mr. Winningham.

The committee meets multiple times a year depending on the project at hand, discussing renovations and utilizing the master plan, which was designed by an earlier version of the committee in 2014.

“We are informed by the master plan, but not beholden to it,” Mr. Winningham said. “So times change, and we need to realize and recognize, ‘what is it that we do need now?’”

One parent volunteer, Erin Davis, who was described as “instrumental” by Mr. Winningham to the design of the theater renovations, came up with the idea for the wood paneling on the sides and the sconces. Davis also assisted with additional design choices, like the selection of the seats.

Many thought that the old seats were troublesome.

According to Timberlake, they were very “rickety,” constantly creaking, and the armrests could slide off with ease, an annoyance and a distraction, especially during performances.

“It just needed to change,” he said. “The seats have been there forever.”

Another advantage to the new seating is the upcoming inclusion of ADA-accessible options. Because the committee wanted to emphasize accessibility, safety, and also modernization, there will soon be a number of removable seats and places for wheelchairs. 

Mr. Shelton is especially excited for the renovations, as they help students “feel like they matter too, because they get to have seats [where] the armrests don’t fall off.”

The only downside to these seats: they’re still not here yet.

After the events of a devastating natural disaster — Hurricane Erin — that struck in mid to late August and spread to the Atlantic Coast of the U.S., causing various floods, power outages, and more tumultuous damage to Cape Verde, an island west of Senegal in Africa, the ship which held the seats was told to turn around.

When informed of this news, Mr. Winningham was notified that the seats would be delivered in September by the latest, a month after they were supposed to arrive. Because of this, the seats won’t be installed until mid-October — with the fall production of “Pride and Prejudice” beginning soon after and opening on Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m.

“It is a little bit nerve-wracking, but it’s totally out of people’s control, right?” Mr. Shelton said. “We’re just going to roll with whatever happens.”

However, he mentioned that he and other students have been joking about the audience bringing their own blankets if the seats don’t arrive in time.

“In some ways, it’s kind of a fun story to have,” he said. “‘Yeah, that one time, when we almost didn’t have seats for the production because of a hurricane.’”

Timberlake said that he believes in the worthwhile effect of the renovations despite the delay, such as elevating the audience experience. 

For Mr. Winningham, he is excited to refresh something old and make sure that the quality of the theater is at the same level of the high caliber of the theater department.

“We want to make our kids — our community — feel proud about the spaces they’re in,” he said.

Mr. Shelton encourages students to try theater, even if they think it’s uncomfortable, because it offers them more confidence. When given the opportunity to be involved in both arts and athletics, he said that these students typically see the value in others and themselves.

In the future, there will also be upgrades done to the backstage area, which is phase three for the theater within the master plan. According to Mr. Shelton, renovations like the current and future ones could motivate more students to be involved with the theater because of the benefit of something new and modern.

But before the next phase of theater renovations, the library will be focused on first. 

Potential improvements are said to take place next summer, focusing on cultivating more of a “learning center,” as described by Mr. Winningham, like creating spaces for people to work in groups or on their own. While the designs are still a work in progress, the news will officially be revealed in October at the Believe event.