Does Your School Need a Performing Arts Center?

As schools start to strive toward teaching 21st century skills, such as collaboration, creativity, self-direction and more hands-on learning, having a Performing Arts Center in a school district can be beneficial.

Music is probably one of the first things that comes to mind when thinking of a Performing Arts Center (PAC), but that is just a piece of the pie. The availability of a PAC can be helpful in teaching students not only music, but acting, dance, technical theater and important collaboration skills of how all these disciplines work together to form a production.

My first musical theater experience was in the elementary school at Gilford Elementary School in Gilford, New Hampshire, in the late 1980s. The entire class walked across the street to Gilford High School with its 750-seat auditorium. Everyone was in awe and amazement of what they saw on stage for the production of “Little Mary Sunshine.” From set changes, to costume changes, swings dropping from what seemed like the ceiling, to the music and singing, and the great dancing and acting, it was amazing.

At that time, it was pretty rare to have an auditorium in a high school, especially in northern New Hampshire. Most of the larger PACs in New Hampshire are closer to the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border, where the schools are much larger – some more than 10 times the size of Gilford.

Fortunately, when the town of Gilford decided to split from the city of Laconia in the 1970s and construct its own school building, it was decided to build an auditorium at that time. Shortly after the construction was finished in 1974, the school district hired a theater director and a technical theater director.

In addition to a theater director and a technical theater director, we also have a choral teacher and an instrumental music teacher. Various parents and community members assume added roles like costume designer, production manager, choreographer, program designer, etc. The theater and music programs also offer summer camps for younger students, where the older high school students or alumni will return to help teach and offer their knowledge.

Besides benefiting from having the faculty to help run the various programs in the PAC, another advantage to having a PAC is having the space to be able to teach these collaboration skills. In addition to the 750-seat auditorium, we also have a large three-tiered band room and a green room/little theater. In 2004, the high school was renovated, and a separate middle school was constructed.

One of the things the PAC gained from this renovation was the addition of two practice rooms and a scene shop attached to the back of the stage. Prior to the addition, all the set pieces were strategically placed in the wings of the stage, hidden away for future productions. With the addition of the scene shop, the technical theater students now have a place to work to build set pieces that aren’t on the stage or in the auditorium, and things can be stored for easier access.

The collaboration skills that are taught in the PAC overarch all programs. For example, students who are enrolled in some of the classes, such as Music Technology, are learning skills such as how to use the soundboard that will then help them when it comes time to help run a production or an event in the auditorium.

Students who are learning how to sing in chorus are then bringing those skills with them to the stage when it comes time to perform a role in a larger musical. Students are able to self-direct and are learning at their own pace because a lot of these programs are extracurricular. Involving students to help create show designs and banners, or to play in the pit orchestra gets their creative minds flowing.

Over the years the Gilford PAC has been able to host not only its own events, but also outside organizations including local community performing groups, larger music and theater festivals, and touring groups such as the Gustavus Wind Orchestra from Minnesota and Recycled Percussion.

Students are introduced to arts organizations through these partnerships, as well as experience what it is like to work in the arts through work-based learning, master classes and artistic residences. This has allowed students to explore and see what other opportunities exist beyond the PAC in the school. By experiencing this through work-based learning, students are more prepared for what a future career in the arts entails.

By having a PAC, students are able to explore their passions and learn from dedicated teachers, artists and professionals. Whether it’s on the stage or behind the scenes, a PAC is an opportunity to allow students to deepen their knowledge and skillset. The courses in a PAC also help encourage experimentation, networking and future collaborations that will benefit students in their future careers.