While students are settling into the new building, all of the construction is not finished. The auditorium building has started undergoing renovations. Renovations started on December 18, 2015, and will continue through the school year and into the summer. The new auditorium is expected to be completed by next fall.

“They haven’t given us an official word,” said language arts teacher Ranger Puterbaugh, who is the director of the Drama Club program. “I assume next fall we’ll open with next year’s season in a brand new auditorium.

A majority of the renovations will be provided by the district. This includes new carpet and seating, the removal of the Roll of Recognition stone tablets, and a complete remodel of the lobby.

“The main door will be flipped to the other side, so people can enter directly from the parking lot,” said Puterbaugh. “We’re getting new doors and I believe the bathrooms are being redone as well.”

In addition to lobby renovations, changes are being made in the theater as well. House and sic lights will be replaced with LEDs and the surface of the stage will be refinished. They are painting the ceiling and touching up the plaster on the turntables. The district will also touch up the backstage area, with new counters and stalls in the bathrooms and a touched up hallway. While the tile in the back hallway will be removed, the “show bricks,” which contain student-painted images of the drama program’s past plays, will not be removed.

With the renovations the district is providing, the drama program is taking this time to clean house.

“We’ve cleaned out our tech room and are getting rid of things we haven’t used in a long time,” said Puterbaugh. “We’re making room for new stuff.”

The old music library will also be made into a theatre library, which will store playbooks, scripts, and magazines for students to read during class and for leisure.

The renovations to the auditorium were decided on as part of the construction of the new building as a way to update the building along with the new high school without having to construct a new auditorium. The district did not want to sacrifice the old auditorium due to some of its unique features, such as the turntables, that set it apart from most theaters in the state.

“The decision was made as part of the new building project,” said principal Mr. George Caras. “Timelines were set by contractors and district administration.”

Before this renovation, the biggest change to the auditorium was an updated sound system.

“This will be the first major renovation for the auditorium since it was built in the mid-1980s,” said Caras.

Due to the unavailability of the auditorium, the drama program will be showing their musicals in different locations.

“Our first musical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, will be performed at Shiloh Church,” said Puterbaugh. “Our big musical, Children of Eden, will be in April this year due to timing. That will be performed at Brookville High School.”

Though the school is without an auditorium for the remainder of the 2015-2016 school year, it will be worth it when it returns new and improved next fall.