Wellesley High School Project
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Should the high school project include a new auditorium or should we renovate the existing auditorium? |
The current auditorium is part of the original building constructed in 1938 and is a facility admired and treasured by many Wellesley citizens. Renovations in the 1990’s increased the stage size by removing some audience seating and extending the stage towards the audience.
The current high school building project is being driven by the needs of the school’s program, including the current demands and projected future growth of the Performing Arts Department – music, drama, and dance. Inherent in that program are performance components requiring a suitable auditorium from the perspectives of both the production and the audience. In addition, normal functions of the school require suitable gathering spaces for assemblies of the entire student body or two graduating year classes, the senior class and parents, etc. Regardless of whether the auditorium is renovated or a new auditorium is constructed, it will be necessary to meet current building code requirements.
Students involved in any school performance have auxiliary paraphernalia and/or needs such as costume changes, sets and props, instruments, music stands, chairs, bleachers, audio equipment, rest room for performers, etc. The stage should be configured appropriately for set size, scenery availability, scene change, and performer stand-by, all requiring sufficient back stage and wing space. The auditorium size should accommodate enough seating to meet demand. Finally, productions are much easier to facilitate if the regular program space is near the auditorium for preparation, rehearsal, and access purposes.
The existing auditorium stage is bounded in the back by the corridor of the main hallway. A renovation in the 1990’s enlarged the stage by expanding it into the audience space at a cost of reduced capacity and curtain capabilities. Currently there is still insufficient back stage and wing space, very limited curtain and storage capability, no dressing room or rest room accommodations, and insufficient audience capacity.
At the time it was built in 1938, the auditorium accommodated the entire student body. Over the cycles of population shifts throughout the years, the past maximum student population was 1500 students in the 1970’s. Current projections show a maximum in the near future again of about 1500 students. Standards throughout Massachusetts, including the reimbursement guidelines by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), suggest a school auditorium seat half the student body, or 750 students for Wellesley High School.
The existing auditorium has 645 seats, which includes 528 seats on the main level and 117 seats in the balcony. Many of the balcony seats are unusable. The seating is angled, and there are sight line difficulties with lighting equipment and controls located at the front edge of the balcony. Due to new building code and American with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements (including a change to the grading of the main floor and access to the stage), a renovated auditorium could yield as few as 450 seats on the main level.
Wellesley Public Schools encourages participation in performing arts as an important experience for students, a philosophy that has resulted in greater numbers of participants and spectators, numbers that already exceed the capabilities of the facility. The town is rightfully proud of its performing artists, who have achieved regional, state, and national acclaim. The system is proud to offer a curriculum that enriches the lives of so many of its students in one or more facets of the performing arts.
The salient points factoring into the recommendation by the School Committee are the following.
The School Committee strongly recommends that a new high school auditorium meeting the program needs as described above and with a seating capacity of 750 be included in the pending high school project.
Approved by School Committee
April 9,2007