The Advance

Issue date: 8/31/07 Section: Entertainment

The renovations on Fitzpatrick Auditorium will be complete in time for the first show, "Al¬most, Maine."

What started as a simple to do list turned into a $13,000 mini scale technological renovation, bringing Kansas Wesleyan University's theater department to the forefront for drama production.
Employees worked diligently this summer to complete the renovations in time.

Included in the package is a com¬pletely revamped lighting system, now digital, with safer modifications. Richard Esvang, the new assistant professor in the Department of Com¬munication Studies and Theatre Arts, was the reason for the project.

"It got started when Barbara Marshall wanted me to look at and address the immediate needs for the theatre," Esvang said, "We talked about sound, lighting, and organiza¬tion."

The outcome: an extension cord-less auditorium, now adaptable to any future changes due to digitization.

The only thing missing, however, is the adapter that hooks to the control board, making the lights functional, according to Marshall, the Depart¬ment of Communication Studies & Theatre Arts chair.

"We also still need another dim¬mer pad and more circuits," Marshall said. "To have better lighting we will need to rent one. Eventually, the idea is to have at least three of our own."
Also missing, according to Es¬vang, is a place to build sets and costume storage, which he hopes will be built in the future. There should be a space to continue building the sets while a performance is on stage.

And finally, "the theatre merely needs to be upgraded and organized.
Basically, we just need a series of procedures and polices," Esvang said. "However, what we don't need is a new theatre."

Esvang said his overall goal is to make KWU students and faculty members aware of the value of Fitz¬patrick Auditorium.

"We are trying to figure out how to get campus wide involvement in the theatre. We want it to be an important part of the campus," Esvang said.

For both Marshall and Esvang, the new renovations serve as a testament to the possibilities of the theatre.

With the opportunity to host up to three productions this year, the upgrades made to the theatre will play a pivotal role in the types plays ran by the theatre department.

"With the lights computer con¬trolled, we can now perform a sequencing of light operations," Marshall said.

The first production date is set for October 11-14.

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