Renovations first contemplated five years ago for the Deptford Township High School auditorium – including new equipment and seating – are now complete.
More energy-efficient LED lighting that is easier to change and lasts longer has been added to the auditorium stage, according to Principal Jason Strouse. The new seating is more wheelchair accessible and ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) compliant. Better sound-proofing and a wireless microphone system are among other upgrades.
The overall look of the venue was also updated with newly painted walls, an updated stage surface and air conditioning. Funds for the renovations were approved in a bond referendum.
“We really didn’t change walls or anything of that nature,” said Strouse. “We just modified what was already there.”
One of the major additions is a new touch-screen panel that controls the projector, stage lighting and audio control.
“Now everything is controlled from one of these panels,” Strouse noted, referring to the panel. ” … You can control video, lighting we have HDMI (video) hooked up through there, any audio you might want to do. You can even lock the various switches that route (power) throughout the auditorium.”
Much of the previous equipment and overall look of the auditorium were largely the same as when the school opened in 1957.
“The original system was the original system” Strouse explained. “If you were to swap out anything that had to do with the audio, you would go through a system that was basically antiquated because they don’t make the components anymore.”
The upgrades will be evident when the high school stages its fall play, Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 22 and 23.
“There’s a lot of stuff (that goes on) in here,” noted the school district’s coordinator of communications, Sal Randazzo. “It’s not just for school. We have a lot of performances, concerts and plays and stuff, but there’s new student orientation, award nights, honor society, JROTC, class meetings.
“There are tons of stuff going on in here,” he added. “We’ll definitely make good use of the moon.”
Students and teachers got their first look at the upgrades during one of those orientations and liked what they saw, said Strouse.
“Those that are new to the building, it’s hard to appreciate it if you never saw the old elements,” he pointed out. “But the families that have been in the district for years and years and years, they were blown away by what was there.”
