New Rooms, Same Talent

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Lauren Lieb

Time for a change! Freshman choir makes advances into their new room. This is part of a multi-step process for State High’s music programs, as well as Thespians. The move has required a lot of hard work, devotion, and cooperation from students. As the new building’s arts wing comes together, students are required to have rehearsals in a new parts of the North Building. ‘While it might be inconvenient now, we know it will be worth it in the end,” Freshman choir member Lauren Lieb said.

Ella Simpson, Staff Writer

With State High under construction, adapting to new conditions is inevitable. All students have been experiencing a multitude of new changes, but some students in particular will have to relocate spaces once again. Those students are members of Thespians and music programs.

Beginning on February 5th, 2018, music students will move into their new spaces. The new locations for music programs are located in the 400 wing of the North Building. As for Thespians, they have already made their move into North Counseling. Thespians and music program students will be making their final move to the new building in the fall of 2018.

For the hopeful students involved, this is a process involving plenty of hard work and dedication.

“I’m waiting to see what the new room looks like, and I hope it’s big enough,” Symphonic Band member Kristen Lenze said. Lenze is in charge of packing music library materials into boxes, as well as organizing and labeling items for the new space.

“Some boxes may be lost or things may fall out,” Lenze said, “ But I think for the most part the people who have helped us out have been great at labeling and organizing.”

Concern was expressed among some students. The longer walk to the new space appeared like a new task to some. “We may get to class late,” music program student Will Hurtz said.

Symphonic Band President Shane McCandless described his outlook on how the move may impact students mentally. “The only potential problem would be students not wanting to do music,” McCandless explained, “But I think it will be the same for students wanting to do it, just in a new space.”

The Thespian students are experiencing this same process.

“My biggest worry is not for the actors, but for our technical team, because they will not have the same resources that we had in the old space,” Thespians President Morgan Higgins said.

Higgins is in charge of leading meetings as well as making proposals about decisions at board meetings. She is extremely devoted, and says that she keeps Thespians together as a whole.

“I’ll be missing a stage that has a fly system, and I’ll miss having a lot of space on stage,” Higgins said. “It’s going to limit the kinds of experiences kids can have.”

In charge of all Thespians aspects is director Jill Campbell. She explained that the move is a multi-step process that will take time, but it will have benefits for students.

“The move allows students to learn how to design a set to move into a particular space, and have something very flexible and movable,” Campbell explained. “It’s a learning process, and it may make rehearsals last longer,” she said, “We’ll see.”

Although students have limited working space until the new space is ready, they still will get to have performance opportunities in nice spaces. Music programs will have their spring concerts in the newly renovated auditorium, and Thespians will perform their spring musical at Mount Nittany Middle School. The moving process may be challenging, but the talent will still stay strong.

“It’s going to be different,” Campbell said, “But that doesn’t mean the quality will be any less.”