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Lighting&Sound
76 April 2007 America
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This page: The interior of the Watchung Hills
Regional High School auditorium. Opposite:
Inside the auditorium at Darien High School.
E d u c a t i o n
Say goodbye to the gymnatorium, as two new projects
reveal the state of the art in secondary school theatre design.
By: John Calhoun
Two of Charles Cosler Theatre Design's events or having meetings. That means
recent projects are $7 million-plus houses these facilities have to do music well, they
with variable acoustic design for flexible have to do drama well, they have to have
use, and state-of-the-art sound, lighting, projection capabilities for PowerPoint and
and rigging systems. They also happen to things like that. And there's a lot that goes
be high school theatres. In the secondary into making them flexible for those
school realm, the new auditoriums at different uses."
Watchung Hills Regional High School in There are key differences between the
New Jersey and Darien High School in projects. The 1,000-seat Watchung theatre,
Connecticut are not that unusual. "In most which opened in September 2006,
of our high school projects, the bar has replaces a much smaller space that more
been raised," says Cosler, whose firm has closely resembled the auditoriums of the
designed a number of such facilities. "It's past. "It was built in the 1950s or '60s, and
no longer the high school auditorium that it had a tiny little stage," says Cosler. "That
we grew up in. They are bumping up to the facility was held onto, and they're using it
level now of performing arts centers, and as a practice area for the dance and
they're even calling them that." drama departments." Although additional
That's partly because both the Watchung construction projects are underway at
and Darien theatres are intended to serve Watchung Hills Regional High School, the
their larger communities. "There are no new theatre is the most ambitious
facilities like this in either town, or in the undertaking on campus.
surrounding area," says Cosler. "So they The 1,200-seat facility at Darien, on the
becomes de-facto venues for booking in other hand, is part of a brand-new $100-
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PHOTO: ROBERT BENSON
April 2007 77
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