Fourteen months after the COVID-19 pandemic caused Stage Coach Players to darken their stage, they are ready to bring the lights back up and are preparing for live productions to return to their theatre in DeKalb.
On the evening the first show opens for live public viewing, a crew member will enter a room backstage and turn on the power to six dimmers, which supply the power to all of the stage lighting. Even for a small theatre like SCP, it takes a lot of power to get the lights running. There will be an audible hum as the dimmers come to life – a sound that they will be hearing for the first time in over a year and will be like music to their ears. Next, the lighting designer will turn on the light board at the back of the house and prep the lights.
“Lighting is one of the most important facets of live productions, said Gloria Dennison, and SCP volunteer that lends her talents as a lighting designer. “Theatre is a visual performing art. The color of the lights indicates time of day, weather, and mood, and the intensity of the lights is an important consideration too, creating mood from sad or loneliness to happiness.”
Fundraising for Give DeKalb County this year will be used to help purchase new lighting equipment. SCP was able to purchase some LED lights through a generous grant from Com Ed four years ago, but the light board is over 20 years old and not equipped to properly control or take full advantage of the upgraded lighting equipment.
“Twenty years in light board years is really, really, really old,” Dennison quipped.
In addition to preparing for safely producing live performances and fundraising to upgrade their lighting equipment, SCP is continuing collecting food and household items for local food banks. The SCP Community Outreach Committee will be collecting items this coming Tues., April 27, 2021, from 4 to 6 p.m. for The Sycamore Food Pantry. Boxed, canned, and plastic containers with non-perishable food and household items. Please no glass containers.
To make a donation to SCP through Give DeKalb County, go to GiveDeKalbCounty.org on May 6, 2021 to donate online. If you want to make a donation by mail, go to the same website, scroll to find the link to the Mail-In Donation and follow the instructions.
For more information on SCP, including upcoming performances, “Stageline” articles on a variety of theatre related topics, information on past productions and future community outreach efforts, please visit our website www.stagecoachplayers.com.
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