Scott Swanson
A couple of years ago I was in the audience in the Sweet Home High School Auditorium during the annual high school May Week Talent Show.
There were 10 or 12 acts on the program, of which all but one were going to be musical performances. When the first artist tried to perform, though, the sound system erupted in such loud crackling that the show’s directors had to turn off the microphones.
The eventual winners were a team of girls who put on a scintillating display of gymnastics and dance moves that was a really high-quality performance – the only one that didn’t depend on functional mics. It was the only one that actually “worked” that night.
The others, and there were some quality efforts, were hamstrung by the technical problems. You couldn’t hear the singers. They never got a chance to show what they could actually do, what they had spent hours practicing, because no one had bothered to ensure that the sound equipment would be functional.
Much more recently, I attended a choir concert in the auditorium. When the director walked from the microphone stand to the podium, the floorboard creaked loudly. Thankfully, the mics behaved a little better that night. The talent show problems have been replicated at other events I’ve been to, though.
I’m thankful that the local Elks Lodge has taken an interest in fixing some of the auditorium’s ills.
As we reported in last week’s newspaper, the Elks and others are looking to raise funds to repair the stage and possibly make other changes.
I don’t want to sound petulant here, but when you consider all the auditorium is used for, it’s really time to bring it up to a higher standard than embarrassing.
Sweet Home’s Husky Stadium has some of the best-maintained natural turf in the state. The Main Gym is well-lit, well-appointed and generally about as close to spotless as could be expected – take this from a former janitor. The high school library is similarly well-endowed, a quality place to study, read or conduct small receptions.
Then we have the auditorium, which serves a wider range of Sweet Home residents, arguably, than any of the above: musicians young and old in the school choir and band programs and the Singing Christmas Tree, occasional elementary school productions, high school drama productions, school assemblies, important community meetings in which large attendance is anticipated, Sportsman’s Holiday Court coronations and Chips ‘n’ Splinters shows, professional development sessions, fund-raiser performances, etc.
It’s shabby. The paint, which hasn’t been replaced in years, is flaking in spots. The lighting is poor in nearly all respects. The stage is creaky. The clock on the wall hasn’t functioned in recent memory.
The carpet isn’t too bad and the seating is decent shape, though.
Many young people and adults in our community take their music or thespian activities seriously.The roll out of bed early and stay late to pracitce. They work hard to prepare, then they walk into the dingy auditorium to put on their show. What message does this send about our community’s values?
Revenue’s been tight in Sweet Home and I’m as aware of that as anyone. I grew up in a household without a lot of money and I know how to make do. But when you compare the condition of this facility to others that serve the activities mentioned earlier, it’s not a pretty picture.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting our athletic fields be put out to pasture. I like a clean, bright gym. But I’m saying a similar effort to what is applied to keeping those facilities nice could be directed at the auditorium.
As we’ve stated numerous times on this page in the past, art is important in a community like Sweet Home, where a lot of residents live in their own hard-scrabble circumstances.
Which would we prefer? Having our local kids chomping on snack foods and playing video games on their couches after school (or when they’re supposed to be in class), or smoking, doing drugs or engaging in other activities that aren’t pointing them to a responsible, productive adulthood?
Or would we rather see them learning how to play an instrument or developing their singing skills, or memorizing lines or building sets or programming lights for a drama production?
I believe that every young person should be encouraged, if not required, to participate in activities in which he or she can learn to function as a team member and exercise creativity, learn to persevere through rehearsals, learn to strive for excellence.
I am personally a sports lover who enjoys physical activity. I’d love to see twice the current number of young people in Sweet Home participate in sports at every level because athletics develop not only physical fitness and health, but growth of character. I recognize, though, that not every kid is born to run or swim or even try to develop those skills, at least not without prodding from their parents or others, which many don’t receive.
The fact is, the social skills mentioned above can be learned just as well – if not better – in music or drama or forensics (speech performance) or being a member of the Sportsman’s Holiday Court.
But when our students walk into a shabby facility that hasn’t been painted in years, stand on a stage that’s creaky, sing or speak into a temperamental sound system that no one cares enough to fix or replace, it’s not a pretty picture.