COMMUNITY THEATRE FOR FELIXSTOWE
| Published: 15th July 2008 14:40 |
The Felistowe Small Theatre (FST) as well as serving the School, would also provide local amateur companies with a venue to stage productions which appeal to a small audience and would also be ideal for more diverse and experimental productions and chamber concerts. In addition, the Theatre would be available for conferences, seminars and exhibitions.
Local schools serve the local community and very often their facilities are vastly underused when school holidays and weekends are taken into account. It is estimated that the Theatre could be made available to the community for some 200 days each year as well as many evenings during term time.
The vision for this projects is a "200-250 seat Community Theatre which can complement the development and expansion of the entertainment business in this seaside town in the 21st century."
The Theatre would have 'State-of-the-Art' lighting and sound; flexible, racked seating; box office and other front-of house facilities. Deben High School is already a Specialist School for the Visual and Paerforming Arts and can provide purpose-built Dance/Drama Studios for rehersals as well as facilities for music technology and recording. Students studying BTEC Performing Arts will have the opportunity to learn their craft in a professional theatre environment.
The building already exists at the school with some of the facilities - toilets and car parking for example - already in place. The internal transformation would involve air-conditioning, lighting, sound, and seating which is estimated to cost up to £200,000. Once the money has been raised and the transformation completed, it is expected that the running costs would be met from income with any remaining being re-invested to further develop the Theatre's resources.
If you would like more information on this project or wish to make a donation, please contact:
ANDREW SALTER, ASSISTANT HEADTEACHER - 01394 282602 OR E-MAIL: asalter@deben.suffolk.sch.uk
OR
EMMA COBAIN, SCHOOL/COMMUNITY VISUAL PERFORMING ARTS CO-ORDINATOR - 01394 288206
E-MAIL: ecobain@deben.suffolk.sch.uk
