New MVCC Ballroom curtains!
Lighting is a big part of any theater production or presentation. Hallway lighting, as well as daylight and outside lighting in the evening, can play havoc with a live theater performance and can almost ruin a speaker’s presentation if the audience cannot see images on the screen. At MVCC there was a lighting issue. For safety, the MVCC hallway lights must be kept on and the ballroom’s western exposure can be quite unbearable during the afternoon. Light is important, but darkness is a must when producing a quality show or presentation.
CCP found a way to give back to the community by solving this issue with new light-blocking curtains for the MVCC ballroom. The curtains were designed and sewn by Shawne Cryderman, the Community Circle Players’ producer, and making the curtains was a labor of love. HOA2 Theatre and Events budget paid for the material and CCP’s very own set construction engineer, Cash Striplin, installed the hardware. It took two Sunday afternoons to measure, cut, sew, temporarily hang, adjust, re-hang, cut and re-sew for a perfect fit. Now they can be put up on all six doors in about 10 minutes.
The four inside hallway doors are solid rectangle curtains. The two outside hall doors are split half way down to allow for the curtain to go behind the panic bar, making it easy to exit. Because the curtains do not impede the bar function, they comply with important fire safety requirements. The outside of the curtain is black; the side facing the ballroom is a royal burgundy with gold flecks to match the gold in the stage curtain.
The curtains will keep the ballroom dark for theater productions and for speakers wanting to project clear images on the screen for their audiences to see. Any group interested in darkening Ballroom East and Center can request them when scheduling the room. The houseman will be happy to put them on the doors and take them down when your activity is finished.
CCP plans to continue using the proceeds from its shows to give back to the community and improve the theater experience in SaddleBrooke. Both HOAs will benefit, including the MVCC ballroom, the Vistas dining room, and the DVPAC Theater. Improving theatre equipment can help keep the creative arts flourishing, as it all has a knock-on effect. Theatre curtains are vital to performances as well as lighting issues. New curtains with a zinc plated steel ball bearing pulley system will help keep them working efficiently, hopefully some of the money raised can be used for this machinery.