PCF has been a community partner of Houston Elementary School since we started working with schools directly many years ago. Over the years, we have spent a LOT of time and resources at Houston, installing donated desktop computers in every classroom, providing hundreds of refurbished laptops (before and in the beginning of the pandemic), donating laptop carts, teaching STEM classes, running our Tech Masters program, etc.
So when Houston contacted PCF about their outdated and dysfunctional auditorium, we were eager to help. The school had recently hired a talented and energetic music teacher (Ms. Hoskins) who wanted to run school plays/shows and her music program in the auditorium. But their PA system consisted of two undersized speakers sitting on the stage at the front of the room. As a result, when parents and family members showed up for these special events, they were unable to hear much anything that happened up on the stage. The same was the case for school assemblies, movie nights, and music classes.
Besides having a new music teacher that was determined to run plays at Houston, the local theater group Quintessence was getting involved to help them in the effort. And Houston now has a Parent Teacher group that was helping out too. So, especially considering there were other groups and people involved, PCF was determined to help Houston upgrade their auditorium.
PCF was able to raise the money required to buy new speakers and to fund the overhaul of their auditorium’s systems.
All in all, PCF did a lot towards that end:
- we bought and installed new PA speakers at the front of the room.
- We bought riser benches that are used to stack rows of younger performers in front of the stage.
- We purchased sound boards, microphones, cables, power cords, etc.
- We devised a unobtrusive way to suspend microphones above the performers and across the stage.
- We mounted the old speakers in the back and ran the wires up high and out of the way.
- We repurposed previously donated laptop carts to be able to lock up the equipment.
- We even replaced all the stage light bulbs: all 96 of them!
The entire effort took weeks but when PCF attended the first show, we were so very happy about the effort and our role in putting it all together. And Ms. Hoskins, Principal Hall, and the active parents were extremely grateful.
Below are pictures of the effort.
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- The original (broken) PA speakers flank the stage and the older, underpowered speakers were placed on the stage.
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- One of the new speakers PCF purchased and mounted to replace the old ones.
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- We painted the audio cable and power cords to make it look at neat as possible.
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- We then mounted the old speakers in the back of the room.
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- We used white wires for the audio cables that run to the front speakers near the ceiling: out of reach of students.
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- PCF’s Director Jan Deruiter mounted the speakers and ran the wires at Houston Elem.
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- After some tinkering and experimentation, we came up with a system to suspend microphones across the stage.
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- We used special tarpoline clips and steel witres to suspend the microphones.
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- The clips can slide along the steel cable to adjust the angle.
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- Every single one of the 96 stage lights had burned out over the years. We replaced them all…
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- …and filled up the better part of a trash can with the old incandescent bulbs.
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- We spray painted an old laptop cart we donated years prior to house the sound equipment in the auditorium.
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- The color (mostly) matches the room and with a lock, keeps staff from having to carry everything back to their rooms.
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- Parents of students setting up the sound system that was donated by PCF.
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- One of the shows they did at Houston (see other posts on our site).
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- Ms. Hoskins running a rehearsal.
