Oakland Tech has Music! Drama! Dance! … and an auditorium that doesn’t come close to being worthy of the performances it houses.
Built in the early 1960′s, the 927 seat space has a good basic layout, large stage, ample room for a scene shop, dressing rooms and adjacent classrooms. But it has no sound system, no backstage monitors, poor lighting, an antiquated dimmer board, mismatched and partially damaged seating, and truly terrible acoustics. When the school was modernized in 2005-2006, the auditorium received only limited work, and nothing was done to remedy any of these problems. The auditorium is virtually the same as – but much worse for wear than – when it opened in the early 1960′s. Once a darkened theater, Tech’s auditorium is now in constant demand, but gives a less than satisfying experience for both the performers and the audience.
The Oakland Tech Performing Arts Committee has embarked on a capital campaign to raise $1.2 million in three phases. We’re on our way: Phase 1 is complete and Phase 2 is underway.
It’s an ambitious plan, but with your help we will do it. Tech’s Performing Arts department has already worked wonders: We went from having no advanced drama classes to winning the American High School Theater Festival. We raised over $80,000 in less than a year to send our students to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where they were the stars of the show! We can do this – and our students and our community deserve no less.
Please look through our plans and find out how you can help! And keep checking back here; we’ll be adding information as our campaign continues.
The Tech community and the public are invited to a free concert on at 11 a.m. on September 17, 2011, celebrating the restoration of Tech’s beautiful Steinway grand piano, courtesy of the extraordinary generosity of Tech’s Class of 1961.
