New theater lighting slated for 2026

Theater productions will look better and brighter than ever in 2026 after the Creston School Board approved a project that will upgrade the lighting in the high school auditorium.

CCSD Superintendent Deron Stender said this project is a long-time coming, with the lighting equipment being older than the auditorium itself.

“The lighting that’s in that auditorium was the existing [lighting] from the old [auditorium],” Stender said. “When that school was built, they took the existing lighting from the auditorium in the existing high school and put it in there. If you do the math, that’s over 30 years old.”

While school administration knew changes had to be made, something else always seemed to be more pressing. In 2022, the district attempted to put all needed renovations together in a $29.4 million general obligation bond. While 50.99% voted in favor, 60% in needed to approve a bond.

“We’ve kicked this can down the road for probably 12 years. This was identified as a big project for us to do as part of the remodel and construction phases,” Stender said. “Now we’re starting to break these projects down one by one, trying to address them the best that we can given the funds that are available.”

Using SAVE/PPEL funding for FY 27, the district will be spending just over $1.1 million on the project. Of this, about $92,000 will go to architectural firm DLR Group of Des Moines, with the remaining funds headed to Van Mannen Electric, LLC of Newton.

In order to avoid interrupting any performances or activities in the 2025-26 school year, construction will not begin until May 2026. The goal is to have the update complete before the start of the 2026-27 school year.

“This is an action item that brings our performing arts to what it actually needs to be,” Stender said. “Like I said, this has been long overdue.”

High school choir and musical director Jennifer Gaesser said these changes will help more in the community than just the theater program.

“Everything we do here at Creston High School,” Gaesser said. “I mean, it’s more than just the musical. It’s going to help the dance company, the community theater, we have guest speakers.”

Proper lighting will help the audience see all parts of the stage, as well as save the school money in various areas.

“We’re going to have a fuller stage wash, and what I mean by that is we’re not going to have dark areas on the stage that we currently can’t light,” Gaesser said. “By switching from our current lighting equipment to LED lighting, we’re going to save on electricity, on heating and cooling bills, and those LED lights give us a lot of capabilities. We will no longer be paying for gel lights.”

While there won’t be new equipment for the upcoming school year’s musical, announced Friday as “Guys and Dolls,” future performing artists will get to enjoy their time in the (new) spotlight.