CHS receives grant for theatre equipment

Clarendon High School’s Drama Department began the new year with approximately $5,000 worth of new equipment thanks to a corporate grant from Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.

CHS Theatre Arts & Speech teacher Mason Cargile applied for the grant, and the school’s application rose to the top in a field of about 2,000 competitors.

Equipment received through the ETC Philanthropy Equipment Grant included 15 lighting instruments, nine Parnell lights, six Source 4 Jr. Zooms, lamps, safety cables, and clamps.

CHS theatre students were very excited about the award, and Mr. Cargile seized the opportunity to teach them some new skills.

“It was a big moment to me also finally being able to teach my kids how to work on the lights,” Cargile wrote to ETC. “I called in my students that are considering studying theatre in college and making a lifestyle out of it. I taught them how to install the lamps, put clamps on the instruments, and how to properly hang them. They were all so proud of themselves they had to stop and take pictures with the lights they had hung. All they can talk about, even though we just started rehearsals this last week, is how they cannot wait to see the set go up and how it will look under our brand new lights.”

ETC is a global leader in the manufacture of lighting and rigging technology for entertainment and architectural applications. Founded in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1975, ETC was a college project that grew into a major business and now has offices in Wisconsin, New York, Hollywood, Orlando, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, the Netherlands, Rome, London, and Germany. ETC employs nearly 900 people around the globe.