If agreement goes through, Repertory Company would use the auditorium during summer, fall
By John Tredrea
The Princeton Repertory Company and the Hopewell Valley Regional School District are drafting an agreement under which the theater company would use the Central High School auditorium several months a year, primarily during the summer.
In exchange, the Repertory Company, which is financed by grants and employs professional actors in presentation of classic and contemporary plays, would mentor students in theater-related arts and technical areas.
If the agreement goes through as expected, the Repertory Company would use the auditorium from June to October or thereabouts, schools Superintendent Judith Ferguson said last week.
"Under the agreement, a variety of experiences would be available to our students," Dr. Ferguson said. "There would be internships and instruction for them in many areas of theater acting, music, lighting, sound, set design and others."
The Repertory Company, which to date has only performed outdoors, would be able to work in an auditorium that seats about 1,000. Only a few years old, the auditorium is equipped with modern sound and lighting equipment. Since they first proposed building the auditorium, funding for which was approved in a referendum, school officials have said the facility could be used by the community-at-large as well as the school district.
"It would an artists-in-residence type of arrangement," Dr. Ferguson said of the impending pact with Princeton Repertory. "It would be very exciting to have this right on site."
The superintendent is optimistic the Repertory Company will be able to start working here next June. A written agreement would have to be approved by the school board for that to take place.