Let’s Clean Out the Attic
At the Players Guild of Dearborn, there is an attic above the auditorium ceiling. Over the years it has been used to store things like props, costumes, lighting and sound equipment, Christmas decorations, and junk. The attic is accessed via a pull-down stairway in the light deck. To get to the attic, you go up the narrow stairs from the lobby to the light deck level. In the light booth, get the giant key to the folding stairway to the attic. Unlock the stairway and pull it down. Climb the stairway into the attic being careful as you get near the top. The steps get narrower. Get to wherever you want to go in the attic without falling through the auditorium ceiling. Then get back down to the lobby. It’s not for the faint of heart.
This coming Tuesday, May 7, as part of a renovation project, Ann Arbor Fire Protection will be installing a fire supression system in the auditorium. In order for them to do this, the attic needs to be cleaned out. Guild volunteers began clearing the attic on Saturday, May 4.
It goes something like this. Get up into the attic. Get a hold of that old television set, or manequin, or amplifier, or whatever. Carry it to the top of the folding stairway. Hand it down to someone in the light booth. That person hands it to someone on the stairway from the lobby to the light deck level. The person who gets it takes it out the front doors of the Guild and around to the trailer in the lot on the east side of the building for storage if it’s going to be saved. As I said, “It’s not for the faint of heart.”
Metal is being taken to a scrap yard for recycling. The larger pieces of cardboard will also be recycled.
The goal of the Building Committee is to have the attic cleaned out on Saturday, May 4. Dave Wood, the Players Guild Stage Governor, says, “That’s the goal. We know we probably won’t make it. But, it’s good to have a goal.”
And, as the day grinds along, be mindful of the fact that there’s a show tonight. Performance #5 of A Little Night Music has an 8:00PM curtain. The lobby and the grounds will have to be emptied of the treasurers and junk by 7:00.
Welcome to the theatre.
This blog will follow the renovation activities throughout the summer that we hope will enhance our ability to enchant you with “the magic of live theatre.”
