The curtains close, the audience goes crazy, and the cast members head backstage. But there are a few problems. There is no curtain. The black box cannot hold a large crowd, and backstage is all the way in the T Building.

The desire for an arts building gets stronger each year, and parents become more persistent to make the dream happen for their children and future students. The Arts Alliance is a parent led organization formed in order to raise the visibility and support the visual and performing arts programs.

“They work with the individual program directors in performing arts and the chair of visual arts to provide support for events, to bring in guest artists for enrichment, and to raise visibility of the arts both in the community of our campus and beyond,” said Amy Luskey-Barth, head of The Arts Alliance.

With The Arts Alliance grew the Center for the Arts Leadership, which is comprised of parents, administration, program directors, and subject area experts. Their goal is to make the dream of an arts building a reality.

“We are still in the dreaming stage of this,” Barth said. “This includes visualizing and researching what the facilities and equipment would need in order to provide a gold standard facility.”

The Arts Alliance hopes that by mid-year a theater consultant will be able to take the next step make the dream a reality, which would include pictures of what it might look like and discussion about its potential location.

“Right now we are, and have, functioned very well under the conditions but the programs are exploding in numbers so there are so many opportunities that we want for the future generations to be able to have,” Barth said.

The facility would, in hopes, bring classrooms, bathrooms, and, of course, a stage onto the SMCHS campus. With this comes the opportunities for new class courses, such as costume and makeup design.

“There would be better quality shows, free reign of design aspects, and a safer environment for both actors and designers,” said Hannah Rabatin, performing arts student.

The arts building would also allow for the performers to experience what it is like to perform on an actual stage.

“I got to perform on a real stage in front of 2,000 people and it made an absolute difference. The entire atmosphere of the performance changed, everything clicked into place. The black box versus a real stage has a radical difference. Having the lights, the stage, it really just lets you connect with the audience on a different level,” said Andrea Martinez, performing arts student.

The performing arts students are not the only ones who would be affected by the new building. All of the arts courses and activities would have access to classrooms and courses, allowing a deeper understanding of the curriculum. In order to wake up from the dream and make it a reality, students must get on board and be advocates for the arts center. There are no louder voices than those of the students.