Rangitīkei College drama teacher Melissa Hawkins and student Iris Collie in front of the new mural in the upgraded drama room.
Rangitīkei College drama teacher Melissa Hawkins and student Iris Collie in front of the new mural in the upgraded drama room.
An overdue makeover of Rangitīkei College’s drama room features technology to create a more accessible experience for students and visitors.
Before the renovation, the classroom was not only outdated, but a potential health hazard for students.
“When the Ministry [of Education] architect came in last year, he walked in and said it was the worst room he’d seen. The windows didn’t close properly, holes in the ceiling, holes in the floor,” drama teacher Melissa Hawkins said.
New elements in the room now allowed the space to be used for various performance types.
The movable lights were an aspect of the new build that Hawkins was particularly excited about.
“We can have so many different layers now. We can use it as a black box. I do love Shakespeare and I love teaching Shakespeare, so we can have it as a round.”
Rangitīkei College students utilise the new lighting system.
The room has large windowed doors that open into a courtyard with outdoor lighting and speakers, allowing for a larger, transitional space.
Behind the mirrored wall is a dressing room – complete with benches and lighted mirrors – that aims to help students adapt to new techniques of submitting assignments.
“The assessment standards are changing so much, so you don’t just have to write assessments any more – you can talk it through and video yourself, so it’s been a bit tricky in terms of noise,” Hawkins said.
A design on the wall, created by the school’s design teacher, Deborah Jorgensen, is an expanded version of the school logo.
The new space is already sparking new, creative ideas for Hawkins.
“There’s a really great New Zealand script I want to do that is set in the wood. My idea now is to set it in the middle of the room so the audience becomes the trees, so they’re in it as well.”
One of the primary goals when creating the space was to increase accessibility for students and visitors with disabilities.
The classroom features a live video and audio stream from the auditorium, allowing students and parents with sensory issues to be immersed in school events while controlling the sound volume.
An elevator that can take wheelchair-bound students on to the auditorium stage has been installed in the adjoining hall.
Hawkins hoped the changes would provide “equal opportunities for everybody, and being able to offer so much more to students”.
Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.
