The Edward Little Drama Club, or, Edward Little Playhouse might soon be without a place to perform. Great Falls, the venue E.L. has used for years to hold its plays, has been deemed unsafe for large crowds by the city of Auburn. Edward Little, lacking a school auditorium, will need to act quickly if they want to put on their planned performances this year.
The Great Falls School itself has a long history. Great Falls was the original high school for the city of Auburn; it was later turned into the Central School, and more recently, the Great Falls Elementary School. The oldest portion of this building faces the The Village restaurant in Auburn, in this area of the building, the brick is old and crumbled, and it can hardly be used for anything. In the eighties, The Community Little Theater renovated the Great Falls auditorium to host their plays, while Great Falls was still a functioning school. After years of service to the Auburn School system in its many different forms. Great Falls was condemned as a school six years ago. CLT has to pay the Auburn School System for use of this space, and CLT has continued to use the Great Falls auditorium years after the building was condemned for school use.
The city bought the Great Falls building after it closed six years ago, and it hasn’t been kept in good condition. For example,four years ago pipes burst in the school during the winter, and there was a large flood. The wiring in the building is old and dangerous and there are no working elevators, which is one reason it was closed as a school; it didn’t have adequate handicap accessibility. CLT paid the city the minimum amount they were required to, but the rent was more of a formality than a source of income for the city, and it didn’t provide enough money for the building to be kept in good condition.
Since the building was so expensive to maintain, having to keep electricity and running water in the building, the city decided to rent space to organizations other than CLT. The old school now houses three dance studios, the Auburn School System Waste Share program, as well as part of the Auburn Adult Education program.
The most recent problem facing Great Falls is a report that an Auburn fire Marshall filed this summer. This six page document lists the multiple problems and hazards facing the Great Falls school as far as fire safety is concerned. The recent fire at the Rhode Island club, “The Station” prompted these types of investigations throughout the U.S. The city of Auburn has said that there needs to be at least three paid. trained people watching Great Falls during all performances because of the lack of appropriate fire-fighting equipment present at the school, Great Falls lack of a working sprinkler system has made it a great fire danger, and the city wants to avoid any incidents that could take place. The building is owned by the city, and they rent it out to CLT. In most cases, the city would pay for any needed renovation, much like the landlord of an apartment would be expected to do, though, in this situation, the city has asked CLT to pay for the needed changes. CLT, a company that makes money off its many plays and performances may be able to afford to pay three people to watch the school during performances! Edward Little, however doesn’t have this luxury,
“All the money The E.L Drama Club makes, goes to the royalties we have to pay to perform our play,” says E.L. Playhouse faculty advisor, Penny Appleby,
“Many people don’t realize that every time as drama program like The E.L. Playhouse performs a piece that they don’t create themselves, they need to pay royalties to whomever owns the rights to that play. For this reason, high school drama programs usually see very little profit, and if there is any, it is spent on props, costumes, sets, etc, The E.L. Playhouse has already been told it cannot use the “Green Room”, used for dressing and makeup, because there is no fire exit or sprinkler system present,” Mrs. Appleby stated.
This issue is not likely to be resolved soon, an effort has already begun to discuss alternative sites for performances, although, CLT hasn’t been completely ruled out yet.
(Part two in next weeks edition)
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