Renovated Leelanau School auditorium welcomes Glen Arbor Players
From staff reports
Goodbye analog; hello digital! Exciting changes have happened in The Leelanau School’s auditorium, and no one is more enthusiastic about them than the Glen Arbor Players. The theater group’s 2026 season starts this spring as Phase 1 of auditorium renovations, funded by grant money and generous community donations, has just been completed.
“Theater Guy” Russ Blain of R. Blain Consulting is the theater integrator overseeing the installation. In his words, “… 21st century lighting, sound, projection, rigging, and broadcast systems” will transform the somewhat outdated auditorium into “…a performance venue, a classroom, a place to see movies, a social hall, a concert hall, and a multifaceted learning environment.”
For years, the auditorium’s old camera, lights, and sound systems were hidden in a tiny room up a steep flight of stairs behind the back wall. Now, a state-of-the-art workstation will control all of that digitally from the back of the house. A wall-mounted camera can pan, tilt, and zoom and will make teleconferencing, webcasting, and streaming shows, like GAP plays on Facebook and YouTube, possible. With a new projector and screen, the auditorium becomes a community theater showing popular movies and local organizations’ films. There is even a popcorn machine.
The audience will feel as well as hear the dynamic new multi-track Dolby 5.1 sound system which uses eight speakers, ranging in size from a toaster oven to a sofa cushion. Blain compliments the acoustics of the auditorium and describes it as “dead.” He means that in the nicest way. The seats and carpet-covered walls convey sound but keep it from bouncing around and becoming distorted. It’s why the Glen Arbor Players don’t have to use microphones in their plays.
The impressive new lighting system can light the full stage or parts of it from different directions, and it can create any color light digitally, not with old-time colored gels. The house lights, integrated into the new system, will all match now. The curtains that open when GAP takes the stage this spring are new too, and they are classy. The main curtains are a rich, velvety plum. Behind them are borders, valances, and what are called “back legs.”
Head of School Rob Hansen welcomes the long-awaited improvements. “For nearly 100 years, Leelanau students have thrived by living, exploring, and engaging with the Glen Arbor community. This renovation expands that partnership, creating new ways for students and neighbors alike to learn, connect, and celebrate together.” He looks forward to Phase 2 of the auditorium renovations, which, when fully funded, will improve seating inside and access outside. Hansen hopes “…our community will join us in bringing this vision to life, creating a space where students and neighbors can gather, learn, and perform together.”
Last year was GAP’s first in The Leelanau School auditorium. Even with the decades old curtains and systems, they had an outstanding season. Now, as GAP board chairman Jean Jenkins says, “We are looking forward to a wonderful season offering mystery and comedy. Upgrades to The Leelanau School’s auditorium will greatly enhance the quality of our productions and the audience experience.”
GAP plans the following plays this year:
An Inspector Calls – May 22-24, 29-31 J.B. Priestly’s thriller about a mysterious inspector, a selfish wealthy family, and a girl’s death
Steel Magnolias – August 7-9, 14-16 Robert Harling’s touching 1987 play about the strong bond between six women in a small-town Louisiana beauty shop
Blythe Spirit – October 2-4, 9-11 Noël Coward’s classic 1941 comedy about a novelist haunted by his first wife’s ghost.
In 2025, their first year at The Leelanau School, GAP troupe members were so pleased by audience attendance and enthusiasm that they decided to perform this season’s plays over two weekends, not just one as they’ve done previously. An expanded schedule and a newly modernized multi-use arts and cultural hub give everyone plenty of reasons to attend and enjoy.
