Wiring issues take Dr. Jekyll away from Tohill

The production of “The Last Days of Dr. Jekyll” was highlighted in last week’s issue of The Whit. The show is being held in the Westby Hall Black Box Theatre instead of the Tohill Theatre. This move is due to wiring issues at Tohill.

“This is a good thing to happen,” said Tom Fusco,  associate professor and technical director of the theater and dance department. “The old wiring became dangerous. It was 1960′s technology.”

This renovation of Tohill was supposed to take place this past summer, but due to political issues, it never happened.

“About six to seven years ago, Rowan took out a bond from the state estimated at $400,000 to $500,000,” Fusco said. “If we didn’t take advantage of it now, it would’ve disappeared.”

The money that is going toward the new state-of-the-art lighting system in Tohill, comes from the same money that pays for landscaping and the new handicap access on campus.

How does this affect the actors?

Andrew Clotworthy, who is starring as Henry Jekyll, is not worried about the move to Westby. He admits that he was taken aback by this at first, but said that he thinks it’s going to be more engaging this way.

“We’ll miss our home theater, but we don’t feel the quality is diminished in any way,” Clotworthy said. “At this point I can’t even imagine how the show would be performed on a normal proscenium stage.”

“The audience numbers will now be limited to 40 per show,” said student director Steven Harbold.

Harbold said that he’s worried that there aren’t going to be enough shows for everyone who would like to see the production.  Now, not only will the production have a preview show on Nov. 11, but the regular performance will take place Nov. 12-15.

The wiring issue should be resolved by the end of the semester, allowing productions to continue in the Tohill Theater. Fusco said that the new production, “Dance Concert,” coming in December, will make use of the new lighting.

For more information regarding the status of the wiring work, contact the Department of Theater and Dance at 856- 256-4036. All other information regarding “The last Days of Dr. Jekyll” and other upcoming shows can be found on the College of Fine & Performing Arts’ Web site: rowan.edu/colleges/fpa.