By Sara Ballenger
The Spartan Theater at Mountain View High School is ready for its encore performance, after the grand opening May 18.
The opening gala highlighted the completion of the 350-seat theater, which had been in the planning stages and under construction for the last seven years. Spartan Theater is identical to the new Eagle Theater at Los Altos High School, which celebrated its opening May 17.
“I couldn’t be more pleased,” said Mountain View High School Principal Pat Hyland. “For any school district to have something like this is amazing, and to be able to have a real theater experience here is going to raise the bar.”
Last Saturday night was Mountain View High School’s time to shine. For the gala event, the 2,223-square-foot stage played host to performances by the Mountain View Wind Ensemble, String Quartet, Choir, Dance Spectrum and Drama students. The stage has three adjustable levels: stage level for additional space, audience level for three additional rows and below audience level for use as an orchestra pit.
“I am basically ecstatic,” said junior Chelsea Berthoud, a drama student who performed a short scene from a play on stage that evening. “After having to perform in elementary school for the last two years and to get to perform in this - I have no words.”
Creating a grand theater experience is exactly what Rob Steinberg and the Steinberg Group were hoping to do when designing the theaters. While the architecture firm is based in Los Angeles and San Jose, Steinberg is a graduate of Mountain View-Awalt High School.
“Being a graduate from Awalt and having friends that graduated from Los Altos, it’s an honor to be the architect of two incredible facilities,” Steinberg said.
“The idea from the beginning was not only to build something for the schools but to build community facilities. We had very strong support from the beginning from the school board. Without that, none of this would ever have happened.”
Under an agreement with the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, the theaters will be open for community use 20 percent of the time, as long as there is no conflict with student use.
Without the help of the community the theaters would look very different. Bond construction money went toward only the actual construction of the buildings, estimated at $4 million per theater. It was left to the Performing Arts Facilities Fund and the Mountain View-Los Altos High School Foundation to pick up the tab for items such as curtains, seats, acoustic shells, sound equipment and lighting.
“As the president of the High School Foundation, which donated $25,000 to upgrade the seats, I am very excited,” Julia Rosenberg said. “With the Los Altos and Mountain View theaters, more culture is going to come into our community and into our schools.”
Superintendent Rich Fischer hopes the theaters at both high schools help build a sense of community. He and Hyland invited the audience at the opening event to sign the back of a dedication banner, which will hang permanently in the theater.
“Come and see what you have done as a community through approving the bond measure - it’s something we as a community can be proud of,” Fischer said. “We are keeping the performing arts alive.”
For more information or to make a donation, call 949-5679.
