When funds for the Black Box Theatre at Edina High School were depleted just short of completion of the space, the theater community came together to see the project through. A student going for his Eagle Scout badge (whose father just happened to be a theater architect) approached EHS theater director Tony Matthes about the possibility of working on the performance space as his final Scout project. Matthes says the timing couldn’t have been better, so with the help of the Scouts, past and current students and expert parents in the community, they were able to install acoustic batting, piping for lights and curtains while fundraising for other materials.
Another big boost came from the Theatre De La Juene Lune, as that space was being cleared for sale; EHS acquired the theater’s risers for seating, which otherwise would have been one of the priciest additions to the Black Box Theatre. Over winter vacation, six theater alumni joined current students, replete with winter coats and miner’s hats, to install the seating along with lighting instruments and a dimmer rack. This new 85- to 110-seat black box theater is now a venue for middle and high school theater and dance classes, a rehearsal space for Comedy Sports, a working site for Guthrie Theater internships, and more.