School district looks to expand Kaufman usage
By MIRIAM MOELLER, Journal Staff WriterArticle Photos
“We do need a new sound system and media center,” said Sara Cambensy, auditorium coordinator. “It will allow us to bring in bigger acts.”
Cambensy spoke to the Marquette school board at its meeting Tuesday evening at Kaufman, which is housed in Graveraet Intermediate School. She updated board members on the strategic plan for Kaufman, one that Cambensy — an AmeriCorps worker hired by Marquette Area Public Schools — started in the fall of 2006.
“We have actually hit all of our goals except two that we’re still working on,” Cambensy said.
Nearly all aspects of four strategies for the auditorium have been implemented, she said. New fees and rental prices for Kaufman have been set; marketing, fund raising and facility maintenance plans are all in place.
“We received a financial gift for $50,000 this fall to restore the restrooms,” Cambensy said. “The new bathrooms will be roomier and be completed this September.”
In the last year Kaufman also received a new stage floor, lighting equipment and curtains through a $50,000 Kaufman Endowment Fund donation, Cambensy said. New risers were purchased from MAPS funds, but a new sound system, media center and digital projector is still needed, Cambensy said.
The current sound system, she added, is from 1992 and outdated. Cambensy said since she joined the Kaufman team, she’s spent $12,000 for sound equipment rentals to be able to accommodate performances. She said that the lack of a good sound system has put off potential performers.
The new sound equipment would cost $44,000 and Cambensy said she hopes to raise the money within three years.
Cambensy said she also hopes to apply for a National Endowment for the Arts grant to help resurrect the Kaufman Auditorium Lyceum Performing Arts Series. The series flourished from 1928 to 1945 when performers such as Amelia Earhart, the Vienna Boys Choir and Margaret Bourke-White — the famed photographer for Time and Life magazines — graced Kaufman’s stage. Cambensy also hopes to start an annual community theater performance similar to the one being held at the Calumet Theatre.
Cambensy updated the board on the Kaufman Auditorium beautification committee strategic plan that aims to restore the Graveraet School fountains and courtyard and create new flower beds on Ohio Street. So far, $37,785 in donations have been received for the project.
Board trustees expressed their gratitude and confidence in Cambensy’s leadership of the project.
More information on the project is available online at www.kaufmanauditorium.org.
