THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WTXL) — Thomasville Arts Center’s historic theater is getting a full LED overhaul, easing energy costs and improving performances for local artists and students.
- The lighting overhaul is part of a $155,000 project, funded by a $65,000 grant and $90,000 in private support.
- The current lights are 25 years old, and switching to LED will reduce energy costs, improve safety, and expand color options for performances.
- Watch the video below to learn more about the importance and history of this theatre.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The building behind me is more than 110 years old, and while I told you about efforts to restore the outside last year, I'm showing you how a new grant is helping fix the theater inside by replacing its 25-year-old lights.
I'm showing you why people believe this upgrade will make a big impact from energy costs to the performances that use this space.
This theater is original to the building, dating back to 1915, when it served as the East Side School auditorium, hosting plays, graduations, and community events for more than a century.
But with a building this old, maintenance never stops, from HVAC issues to roof repairs, and replacing outdated equipment can be expensive for the Center to take on alone.
To help with that, the Center earned a grant that makes this major lighting upgrade possible.
"We are so thrilled that FoxGives came through with this really important grant for us. The whole project is actually a $155,000 project. So we are coupling the grant from the Fox Theater with about $90,000 in private funding. And this is going to be a transformational project for our historic theater here at the Center to upgrade and replace all of the lighting in our theater," said Erin Wolfe, Executive Director at Thomasville Center for the Arts.
Wolfe tells me if you went to school here in Thomasville, you've probably stepped into this theater, it seats just under 500 people and is constantly used for school groups, community events, and especially performances by the South Georgia Ballet, one of the Center's resident partners.
"Lighting is an essential part of performance. It helps create and portray a story that you are trying to tell. And so the ability to have fresh lighting in this space is going to be so huge for us and our performers," said Rachel Arnold, Executive Director of South Georgia Ballet.
The upgrade will replace every light with LED fixtures, improving safety, cutting long-term maintenance costs, and lowering energy use in a building that already has high utility needs.
"Lighting is very expensive, and LED is incredibly energy efficient, and you don't have to replace the bulbs as often. So it will really help, I think, in the long run, allow us to be able to keep our lighting really fresh without having to replace the bulbs as often," said Arnold.
But beyond affordability, the biggest change may be creative: right now, the theater mainly uses red and blue lights.
The new LEDs will give performers a full rainbow of colors, helping enhance storytelling and elevate every show that comes through this historic space.
Those changes will start as soon as the funding comes in, which should happen in January and June of next year.
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