Calgary school hoping to get bums in new theatre seats with ambitious campaign

A Calgary school isn't waiting for the province to step up any longer and hopes to fundraise its own theatre seating renewal project.

A drama teacher says the seating at Bowness High School has been well used over the years.

"We do a ton of shows here a year," Gillian Exley told reporters at a Thursday event.

"Everything from band, to drama, to musical theatre, to dance, to a ton of community events."

But that popularity, comes with a price.

"The seats, like a lot of other things, are super expensive. They date back to the 1980s and they are a really expensive thing that we've not been able to upgrade and they have just fallen into decline."

The school has asked for help from the province but so far no luck.

But lucky is how one student describes drama students at the northwest school.

"I think we are really lucky to have a theatre that is this big and gorgeous," said Charlotte Hamilton.

"Definitely the seats could use a bit of an upgrade, but it's still a lovely theatre and I think we are really lucky to have it."

Jesse Peters has a son at the school and the arts programs really takes him back.

"I think a facility like this is just so important to students. When I was coming up, I worked as a full-time musician and my whole career has been in the arts," Peters explained.

"That love was fostered in an environment like this. Kids having this kind of access to this kind of facility in their school matters. This is where kids learn how to execute a vision, how to perform under pressure. All sorts of skills that are good later in life happen in this type of environment."

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) says times are tough.

"Bowness High School has undergone extensive modernizations and renovations in the past decade. However, with finite resources, we have been unable to dedicate funds to a theatre upgrade in the building," a spokesperson wrote in an emailed response to CBC News.

"Much like how school playgrounds are replaced, the parent community can work to procure funds for special projects through local fundraising, as well as community and provincial grants. Once in place, the CBE is responsible for maintenance and upkeep."

Meanwhile, for Charlotte Hamilton, drama can be about lifelong connections.

"Drama is everything," she said with a smile.

"I come here and I make amazing friends that I probably wouldn't see otherwise. When you are in drama, you have to be so vulnerable with everyone, and that just makes connections that last for so long."

And those connections don't end at graduation.

"If I've been in a performance with someone, it could be three years later and I could see them on a random street, and still notice them and have a lovely conversation because we know each other so well because we've had a shared experience."

The Save a Seat, Leave a Legacy campaign has raised $1,830 of its $150,000 goal with a deadline of next June.