Pass Christian School District looking into building new performing arts center
Pass Christian students sing, act, and rehearse in cafeterias, gyms, and other shared spaces. That’s because the district hasn’t had its own auditorium since Hurricane Katrina.
Now, the district is trying to raise millions of dollars to gives its growing ats program a dedicated home.
Michelle Pinto with the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center shows us that could mean for students.
For Pass Christian’s show choir, setting the stage sometimes starts with moving lunch tables.
Senior Leeka McBride says the group holds its fall and spring shows in the middle school cafeteria. “I think it would just really empower the students that we have to feel more confident in themselves just to have a real stage and not look at lunch tables while we perform.”
Theater students also share a stage in the gym.
Eriyuana Barnes says that can mean stopping rehearsals when another group needs the space. “During a rehearsal where, like, the dance team or, like, another sport needs the gym and we have to move out the way. So, yeah, I think it would be helpful for all of us to rehearse in a space that we don’t have to move from.”
The district wants to solve that problem with a proposed $9.5 million performing arts center.
Superintendent Carla Evers says a dedicated center became a priority as the district developed its New Horizons 2030 strategic plan. “The strategic planning committee really leaned into the main piece that we’re missing now is the Performing Arts Center.”
The district has launched an $8.6 million fundraising campaign called “Raise the Curtain” and is seeking grants to help cover the remaining cost.
The center would give students a dedicated space to rehearse and perform while also creating a venue for concerts, plays and other community events.
It could also bring performances to Pass Christian that students currently travel elsewhere to attend.
Senior Isaiah Lizana travels with the show choir to competitions around the region. “But I think it would be awesome for the community to come see everyone, you know, not just from Pass, but all the way from Long Beach to the Bay. Like, if everyone could come see us here, I think that would be really cool.”
Lizana and other seniors will graduate before the proposed center is expected to open, but they hope future students will have something they did not, a stage of their own.
