Lights, Sound.. Look Who's Running The A-V Booth!
The phrase “we’re all in this together,” takes on a whole new meaning when talking about this year's Audio-Visual (or AV) Club. The faces in the booth may look familiar, and that is because by day they are the AV Club but by afternoon many of them also double as the Varsity Girls Basketball team.
How did this come to be? It all started with a simple ask from AV Original Member and Varsity Girls teammate Abby Creech.
“It was a Troy Bolton moment,” said team member AnnaJaye Walters, referring to the beloved teen Disney movie, High School Musical, when a group of friends who have never acted before, all join the school play because their best friend and “leader” Troy Bolton asks them to.
“Abby asked us to join,” said SarahAnne Horne, “and we don’t get enough time to bond on the court.” Walters agreed, adding, “we all wanted to bond as a team and to serve PCA and this club allowed us to do that.”
But the AV team is much more than just a basketball team bonding experience. It's a group of students who are stepping up to participate in an expanded use of technology - learning how to properly operate equipment for lights and sound for various school events. The AV team consists of Colby Dumont (12), AnnaJaye Walters (12), Abby Creech (11), SarahAnne Horne (11), Reed Jones (9), Cokey Suddeth (9), Emily Romfo (9), and Scotty Wrenn (9).
AV Club Advisor, Austin Thompson, who is also the Production Assistant at ECBC, describes the club members' duties as “running events like chapel, doing slides and controlling lights. Also helping with the school play!”
The newest members run elements such as slides and intro music while “their fearless leader” Abby mans the soundboard. Original founding member, Colby Dumont, who has been trained on the equipment since seventh grade handles the lighting.
When asked how AV club has benefited him, Colby explained, “I was able to learn how the tech stuff works and during school plays I could control and operate the special effects.”
The next time you are enjoying an event in the Worship Center at PCA, make sure you look up to the booth and give a wave to the hard working students and crew who help bring the sight and sound to the event.