I went to the Celebration and Dedication of the new Searcy High School Performing Arts Center this afternoon. All I can say is … wow! It is probably the most state of the art facility that I have seen. And you know what? Those stupid kids won’t even know how to appreciate it. I made that comment to Amy as I was turning on my modded Xbox that I have hooked up to my home network which allows me to stream media throughout my house and she said, “That’s probably what the generation before us says about us.” As I queue up the latest episode of Prison Break, I think, you know, she’s probably right. I blame technology. I mean, when people continue to make amazing technological breakthroughs, I am forced to adapt and master it or acquire it. I can’t help it. I’m a victim.

But back to the new PAC. The auditorium seats approximately 1550. The old one didn’t have a balcony but this one does. This auditorium rivals some professions houses that I’ve seen/worked in. It is nice. The old one also didn’t have fly space, which drastically limited set designs. If you can’t fly drops in or out and are stuck with just one backdrop, you can’t do much. It also has some built in gadgets that will greatly enhance the ability to perform with multimedia.

After the ceremony, we were given a tour of the facility, which also included the new classrooms. One of the first classrooms was the video production class, which I’m still kinda ticked off that they didn’t have when I was there. We walk in the room and there was a table with 12 of these lined up down the middle:

And that’s just for sound editing and graphics design. They also had 5 or 6 edit bays that had more iMacs in them. I almost peed my pants. They easily had $50,000 worth of computers and equipment in that one classroom. We then proceed to see the other classrooms, which were very impressive, but not nearly as impressive as the video production class. The new band and choir rooms were awe inspiring as well. The acoustics were phenomenal. As I was passing the choir director’s office, I noticed another iMac on her desk. Then I noticed that she was running Windows XP on it. I wanted to smack her. I know, I know, she probably has to run Windows for all of the education programs that all the teachers have to use. She’s probably dual booting…hopefully.

I stopped by the drama room because, ya know, that’s something that’s kinda near and dear to my heart. I talked to the new drama teacher and it turns out that she graduated Searcy in ’95. I told her that I graduated in ’94 and wondered if we knew each other. She said that she didn’t know anyone that wasn’t in her class. I told her that I was really excited for her and congratulated her on being able to start with an awesome theater (it’s her first year at Searcy as a teacher). I am really looking forward to seeing a show there.

Another plus for the theater is that they are going to allow the community to use it for special events. I have always wanted to direct a production of Godspell. I’ve been toying with the idea of forming an inter-denominational group that would basically incorporate all the talents of all the churches in the area to put on a show that would benefit a particular ministry or mission organization. Maybe I’m a bit closer to that dream. So, if you are reading this and live in Searcy and enjoy theater (on stage or back stage), drop me a line and let me know.

Well, I’m going to go back to being jealous of a bunch of teenagers. If they had built that theater when I was there, I would have never left the PAC. Ever. I would have been the biggest band and drama geek at the school.

Wait a minute….oh yeah, I was.

I just finished reading an amazing book called The Shack by William Young. I had heard a lot about this book from a few of my friends and how it had a profound impact on them. So, I thought I would have to give it a shot. After all, I love a good book and if it can teach me something new, I’m all for it. I gotta say, I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was. I mean, one of the blurbs in the front was from country singer Wynonna. But as I read it, I began to put myself in the shoes of the main character, Mack. Without revealing too much of the plot, Mack looses his youngest daughter, Missy. This loss creates what Mack refers to as The Great Sadness. Being the father of a 3 year old daughter, it is my greatest fear that I could lose my daughter. This loss also creates a rift between Mack and God.

And then one day, Mack gets a letter from God, inviting Mack to spend the weekend with him at the shack in the woods where Mack lost his daughter. The question now is does Mack go or not go. Do yourself a favor and go pick up the book.

Much has been made about the authenticity of the book. A lot of people look at it as gospel truth. And on the other side, a lot of people don’t want to believe that God would interact with us while we are still here on this earth. Whatever you believe, this book provides a fresh look at how we should interact with each other. Even if you don’t think that Jesus or God would say some of the things in the book, you have to admit that a lot of what they say can be backed up by the Bible.

If you want to read a little more about it, check out their website.