By Rob Hansen’s estimation, the west side of Leelanau County is severely lacking in proper performing arts venues or public gathering spaces. “I hear musical performances are scheduled sometimes at the Old Art Building in Leland, but otherwise, you’re going up to the Northport Performing Arts Center or down to Frankfort to the Garden Theatre,” he says.

Hansen, who serves as head of school for The Leelanau School in Glen Arbor, wants to change that particular status quo. Soon, he’ll get his wish: The Leelanau School is kicking off a new project aimed at revitalizing a 120-seat auditorium on its campus, with the goal of eventually offering up that auditorium as a venue for other community organizations to use.

“The auditorium is probably about the oldest structure on our existing campus,” Hansen says. “It’s a really a wonderful space, with very good acoustics and a beautiful art deco design. And it serves our small school population adequately: We have theater classes, and we do student performances in there. But over time, it hasn't kept pace with being an auditorium that the community could necessarily use. It needs seat repairs; it needs updates in lighting, sound, and projection to bring it into this decade; all those types of things. It’s a wonderful space, we just want to make it current.”

According to Hansen, The Leelanau School’s auditorium space has “very occasionally” been used by community organizations over the years. By modernizing the space, though, he’s hopeful the school could become “a greater partner to the local community.”

In preparing for the renovation, Hansen says he’s had conversations with several local arts organizations that have expressed interest in bringing performances and other programming to the space.

“Glen Arbor Arts Center is interested in having a venue they can utilize,” Hansen tells the Leelanau Ticker. “Interlochen Center for the Arts has expressed interest in having performances up in our neck of the woods. And there are lots of other organizations looking for venues, too. We can be the place to provide that venue, and to provide opportunities for both our students and the local community to experience enrichment, and performance, and film series, and so much more.”

Bringing more things to campus – not just events, but also the community at large – aligns with The Leelanau School’s goal to integrate better with its local neighbors. In a press release announcing the auditorium project, Hansen expressed a desire to shake off The Leelanau School’s status as “one of the best-kept secrets in Leelanau County.”

“As a boarding school, we’re very focused on creating a really unique sense of belonging for our students in their high school years,” Hansen explains, before adding that he doesn’t want students to feel like they’re on an island or in their own little cloistered world. “We want our students to feel a part of something bigger, which means feeling like they are part of Leelanau County. Creating a venue that can be a remarkable asset to the community, that allows us to extend that sense of belonging into the greater community.”

The first step of the auditorium project is for The Leelanau School to hire a professional consultant who can review the space and offer recommendations on necessary repairs, renovations, technology modernizations, and aesthetic improvements. Hansen says the school has a consultant lined up and will soon kick off a fundraising campaign aimed at “getting the initial investment” to hire that person.

The campaign was initially slated to kick off with a fundraising dinner next Friday, October 20. That event, titled “Eat. Drink. Think.” would have offered “a six-course tasting meal” created by Jim LaPerriere, a Culinary Institute of America alumnus who runs a personal executive chef business called Distinctive Dining in Saugatuck. Proceeds from the $200-per-person event would have helped “cover the consultation fees” for the auditorium as well as “a new projector for the space.”

Hansen informed the Leelanau Ticker on Tuesday afternoon that the fundraising event had been postponed due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts, but said the school plans on rescheduling the event for a future date. More details can be found here.

The Leelanau School’s plan to revitalize its auditorium is the latest in a trend of investments that local schools have been making in the performing arts. Last year, for instance, the Leelanau Ticker reported that Suttons Bay Public Schools had made several key staff hires with the goal of revitalizing its fallow performing arts programs. Hansen is hopeful the trend will only continue to grow in the future.

“We just think performance is just such a critical thing for our students to engage in and to witness,” Hansen concludes. “Performing takes a lot of courage. We say it all the time: It's wonderful to have talent and skills, but if you're not willing to share them, you're just not going the distance. I want our students to have opportunities to perform themselves, but I also want them to witness all kinds of people performing. Bringing people together to share their talents and engage in curiosity, I think that’s so valuable. And so, this auditorium project is a very mission-focused effort for us. We’re eager to get started.”