A new lighting system has been installed in the Alan Harvey Theater for use in the upcoming spring plays and beyond.

The system was installed over winter break to replace the older, more manual system. With its more modern layout, the lighting system was installed with the hopes of engaging the audience and giving them a better viewing experience. Along with the vast new selection of actions and functions, it also has a small new group of student technical assistants to operate it.

“It was a Wednesday after school, we came down at 3, just kinda worked everything out and then left at 6,” sophomores and technical assistants Sam Darwish and Kit Asa-Hauser said.

Both Darwish and Asa-Hauser began their roles as technical assistants by working with an expert on the new lighting system. The training encompassed a three-hour hands-on lecture and a tutorial service set up by the expert.

“It was fun cause we just kinda played around with the new system and learned how it worked which was chill,” said Asa-Hauser.

The new system also has many significant technical upgrades. The old system, which would require a user to physically put a colored piece of paper in front of the lights in order to actually change color, was very limited in regards to the number of technical options it had. The new lighting system, which is controlled using a $15,000 dollar keyboard gives the user a variety of options.

“It changes lights from just being able to see things, to actually having effects,” Darwish said.

Aside from the 999 different functions, including a rainbow spotlight that beams down upon the audience and a color mixing option, this new light system offers the user more control than was ever offered with the older system.

“You can do a lot more with the new system and that has a big effect on the viewer’s experience,” junior Madison Wilson said.

Wilson, who is in the acting program, says that while this new system is more complicated, she thinks it is a large improvement over the dated system previously used in the theater.

“We plan on utilizing the different aspects of the system and making future shows more technical which we are really excited about,” Wilson said.