By Jeff Vorva

When Betsy Kungl first watched a performance in the York High School auditorium in 2015, she enjoyed herself, but there was one little hiccup.

Well, it was kind of a big hiccup. She didn’t have an ideal seat.

“There was a big speaker in front of me,” she said. “I couldn’t really see the show.”

Still, she became a regular at the auditorium as a spectator or performer over the years.

The Elmhurst resident is one of many who have been enjoying the new improvements to the theater as the school hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 21. The state-of-the-art bells and whistles during the facelift include upgraded seating, flooring, orchestra shell, lighting, and stage equipment.
And no speakers to block anyone’s view.

Drama Director Matt Bourke loves the makeover the auditorium received. “Oh, man – what’s not to like?” he said. “There are some obvious improvements. The lighting is significantly better. The acoustics are significantly better. The sound system, the lighting system, and controls…all of that stuff that you can see are great. The seating and the aesthetics are better.”

“And a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff is better, too,” he said. “The functionality of the space and how easy it is to use things. All of the rigging above the stage that raises and lowers all of the set pieces and the orchestra shell are all electronically controlled, so we don’t have to pull ropes with weights anymore.”

There was a soft opening in the spring, but the first major fall production was The Minotaur, in which Kungl and fellow senior Quinn Tolman had starring roles.

Kungl enjoys the new digs in her final year at the school.

“I think the big thing is the lights,” she said. “Before, we would have to rent the lights for every show. It was a big hassle, and it took a long time. But now we have permanent lights, which I really love.”

She is not planning on majoring in theater in college but hopes to somehow lend a hand in some form of performing arts after she graduates.

I have done it all my life,” she said of performing. “It’s a passion for me, and I don’t want to get rid of it.”
Kungl has been performing for a long time.

“I’ve been doing theater since second grade,” she said. “I love the community. I’ve met my best friends through this. I’m a very extroverted person, and I love music, and I love acting – all of them together. I grew up with it, and it’s who I am.”

Tolman wants to study marine biology in college, but he’s not sure where his performing career will end. He liked some of the infrastructure changes in York’s auditorium.

“I like the ramp and the staircase,” he said. “There was never really a way to get up there (on stage), and it was kind of confusing.”

He developed his love for the theater at York.

“I was an outlier,” he said. “I had been into theater slightly my whole life, but I never got truly into it until eighth grade, and I was in a show during the summer, and I loved it. I thought it was super cool and something I might want to do. It was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

He said he will miss the area theater scene.

“The community in York and Elmhurst is just so loving. They draw you in. You want to be a part of it. These past two years, I’ve kind of been going ‘full theater.’ Really, it’s such a great program, and everybody is so nice. Something here is indescribable and not like any other program.”

Drama director Matt Bourke talks about the new changes to the York High School auditorium after a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Photo by Jeff Vorva

York performing arts students Quinn Tolman and Betsy Kungl pose in the new-look auditorium after a robbon-cutting ceremony in August. Photo by Jeff Vorva

District and school officials get a stage-eye view of the York High School auditorium changes. Photo by Jeff Vorva