Amana – It’s out with the old and in with the new, lights that is, at The Old Creamery
Theatre! This week the theatre started work to replace the majority of lights that have
been a huge part of every production on the theater’s Main Stage since the 1970s.

Nicholas Hodge, master electrician at The Old Creamery Theatre said not only are the
new lights much more energy efficient but the light blubs have a longer lifespan.
Hodge, who is also a performer, said the new lights will also do something very
important - help to keep the performance space cooler. “Thanks to the newer technology,
90% of the heat generated doesn’t travel to the stage,” he said.

Because each of the new lights can serve various functions, Hodge said greater artistic
flexibility will be another benefit. “The older lights were limited,” he said.

The lights were purchased from BMI Supply of Queensbury New York and CLE of Des
Moines for $31,000. A combination of grants at $5,000 each helped to pay a portion of
the cost. Grants came from The Gethmann Foundation of Marshalltown and the Iowa
County Community Foundation.

The non-profit professional theatre also sold raffle tickets at $100 each to raise the funds
for the new lighting system, so The Old Creamery was not the only one to benefit from
the year-long raffle. 

Jesse Cooksley of Cedar Rapids was enjoying G. I. Holiday Jukebox last December with
his girlfriend when he decided to purchase a raffle ticket. Cooksley, 32 won the grand
prize of $5,000 and was notified on December17 of his good fortune. “I was surprised,”
he said. “It helped to pay for some Christmas gifts for the family.”

Various other prize amounts and names of winners are listed on The Old Creamery’s
website at www.oldcreamery.com

Others that are benefitting from The Old Creamery’s lighting project are some smaller
theatres who are happy to be able to use the old lights.

Coe College, Mt Vernon/Lisbon Community Theatre and ACT I in Vinton all plan to
use some of the older lights on their stages.

The Old Creamery Theatre Company is a not-for-profit professional theatre founded
in 1971 in Garrison, Iowa. The company is celebrating 43 years of bringing live,
professional theatre to the people of Iowa and the Midwest.

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