Theft puts damper on theater’s plans

Ian Black
Staff Reporter

For the second time in two years, the theater department has been the victim of a robbery. It was obvious to the head of the theater department Otto Layman, that the robbery was premeditated. “It was obviously planned, and specific things targeted ... except from those things stolen from my office.” The thefts occurred just weeks before SBHS production of Beauty and the Beast which begins performances on May 9.

The list of stolen items is long and includes a projector, a power amp, microphone equipment, computer monitors, a laptop, and a DVD player.

The thefts have greatly affected the theatre department. “We’re trying to pay for a big production, and represent SBHS in Scotland in August and the loss of $17-18,000 worth of equipment is hard to overcome,” lamented Mr. Layman.

According to Mr. Layman, the robbers went through great lengths to steal the items in the theatre and his personal office. The thieves scaled the wall behind the MAD Academy and climbed onto the roof. From there, the thieves pried open the metal grate that covered the window into the dressing room. Then they entered the little gym, and forced open an old door that connected the little gym to Mr. Layman’s office. While in his office, they stole two monitors and a laptop.

Leaving Mr. Layman’s office, they entered the theatre through the big double doors at the back of the little gym, climbed up to the balcony, and stole the projector, power amp, and DVD player. The thieves even used a pair of bolt cutters they found in Mr. Layman’s office to cut the bolt on the sound cabinet and take the microphones.

To prevent this from happening again, Mr. Layman assured his students that “we are installing cameras and will have 24/7 surveillance of the theatre, and all doors into and out of the theatre.”

But more than anything, Mr. Layman feels “violated” and “betrayed,” since he believes that people within the school stole from not just the theatre but also The Forge and the Yearbook.

He finds that although many of the students at SBHS would never do such a thing, the fact there are some that do, “hurts [his] soul knowing we share the same school.”

Mr. Layman is unsure of how exactly the theatre department will purchase new equipment because “we just bought most of the items two months ago to upgrade the system.”