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Red Hook High School

A Welcoming and Diverse Community of Learners

Performing Arts Center

Performing Arts Center

The Performing Arts Center at Red Hook High School officially opened in April 2021. It’s since become a hub of creativity and activity that not only hosts events and performances for all three district schools and the community, but also connects students with professional-level tools for learning how to operate a theater.

For decades, Red Hook was the lone high school in the mid-Hudson Valley without an auditorium; student performances were held on a stage in the gymnasium. The Performing Arts Center project was approved by residents by special vote in December 2017. It passed by an overwhelming margin following years of advocacy by the Red Hook Education Foundation and other groups. The $10 million price tag presented to voters in the capital improvement proposition was offset by a $3.5 million grant and bolstered by extensive fundraising from the RHEF. It's since become an invaluable asset to the entire district and a beloved space for students interested in the performing arts.

How the PAC is used

A stage production features actors in period costumes, with a backdrop reading 'Vandergelder's'.

• Theater instruction and other class use

• Fall and spring performances from Red Hook High School’s Hardscrabble Players

• Seasonal music recitals from all three schools

• School assemblies

• Districtwide presentations

• Select Board of Education meetings

• Movie screenings

• Select community events, including some town hall meetings, community concerts and the 2024 State of the County address

What's in the space?

  • Maximum occupancy: 913
    Seats: 704
    Handicap spaces: 8

  • Stagehouse width: 80 feet, five inches
    Stagehouse depth: 35 feet

    Stage width: 47 feet, eight inches
    Stage height: 19 feet, five inches
    Stage thickness: One foot, three inches
    Apron depth: Six feet, two inches

    Orchestra pit width: 47 feet, eight inches
    Orchestra pit depth at centerstage: 11 feet, 10 inches
    Orchestra pit depth at edges: Seven feet, two inches

  • Digital audio PA system and microphones
    General state lighting and controls
    4K laser projector
    Down stage screen (23 feet by 15 feet)
    HDMI connection
    Apple TV wireless streaming
    Blu Ray playback
    Clear-com communications

    Chairs
    Tables
    Risers
     

  • Main area: 30 feet, seven inches by 22 feet, three inches
    Side area: Eight feet, nine inches by 21 feet, one inch

An empty auditorium with rows of seats facing a stage with red curtains.

Theater instruction for all ages

A group of people in costumes stand on a stage in front of a backdrop.

 

Shakespeare program

Through a partnership with the Red Hook Education Foundation, students at Mill Road Elementary School and Linden Avenue Middle School learn about the works of William Shakespeare and perform one of this plays each year. The program began in 2020.

Students in the third, fourth and fifth grades have separate units during the school day in which they receive varying instruction. The fifth-grade unit culminates in a show at the Performing Arts Center, while the third and fourth graders also finish with performances at Mill Road. Linden Avenue Middle School’s version of the program is schoolwide and held as an after-school activity, with performances at the Performing Arts Center. Everyone who auditions gets a part and all become familiar with the Bard’s language and lasting influence.

High School courses

Red Hook High School offers a wide range of theater instruction classes available to students of all grade levels. They include:
EN 110: Introduction to Theatre
EN 206: Technical Theatre and Stage Management
EN 209: Theatre II
EN380: IB Theatre I
EN 480: IB Theatre II SL
EN 490: IB Theatre II HL
MU 105: Introduction to Musical Theatre Performance
MU 106: Intermediate Musical Theatre Performance
Coming in 2026-27: IB Literature and Performance

Full descriptions in the course catalog

Children in colorful costumes perform on a stage with a shimmering backdrop.