The Wild Idea

I get these crazy wild ideas at about midnight. This is actually an idea that has been percolating in my mind for a while - just got more specific last night. I've even bounced the idea off of a couple key folks!

The short answer to "what is your idea?" is "I want to turn a room at our church into a mini theater." But I've started to expand on the idea. The room in question is currently being used as the middle school Sunday school classroom and a computer center (largely a tragic collection of donated computers that run Windows 2000 and play DOS games). I think it has the potential to be so much more!

The computer center will have to go live in another room - once the theater is a theater, it needs to mostly stay a theater.

The windows can be blocked with foam insulation sheets that we can even let students use as art project space! I think we've got 5 windows to deal with. The foam insulation can be cut to fit snug (and that makes this wild scheme completely reversible in the future).

I think it would be super-nifty to paint the walls black. Behr makes a paint you can scrub - so we could even use the walls like a giant chalk board (without the expense of actual chalkboard paint!). I even envision a special event when we could make glow chalk (there are kits), move the chairs, let the kids decorate the walls and have a black light dance!

To have chairs that will be easy to move but comfortable enough for watching a 2 hour movie - BAG CHAIRS!! Cheap, replaceable, light weight! They can be potential canvases for another art project! Sharpies and artistic talent would be the only resources needed.

The great thing about this scheme is that the room would be useful for all ages! The adults might want to gather to watch a travel video, see a presentation (like Powerpoint), take a class on How to Use Facebook or What is a Browser Anyway? The room would be setup so that a person of minimal technical skill could walk in, put their disc in the tower and hit play. I'll use my Dad as a test monkey.

The cost for the transformation will be minimal - paint, chairs, projector and a couple of speakers. We've got everything else we need!

So, then I got to the wild part of my idea. Let's get the JIFF kids to help with the transformation during their Spring break! I just need adults to supervise a couple hours each afternoon/evening for 3-4 days!

And some bag chairs...

And some folks to help me convince any naysayers that this is a good idea.

That is epic idea #1...I've got another one cooking...