News Article

Black Box Theatre Gets New Lighting with Foulds Foundation Grant

May 7, 2013

MAY 7, 2013 – FORT MYERS, FLA. – Edison State College’s Black Box Theatre recently underwent a lighting renovation with the help of a $23,000 grant from the Claiborne and Ned Foulds Foundation. The new LED spotlights replace the old lamps, which ran between 500-1000 watts and used up the majority of the electricity the theatre could run.

“Before we were running 16 conventional lighting fixtures and using a large amount of power to air-condition the room from the heat the lights created,” said Stuart Brown, professor, Theatre, Edison State College. “The new LEDs have almost doubled our inventory and require much less power, running at approximately 100 watts. They use less heat energy, allowing us to use less air conditioning, and they are much safer for our students to run. They are also more high-tech, allowing us to use lenses for projections and color changes.”

“With the grant from the Foulds Foundation, not only have we been able to become more environmentally-friendly, we are the only theatre in the area to have this state-of-the-art equipment,” Brown said.

“During the 1930’s, Mrs. Foulds was a Broadway star known on the stage under her maiden name, Claiborne Foster,” said Foulds Foundation Representative William R. Schroeder. “With her background in the theatre, I’m sure Mrs. Floulds would have enjoyed seeing what a difference the new state-of-the-art lighting makes during performances.”

The Claiborne and Ned Founds Foundation was established in February of 1981. In recognition of the achievements of Mr. and Mrs. Foulds, they left their estate in trust to be administered by U.S. Trust, Bank of America, N.A. as a 501 (c) (3) Foundation in perpetuity to benefit charitable causes which they had supported during their lifetimes.

Last Updated: May 7, 2013