Well, it finally happened today - the poles are gone! The two vertical i-beams that have always been called "the poles", and the horizontal beams they were supporting, fell to the ground this afternoon as the demolition phase winds down.

The "North Pole" and the "South Pole" have valiantly held up the roof over the playing space since MST moved into 2540 Times Boulevard in the early 1980s (well, probably since much earlier than that!), and whether a designer wanted them to or not, they've been a part of every set of every show that has been presented here. They were clad with wood and have been painted every color in the rainbow; actors have been suspended from them, tied to them, wrapped around them. Generations of actors have had to learn how to play to the three or four sides of audience while navigating around them. 

Some MST old-timers might feel a bit misty-eyed about losing them, but - in truth - getting the opportunity to remove them and raise the ceiling in the playing space opens a great big new world of opportunities for the actors, directors and designers. A "clean sheet of paper" can be used when a show goes into production and sight lines will never again be a problem.

Here are a few shots of Becky watching the beams fall today...

The "South Pole" went first:

And then the "North Pole":

And MST's now column-free theater!

Perhaps less dramatic but no less important, the demolition crew also cut the two new doors into the theater from the West Lobby. 

These new doors on the west wall of the auditorium replace the downstage right light lock "vomitorium" and the upstage right door to the backstage. They will help improve the way our patrons get in and out of the auditorium and how they proceed to the restrooms in the back of the building.