Since the William B. Nottleman Auditorium was built on the Mehlville High School campus in 2013, Oakville High School students and staff have been wondering where their auditorium is.

The Nottleman Auditorium was placed on the MHS campus to offer the fine arts department of both high schools a better facility to be able to showcase the performing arts students and programs.

The placement of the auditorium can be a great thing for OHS students, but there are also some disadvantages of it, especially when size is involved.

For the drama department, many performances take place in the schools basement where the ‘drama center’ is. There is rarely an OHS play being put on at the auditorium.

When plays are put on in the drama center it decreases the size of the audience and reduces sales. If OHS plays were performed at the MHS auditorium or OHSs own auditorium there would be the opportunity of a bigger crowd.

For the choir students not having an auditorium, or bigger space to practice, brings many challenges.

Every choir concert takes place at the auditorium which requires the classes to make a trip over to Mehlville to practice during ANP and class. The students have to drive over on a bus and skip some of their next class which shortens rehearsal time.

An auditorium or bigger fine arts space on the OHS campus would provide choir students to spread out and practice in their sections. Right now, the students have to split up in the halls very close to other classrooms. Choir students can even hear the band performing as they are trying to practice which can get loud.

With the amount of success that the OHS fine arts program has, we deserve a place to hold the performances and practices that can improve the program even more.