Elmwood Receives Generous Donation of Shop Equipment from Ed Ward
The Elmwood Shop now has a beautiful 16“ scroll saw—courtesy of Ed Ward. Mr. Ward donated the scroll saw (with stand!), as well as an amazing assortment of clamps, a metal shelving unit, and a router table.
The shelving, clamps, and router table are a huge help in the ongoing effort to upgrade and organize the shop. And, with the scroll saw, our shop now has a tool that can create intricate corners and curves and cut small, detailed pieces with precision. It can also be used for inlay work as well as dovetail joints and other types of joinery. Our sets were already stunning enough to elicit audience comments on numerous occasions, and this new tool opens up a wide range of exciting new possibilities.
As you may have guessed from the name, Ed Ward’s recent donation to the theater is not his first–or even his most significant–gift to Elmwood. Among other things, Ed is Rob Ward’s dad—and Rob is, indeed, an invaluable gift to Elmwood.
Our audiences rarely see our shop. Instead, they see the work that comes out of it—and they are always amazed at the beauty, the quality, and the craftsmanship. Many of these sets are designed and/or technically directed by Rob Ward. But Rob knows that our theater shop is only as functional as its skill base. So he has worked tirelessly to make our shop a “draw” for skilled volunteers and a place where volunteers of all skill levels can learn about set construction. As a result, our set construction crew continues to grow in number, expand in skills, and bring new people into our Elmwood community.
And so, we thank Ed Ward for the wonderful gifts he has given that make not only our shop but our theater, a better place. In fact, Elmwoodians will have the opportunity to thank Ed Ward in person. He will be joining us to celebrate his son Rob, and Jennie Marino at the Elmwood Dinner Dance!
If you’d like to get involved with the Set Construction Crew (and get a look at the cool new scroll saw in action) contact Rob @ rward@hvc.rr.com.
