Christian Youth Theatre moved into new offices about three months ago, put down brand-new floors and painted walls. Well, Monday night, about 7:40, organizers of CYT-Lafayette come down the stairs, and they see water, three inches of water on the floor… water primarily coming through windows. And now CYT is essentially back to square one.
What a difference three months can make. Not long ago, I was with CYT-Lafayette artistic director Kallie Broussard as she showed off the group's new home at 1319 West Pinhook Road. “And just to have this thing that's been your dream handed to you, I just cried when I heard,” I remember Broussard saying, with tears of joy in her eyes. “This is amazing.”
But Monday evening, tears of a decidedly different kind flowed from Broussard. After working for 90 minutes with her team on the second floor, she came down the stairs and saw three inches of water .... everywhere. “And it was definitely past our ankles,” says Broussard. “We opened the door and started to see some of our items just floating down the hallway.”
“It was heartbreaking, I will say that. Just three months ago, we’d moved in, and my parents and i painted the walls and put the floor in, we got everything decorated and got it perfect for our kids. And to see it happen so quickly last night, it was a lot to deal with.”
And the news wasn't any better as Broussard entered the main rehearsal space of CYT's new home. “There was water that had been pouring in through the windows, it was over all of our technical equipment on the ground, just got a donation of over $10,000 of lighting and sound and audio, and they were all three inches or more deep in water. So, we just started going through it to see what we could salvage.”
The damage comes on the heels of CYT's very successful Spongebob: The Musical performances held just this past weekend. But-- as tough as things look--Broussard knows that Christian Youth Theatre is more than just a building.
"That's why I'm grateful right now, in the midst of all of this,” adds Broussard, bravely putting on a smile. “I've had so many messages and Facebook messages and text messages of people who are going to help us get through it, and how much this program means to them and how much this building means to them.”
“So, we’re gonna’ be o.k.”
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