Behind the Curtain: A look at the logistics of this year’s senior Prom and changes since last year

For the first time, StuCo will host prom on the stage of Starlight Theater in Kansas City, Missouri.

Union Station has always been the first option for prom venues, but with the NFL Draft being held at Union Station in May, StuCo’s former-prom coordinator and Digital Design teacher Jennifer Hair searched for a new location last year. After researching local venues and going on site visits, Hair landed on Starlight.

“[Starlight] was a blank slate that had an impactful environment that was super Kansas City,” Hair said. “The venue itself was so unique. Just like Union Station, you don’t need much decoration to make it look awesome and special.”

This year, art teacher and junior class sponsor Emma Chalk is in charge of organizing the dance along with the 11 junior StuCo representatives. 

After several trips to Starlight and meetings with the junior representatives, Chalk has planned most of the dance’s logistics, including the stage setup and band setlist. While the dance will be on the stage, the main curtain will be down, turning the open stage into an event space comparable to the Union Station size, according to Chalk. 

While Starlight won’t have the unique architecture of Union Station, the prom planning crew won’t be restricted by the historic preservation. Union Station required bringing in professionals to hang decorations and limited what they could put in the space. Starlight is a production house that typically hosts concerts and musicals, making it easier to add lighting and decor.

“I think it’s a great spot,” Chalk said. “It’s something that I don’t think you really get to have that experience doing anything else unless you’re a performer… so I think it’s fun to say that you were on the stage at Starlight.”

At most Starlight performances, visitors park on the grass in front of the venue. But for prom, students will park closer to the stage in the Zebra Lot — a paved lot off to the left of Starlight’s stage, between the venue and the Kansas City Zoo.

StuCo is introducing a new digital ticket payment method for prom through a program called MySchoolBucks that will allow students to purchase their tickets online.

For prior dances, students bought tickets with cash or check. But, in an Instagram poll of 276 students, 54% said that they don’t carry cash with them to school. For years now, Bookkeeper Joan Burnett has searched for a way to switch to a digital payment process with reluctance from the district. 

However, Venmo is too unreliable, a card reader isn’t fast enough and Apple Pay readers are too expensive, according to Burnett. But then they found MySchoolBucks — a service to collect digital payment.

“We’ve been fighting for it for years, and [the district’s] been so hesitant, but I think this is going to work,” Burnett said.

The payment collection through MySchoolBucks will function similarly to online shopping. Students will open the store via a link on East’s website or a QR code, then insert their card information to make the purchase. The money will be directly wired into StuCo’s account.

“My part actually will be much more streamlined because it’ll go right into the account if it goes in through MySchoolBucks,” Burnett said.

With the help of junior StuCo members, Burnett is organizing the exact plan. Students will most likely show their payment receipt to ticket sellers in exchange for a physical ticket. Ticket sales will start the week of April 3 and last until the dance on April 15.

Student Body Treasurer and junior Ira Finkelston predicts that the new method will be efficient and boost ticket sales. 

“It’s always a pain when you’re trying to buy tickets,” Finkelston said. “We think that we’re going to be able to have a lot more people at the dances now because more people will be able to buy tickets and won’t forget about it because that’s the biggest problem with it — that people don’t have cash when they’re trying to buy tickets.”

While the digital payment option is being added, StuCo will still accept cash and check to purchase prom tickets.