Cistern Stage Construction a Sign of Spring Commencement

Before graduates can walk across the stage to accept their diplomas at Spring Commencement on May 10, 2014, there has to be a stage.

For the past six years, the herculean task of erecting the temporary stage across the Cistern has fallen to Klance Unlimited, Inc. The Missouri-based company builds stages of all types and sizes around the country and bills itself as the official staging partner of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams.

Jonathan Ray, director of institutional events and chef concierge, said the College brings in an outside contractor to build the stage because it must be constructed in accordance with various safety regulations and in a manner that won’t harm the historic Cistern underneath.

The workers use sophisticated engineering techniques to ensure that the trusses below the stage floor are placed in the right locations to protect a series of vaults that sit just below the surface of the Cistern, Ray said.

The Physical Plant’s Ryan Brunelle serves as project coordinator when the stage crew comes to Charleston each spring. He said it usually takes the workers about three days to build the stage. But after years of practice, they got the job done in about two days this year.

The College gets its money’s worth: In addition to commencement, the stage is also used for A Charleston Affair and CougarPalooza.