The plan would be more flexible, he realized, allowing performances to take place in the space best fitted for them. It also turned out to be less expensive. That's because a 1,200-seat house needs to be extremely tall to accommodate the fly space above the stage.
The idea came to Samuelson 10 years ago, years after a new performing arts center was first envisioned. Now it is being constructed on what was once the Commencement lawn. The new complex is connected to the campus's original performing arts center, which was built more than 40 years ago and is beginning to show its age. January 2006 will see the new center's gala premiere.
For now, scaffolding rises from floor to ceiling of what will be the two-story lobby. Insulation panels are stacked in the costume shop. Huge ducts, designed to move air slowly and soundlessly so as not to disturb performances, lie ready for installation in the ceiling of the concert hall.
In January, the Vaughncille Joseph Meng Concert Hall, named for its chief donor, will come to life with an opening night concert featuring alumna Deborah Voigt, the Metropolitan Opera star most recently acclaimed for her performance in "Tristan und Isolde". The wood-paneled, two-level hall will seat about 800 patrons.
Plays will take place in the 250-seat, thrust-stage James D. Young Theatre, named for the founding chair of the Theatre Department, and in the Hallberg Theatre, named for its major donors, Dale and Millie Hallberg, with 150 movable seats.
The complex also will include dance studios with mirrored walls
and flexible seating, musical theater rehearsal studio, costume
shop and scene shop, faculty offices, and instructional facilities
for lighting, audio and makeup. A Steinway piano will have its
own temperature-controlled storage room.
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