Playhouse Remodel
by Rachel Kinsman Steck
Most summers on the northeast side of campus usually consist of camp kids giggling past Smullin, a dog or two racing to the Quad, and drums beating the rhythm of African Dance from the Playhouse. But this summer, as the Dean searches for a new parking spot, the contractors, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, masons, and other “subs” as they say in the business have been wreaking havoc and creating a great deal of excitement in this area of campus.
While most of our attention is focused on the big hole in the ground, representing the new state-of-the-art academic building, Ford Hall, the eighty-five-year-old Playhouse is quietly transforming itself into a modern performance complex while simultaneously maintaining the historicity of its purpose.
The Playhouse, currently housing the Theatre and Dance programs, began as Willamette’s basketball arena and gymnasium in 1923. For those who remember when -- the charming brick-arched-entrances, the maple floors, and the wide-spanned-beams, created a charming and energetic environment for competition.
In 1972, the Gymnasium went through its first major renovation into what we now call the Playhouse. Walls were installed, breaking the basketball court into a large 285 seat Thrust Theatre, known to the community as the Kresge, a small scene shop, a black box theatre, the Arena, and supporting spaces. The remodel was strictly utilitarian, and took into consideration little of what had come before: the arches were walled in, the maple floors were covered with rugs or painted, and the beams stressed with awkward catwalks and pipes.
The performing arts, like the sciences, evolve with technology. As new developments in computers, electricity, sound, and materials (plastics, woods, metals, etc) affect popular culture, so too do they (re)define the arts. Willamette’s Theatre Department has swiftly engaged in new technology, familiarizing its students and faculty with industry standards, allowing its students and faculty to not only continually produce creative productions but also to work regularly within the professional theatres in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Needless to say, a lot has changed technologically and environmentally within the last thirty-six years and so too has the way we “do theatre”. The 2008-2010 remodel of the Playhouse will both enhance the architecture of the building as well as create an energetic, innovative, and professional space for the students, faculty, staff, and community. This project will progress in two phases beginning in May 2008 and ending in August 2010.
Phase I may not be sexy, but it lays the foundation (literally) for a building and a program that will last well into the next century. The bricks of this old gym are strong and so the remodel begins with seismic upgrades (lots of metal, plywood, and Simson clamps). There are also a lot of “behind the scenes” upgrades happening: preparation for increasing power to the building, modern heating and cooling support, isolated sound power, modern safety and fire detection/suppression, updated sewer and water lines, and multimedia-equipped room infrastructure.
What will be seen by February 2009 includes: a design studio which will increase the capacity of design classes from approximately 10 to 16, two dressing rooms with showers, a prosthetics room, increased capacity and environmentally sound laundry facilities, costume shop, and storage for scenery, properties, and costumes.
What are the new bells and whistles you ask? The design studio will become a state-of-the-art classroom with smart boards and teaching stations. The students will be able to include technology into their design concepts and presentations. The students will also be able to store their work safely and securely in the design studio and have access through card readers to the classroom 24/7. The laundry facility will increase capacity with 2 washers and dryers. It will also gain a dye vat which will allow the costume designer to save time as well as be eco-friendly. The prosthetics room and the green room will also be “smart” rooms. Video and audio intercom will be possible in all “production” spaces (green room, dressing rooms, prosthetics room, and costume shop). The green room will act as production space as well as conference room and seminar room. The hallways will also act as an archive, highlighting the Theatre Department’s work throughout its history.
Phase II is where technology and history really meet with a tension grid across the entire theatre space. The Kresge will become a fully adjustable theatre, presenting a new world for every production. The tension grid allows for the removal of the catwalks and pipes and exposes the beautiful 1920s iron beams while creating a safe environment for hanging and focus of lights and rigging scenery. All internal brick will be cleaned down to its original surfaces, maple floors refinished, and the walled in arches will be exposed, reinvigorating the architectural elements of the space.
Two new studio spaces will be created with multimedia technology aiding the classes in their exploration of dance, directing, acting, and design. The scene shop will double in size, allowing for the addition of the new and safer power tools, dust collection, and HVAC needs. Increased power for lighting and isolated power for sound as well as some much needed upgrades in instrumentation, including digital control boards will allow the students to investigate these areas at “industry standard” preparing them for internships, apprenticeships, and jobs throughout their educational pursuits. Dramatic changes include the addition of periphery catwalks, and traps, allowing for thirty-six feet of elevation depending on the production.
The most exciting part of this renovation is that the building will now reflect what the Theatre Department has been doing for the last thirty or forty years: innovative art at the highest level. For further information, please do not hesitate to come and take a tour!