Theatre & Dance Facilities

A 360-seat proscenium theatre listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The Annie has state-of-the-art lighting equipment, including LEDs, Scrollers, automated lighting, and a custom lighting bridge. The Annie also features a state-of-the-art all digital sound system used for the playback of music and effects for non-musicals and live reinforcement in musicals. The core of the system is the Meyer Sound d’Mitri audio platform, the same system used on Broadway for Spiderman. With the ability to playback multitrack audio, reinforcement for both actors and musicians and a sound effect library of over 10,000 effects, the ART sound system is capable of handling the most demanding of audio designs. Projection in the Annie is handled utilizing Coolux’s Pandora’s Box media server hardware and software. The Coolux system is the same one used by Cirque du Soleil and on the Metropolitan Opera’s latest version of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. The system can project up to four separate images, both still and video, at the same time. Multi-track playback and advanced image warping allow for the creation of complex projection designs.

A custom-built 1,900-square-foot black box theater is an ideal canvas for imagination and experimentation. It can host formal performances of up to 142 guests, integrating the latest in design, lighting, and sound systems. Pull-out seating risers enable layout transformations to various styles of theater, including the traditional proscenium, thrust (catwalk), and arena (audience on all four sides).

Students hone their dance and choreography skills in the Dance Studio, which features professional flooring with floating subfloor and multipurpose marley overlay, natural light, top-line sound and AV equipment, and the professional finishing of full mirrors and barres.

The 2,400-square-foot studio integrates a costume shop, fitting rooms, a draft room, and storage for the accoutrement of live productions, such as props and regalia.

Aspiring actors, directors, and technicians will cut their teeth in the Sally K. Albrecht Studio Theatre, the Fred Stone Acting & Directing Laboratory, and the Design & Technology Laboratory—three intentionally designed classroom spaces for improvisational and musical workshops and hands-on study focused on theatrical design.