Lights, camera, action

    The university closed on the downtown campus theatre Feb. 22. After months of work, a purchase settlement of $817,996 was closed on the 17,000 square foot building.
    Now owned by the Georgia Board of Regents, the university is looking forward to proceeding with the renovations to restore the façade of the theatre.
    Anticipated renovation costs remain at about $6.9 million, though Bryan Jackson, director of University Communications, is very pleased with the exceptional job the previous owner, Randall Hattaway did stabilizing the building.
    “He put a new roof on it, and made sure that it didn’t have water infiltration. Overall the building, for not being used for thirty years, is in pretty good shape,” Jackson said. “Structurally, we’re in pretty good shape. You can imagine if it wasn’t, we might not be able to do the project because the cost would be so great.”
    Renovations are expected to begin within the next several months.
    “The next step is to pull together the financing for the actual renovation construction. The plan is that it will go through Georgia Higher Education Facility Authority,” Jackson said.
    Profits from the bookstore and possible theatre rental space will be used to pay back the revenue bonds. Plans to expand the theatre from the 17,000 square feet to 21,000 square feet are also in order.
    Opportunities for the theatre space are infinite. One of the main goals of the theatre is that of a “black box” space.
    “A ‘black box’ theatre is a small space where you can change the seating to any possible theatrical seating style that you can imagine,” Dr. Brock Fisher, assistant professor of theatre and interim theatre chair, said.
    This will allow for such events as theatre-in-the-round, traditional stage or even a concert venue.
    “Russell (Auditorium) is a great venue, but you are kind of structured in the traditional stage setting, so if you have a program that kind of lends itself to a different configuration, the campus theatre is really going to be able to meet that need,” Jackson said.
    The faculty and students of the theatre department couldn’t be more pleased with the idea of a new theatre.
    “I think every theatre department hopes that they can have a space that’s in the center of the action, that is going to be a cultural center for the town,” Fisher said. “I think with the campus theatre that’s something that we’re definitely expecting and excited about is that it’s right there in the middle of the town, everybody can get to it.”
    Sophomore theatre major Rachel Edmonds is very enthusiastic about the new possibilities of the downtown campus theatre.
    “I am really, really excited about it. To be able to work in a different theatre, and for it to be downtown, will be really fun, especially with the marquee,” Edmonds said.
    “I think that we get excited about the new theatre, because it makes us feel appreciated. That’s something that every department wants every once and awhile, to get some attention and to feel appreciated,” Fisher said. “And our students, not just for the faculty—it makes the students feel like they’re being recognized.”
    The new theatre will also lend itself to provide storage space for the theatre department, something that they are in desperate need of.
    “We need a new theatre because it’s getting almost impossible to recruit (students) with the current spaces that we have,” Fisher said. “They go to other schools across the state, and they see that they’ve got really exciting, hot new spaces and we’ve got our Russell, which is nice, but it’s actually a neat historic space. We’re excited about the idea of having a space where, finally, we can bring technical students in, and they can get excited about different features and effects.”
    The bookstore, which will be located in the front of the theatre, will not only have textbooks but general titles as well.
    “That really fits into trying to do what President Leland likes to do; she likes to find projects that have that synergy—they help the school, but they also help the community,” Jackson said.
    The campus theatre is just one of many projects being taken on by the university. In fact, many projects are in the process of being renovated. The university currently has a six year plan for several of the buildings around campus, and while the campus theatre does not fall under the six year plan, it is just as significant.
    The interior of the old courthouse on the corner of campus does fit into that plan, as well as plans to renovate Beeson. Ennis Hall, currently housing The GIVE Center on the first floor, is in the works to one day be the home of the art department.
    The hope for Mayfair Hall, which is now part of the art department, is that it will be renovated into an inn for visiting faculty and speakers that come to campus. There are also plans for a faculty community space where faculty to meet in a casual atmosphere.
    “You see a lot of construction, a lot of changes on campus, but there is still more to come; that’ll enhance our academic spaces, bring some of these buildings that are still on the tail end of being renovated, online,” Jackson said.
    The university is working hard to maintain the historic building in the community.
    “We’ve gotten a lot of praise, not just us but Milledgeville itself, for working to try to restore downtown and bring it back,” Jackson said. “You can appreciate the hard that is going in by so many people in this community, including the university.”
    As of now, the goal is to have the campus theatre ready for the theatre department by Fall 2009.
    “There’s been a lot of comment referred from people in the community who remember going to see Saturday matinees. They could go in there in the air conditioning and cool off and watch a Walt Disney movie,” Jackson said. “It’s easy just to bulldoze stuff and put up a cinderblock building. It takes a little more effort to take a building that is historical in nature, finding a way to re-adapt it, so I think the campus theatre is a great project that really kind of highlights being able to do that.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 14 2008. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry