Students upset over loss of theater

According to officials, its replacement is necessary When Provost Stanley Chodorow confirmed last week that the Annenberg School Theatre will close to make room for the school's Public Policy Center, many members of the performing arts community were quick to voice their disappointment. Engineering sophomore Ron Isaacson, a member of Penn Players and the Glee Club, said the space is one of the most practical performance locations on campus. "The theater is used by countless groups on campus and is an ideal space for musicals and dance," he said. "It also seats more than the Prince Theatre and it is less expensive than the Zellerbach. "This is the only proscenium-style theater on the campus," he added. "A lot of groups which use this space are now out of luck." But Engineering and Wharton senior Paul Higday, president of the Speech Team, said he does not consider the Annenberg School Theatre to be an essential part of the performing arts space. "It has a lot of history, but it's definitely not the most used theater on campus. In fact, it's probably the least used theater in the Annenberg complex," he said. "If Annenberg had to lose a theater, this was the best one." Higday explained that the Annenberg Public Policy Center is in charge of all public policy research on campus. "It brings speakers to campus, chairs the Penn public speaking program, and funds the Speech Team," he explained. "In addition, it is in charge of undergraduate communications at Penn." While no definite timetable has been set for construction, the theater will probably be closed to the performing arts community in the spring of 1997, according to Laura Hammons, administrative assistant for Student Performing Arts. "A lot of performances are already scheduled there this year, and as I understand it, the coordinator will continue taking requests for performance dates until spring '97," she said. The reconstruction will involve "reconfiguring the two lower floors of the school and the library," according to Annenberg School for Communication Dean Kathleen Hall Jamieson. She said the decision to use the theater was made "after examining the available options and location." "No space was close enough to the school to ensure ongoing contact between students and the professors and activities that will take place in the reconfigured space," Jamieson said. "The decision involved all of the appropriate University administrators and committees. "Were it not for concerns about available alternative performing spaces, we would have begun the building process by now," she added. According to Higday, the need for the construction arose because professors in the Public Policy Center did not have office space of their own. "Before the Annenberg Theatre was even considered, the administrators talked to the University and asked where office space would be available," he said. Higday said that since nothing was available near the Annenberg School at the time, the University offered space in the office building at 3440 Market Street to the Center. "However, this would have been very impractical since the professors wouldn't have the chance to interact with any of the other communications professors," he said. "It was then that they decided on the school theater." When the theater was chosen, Chodorow and other University administrators promised the performing arts community that they would work to supply ample space for performances and rehearsal. The University has purchased the Christian Science Church, located at 40th and Walnut streets, to be used for performing arts space. But Hammons said the building will not be ready for group use for another four or five years. Isaacson said the church will require a tremendous amount of work before it can conceivably be used for performing arts space. "Right now, it lacks acoustics and lighting and it's definitely not as convenient as the Annenberg Theatre," he said. Isaacson added that he does not currently see any spaces which could fill the void that the loss of the Annenberg School Theatre will cause.