Student performance groups will have a new space to showcase their abilities this year, thanks to the persistence of some of their fellow performers.
Alumnae Hall underwent some dramatic upgrades over the summer, including the recircuiting of the entire building and the purchase of about 80 theatrical lights. The final touches will be completed soon, said Nick Leiserson '09, one of the students who has lobbied for more performance space. "We have everything we could possibly want to make Alumnae Hall into a wonderful and workable theater space," he said.
As president of Brown University Gilbert and Sullivan and co-chair of Brown Opera Productions, Leiserson knows first-hand the difficulties of finding suitable performance space on campus. Dance and theater groups often use open rooms or lecture halls, such as Salomon 101 and List 120, that are not made to house such productions.
Spaces that are designed for performances are often inaccessible given the large number of campus groups wanting to use them. When Fusion Dance Company was told that it would not be able to hold a performance in Ashamu Dance Studio last year, Jake Ricciardi '09 decided something needed to change.
"I realized that operating just as Fusion, we couldn't get anything done," Ricciardi said. "By getting other groups involved we could accomplish more ... and get our needs heard."
To that end, Ricciardi organized the Student Dance Initiative to represent the campus dance community and spearhead a lobbying effort for improved rehearsal and performance venues. Ricciardi contacted members of other campus dance groups to discuss what specific needs they had.
"It was an effort by a lot of different people working together and listening to each other," Ricciardi said. "Groups have pretty similar needs."
After meeting with student activities officials last semester, Ricciardi was told he should get in touch with Leiserson.
"If you are one student with an idea, it doesn't mean that it won't happen," Director of Student Activities Ricky Gresh said. "But if you can get other students who can benefit and also think it is important, you can build a case that the impact of what you want to do will be broader."
Gresh had originally spoken to Leiserson about the need to improve performance space, but at that time it had not been a high priority for the University.
By the time he was contacted by Ricciardi, "a window of opportunity opened because the University was trying to do something to support dance and performance art groups on campus."
Brown's Gilbert and Sullivan group and BOP began using Alumnae Hall for performances during Leiserson's first year, but they had to find ways to overcome the building's shortcomings. The design of the stage and ceiling did not allow for adequate lighting, and the poor acoustics caused performers' voices to be drowned out if they were accompanied by an orchestra or standing toward the back of the stage.
The students created their own lighting systems and later rented theatrical lights at a cost of about $1,500 to $2,000 per performance. Even as the makeshift systems became more advanced, the groups ran into problems because the building was not circuited to draw enough power, and Brown's office of Environmental Health and Safety expressed concerns.
"We blew fuses we didn't even know existed," Leiserson said.
Last fall, Leiserson proposed what changes would need to be made and met with the University's electrical engineer to discuss what would be possible. He then got preliminary bids on the project from contractors.
Once he had taken the planning stage as far as he could, Leiserson ran into the problem he had known was inevitable.
"I had the plans but no money," he said.
Leiserson was in Alumnae Hall working on an upcoming opera production when he received an e-mail from Ricciardi.
"Five minutes later, I was on the phone with him," Leiserson said. Three days later they had a meeting with University administrators.
Originally, both Leiserson and Ricciardi had been told their proposed project would not be finished until after they had both graduated. But through the combined efforts of Brown's dance and theater communities, the project was approved with a $350,000 budget by the provost's space committee, which allocates resources for on-campus projects, Leiserson said.
"You literally could have picked my jaw up off the floor," he added.
The funding for the project came from money set aside by the University for improving facilities, said Senior Vice President for Corporation Affairs and Governance Russell Carey, who presented the plans to the space committee.
"We realized that with a relatively modest investment (Alumnae Hall) could do much, much more for student performance groups," Carey added.
A few years ago, Alumnae Hall's electrical capacity was increased, though the circuits had never been replaced to handle the increased flow of electricity, Gresh said. Because the students' plans would make use of the increased capacity, it made sense to go ahead with the project.
Alumnae Hall was recircuited over the summer and now has more than doubled its lighting capacity. A chain motor was installed to allow lighting fixtures to be raised and lowered with the push of a button, and two 21-foot-tall lighting trees that hold 12 lights each have been purchased.
A 96-dimmer rack and an intercom system have been installed, along with a 24-foot by 8-foot thrust - or stage extension - to expand performance space. The new theatrical lights, ordered by Leiserson, will be delivered in the next few weeks and will be installed by students.
"With the infrastructure we have now, it will be a lot easier to do smaller projects" such as replacing incandescent lights with energy-saving L.E.D. bulbs, Leiserson said.
In addition to the improvements to Alumnae Hall, T.F. Green 205 - a practice space used by many dance groups - had new mirrors and a ballet barre installed. Plans for the Nelson Fitness Center also include practice space for martial arts and dance groups, Carey said.
The administration was receptive "to the idea that the size of the dance community at Brown shouldn't be limited by the resources the school has," Ricciardi said.
For Leiserson, the last six months have seemed like a "whirlwind."
"I am just astounded and wonderfully, wonderfully grateful," he said, admitting that though the improvements are beneficial to overall performance community, his excitement also has selfish motivations.
"I get to play with this stuff."
