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23-640: In December, 2022, the Hilberry closed its doors for renovations. Its successor for live theatrical performances is the adjacent Hilberry Gateway , which opened in April 2023. The Hilberry Theatre will be renovated as the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center, a leading performance venue designed specifically for jazz. In February 1917, the First Church of Christ Scientist was built on the corner of Cass Avenue and Hancock Street, in

46-500: A 3,200 sq ft (297 m ) stage, with a sprung floor for dance performances, and an orchestra lift for musicals. The theater opened in April 2023 with a production of Cabaret . The 250-seat, 50 by 60 ft (15 by 18 m) black box theater is the most flexible performance space in the complex. The space features a tension grid for flexibility in configuring overhead equipment. The Studio Theater opened in May 2023 with

69-451: A 532 seated theater. The open stage theatre was designed using a Roman and Elizabethan approach. A traditional stage with backdrop and doors, a center performance stage, and elevated area surrounding the seating area. The theatre opened in 1964 to house a graduate repertory company. The Hilberry is currently undergoing renovations and will soon reopen as the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center. Hilberry Gateway The Hilberry Gateway

92-477: A basement. The Hilberry has an Ionic style colonnade on the exterior of the building facing Hancock Street and its masonry is made to resemble that of marble. The exterior door frames are surrounded in classical moldings and the facade facing Cass Avenue is designed in similar manner and serves as the main entrance to the theatre. On June 16, 1961, Wayne State University purchased the church building and remodeled its 60-foot stage and 1,512 seated auditorium into

115-455: A production of The Merry Wives of Windsor . The 22,800 sq ft (2,120 m ) Production Wing houses fully-equipped costume, scenic, lighting, and properties shops, a design studio, dressing rooms, and offices. The Production Wing is located behind the proscenium theater's stage, with direct connections to the black box theater. The Production Wing replaces an offsite scenic and costume shop at 95 West Hancock St. An integral part of

138-585: Is a performing arts center on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit , Michigan . The complex is the home of theatre and jazz performances presented by the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, succeeding the Bonstelle Theatre and incorporating the renovated Hilberry Theatre . The project was in planning as early in 2010, and received funding in 2018. The theater opened with

161-415: Is a single space intended for use by various types of performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. The intended multiple use of performing arts centers in this sense differentiates them from single-purpose concert halls , opera houses , or theatres , although the actual use of single-purpose spaces for other than their intended use is widespread. This sort of space has a long history, extending to

184-410: Is currently undergoing renovations and will soon reopen as the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center, establishing a new home for Wayne State University's lauded jazz program. The theatre will undergo renovations that include a new audience chamber, acoustically designed to optimize the jazz experience, and a new seating configuration for a total of 350 seats. Renovations will also include updates to restrooms,

207-403: Is usually a complex housing performance spaces for various performing arts, including dance, music, and theatre. In some cases it refers to a single multi-use space, or alternatively, to a performing arts college. The origin of the world's oldest performing art, Noh , dates back to the 6th and 7th centuries when performing arts came to Japan from mainland China. Starting in the 6th century BC,

230-547: The Sarah Ruhl adaptation of Orlando . The Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center is the oldest portion of the complex, as a major renovation of the existing Hilberry Theatre. The Valade Jazz Center will be a 350-seat performance hall, featuring revised acoustics, seating, and support spaces. The Valade Jazz Center is named after the late Gretchen C. Valade, longtime patron of the Detroit Jazz Festival , and major supporter of

253-576: The Classical period of performing art began in Greece, ushered in by the tragic poets such as Sophocles . These poets wrote plays which, in some cases, incorporated dance (see Euripides ). The Hellenistic period began the widespread use of comedy. Much of which was performed live in a center-point of the community. In 1576, Britain's first playhouse, "The Theatre", was built in Finsbury Fields , London. It

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276-708: The Hilberry Gateway construction. The building was constructed as the First Church of Christ, Scientist in 1917 in the Roman Ionic style, and is a contributing property to the Wayne State University Buildings historic district . The building's life as a theatre began when the university purchased the building in 1961, reopening it in 1964 with a repertory season of four plays by William Shakespeare . The Hilberry closed in 2022, after 58 years, with

299-510: The King , Wild Oats , Life of Galileo , and The Caucasian Chalk Circle are included in the often-reprinted textbook. The Hilberry Theatre was originally constructed in 1916–1917 by the architectural firm Field, Hinchman & Smith as the First Church of Christ Scientist. Designed in a Neoclassical architecture and Ionic style , the Hilberry is a low rise building with an estimated height of 41.55 feet and consists of two floors, as well as

322-532: The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance production of Cabaret in April 2023. The Hilberry Gateway succeeds two earlier performance venues in Midtown Detroit , the Bonstelle Theatre and the Hilberry Theatre . Both venues were built as houses of worship in the early 20th century, and converted to theaters decades later. Scenic and costume shops were located in a separate facility, complicating

345-637: The Roman Colosseum and Greek amphitheatres. A cluster of performance spaces, either separate buildings or under one roof, each space designed for a specific purpose such as symphonic music or chamber music or theatre, but multipurpose as a whole, are also described as performing arts centers. The modern version of this came into being only in the 1960s. In Australia, the Centre for the Performing in Adelaide

368-533: The former English professor Clarence B. Hilberry . It reopened in January 1964; theatre professor Leonard Leone was instrumental in the effort. The first play performed at the Hilberry Theatre was called Shakespeare 400, in honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's birth. Today, the Hilberry Theatre is one of three different historic buildings now used for classes by Wayne State students. The Hilberry

391-421: The heart of Midtown Detroit . The Christian Scientists of Detroit were a growing community in need of a location to hold their services. The building held up to 1,512 members and included a 60-foot stage and 22 rooms. Later on in 1961, it was purchased and remodeled by Wayne State University . The price was $ 250,000. The building was renamed the Hilberry Theatre, after Wayne State's president from 1952 to 1965,

414-844: The lobby and dressing rooms. Below the main lobby, the Valade will boast a new Underground Jazz Cafe. John Osborne's controversial drama about Martin Luther ( Luther ), was performed in 1972. Beyond the Horizon , by Eugene O'Neill, was performed in 1995. Jerry Crawford, professor at the University of Nevada, and co-author Joan Snyder used photographs of several Hilberry productions as illustrations and examples of good performance values in their 1977 book Acting, in Person and in Style . The Wayne State productions of Oedipus

437-474: The logistics of productions in both theaters. The university also highlighted the Hilberry Theatre's uncomfortable seating and climate controls in its planning for the new performance venues. Design work on the complex began in 2016. The university's Board of Governors approved $ 65 million in funding for the project in 2018 after over eight years of planning. The facility was initially expected to open in fall 2022. The 550-seat proscenium theater features

460-526: The project was the relocation of the historic David Mackenzie House, the residence of the university's first president. The relocation was accomplished in 2019 over the course of three days, moving the house to another location on the same block. The newly constructed portions of the complex were built using precast concrete to accommodate the logistical challenges of building on the site. Performing arts center Performing arts center/centre (see spelling differences ), often abbreviated as PAC ,

483-666: Was the predecessor college of the Adelaide College of the Arts . The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts is a college for Indigenous Australians in Brisbane . Some performing arts center organizations act as sole presenters for events using the venues within the center, but most also frequently rent their performance spaces to other performing arts presenters or self-presenting performing arts groups. An example of this practice

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506-474: Was also considered to be one of the best training grounds for new and upcoming actors/actresses, directors, designers, and stage managers in the US. In December 2022, the Hilberry Theatre closed its doors for renovations. The final play to grace the stage at the Hilberry was The Merry Wives of Windsor , an homage to the history of the building as a world class training of classic and contemporary artists. The Hilberry

529-725: Was constructed by Leicester's Men – an acting company formed in 1559 from members of the Earl of Leicester's household. New performing arts centers emerged in the latter part of the 20th century as a means of generating new investment and increased economic activity and thus, a means for revitalizing neighborhoods as patrons are drawn to local restaurants and other businesses. PACs became a draw for touring shows and eventually included visual art in their facilities. Today, these centers are valuable civic resources that provide education, access, exchange of creative discourse, opportunities for cultural expression and awareness. A multi-use performance space

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