Renovations begin on revamping old IU theater building

After three weeks of classes in the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center, students and faculty will have to find a new place to meet.

The Theatre and Drama Center is undergoing renovations starting this semester that will last well into next year.

“It is incredibly old; the walls are falling apart and the floors are warped,” said Serena Eduljee, a voice student with a class in the theater building.

Jonathan Michaelsen, chair and producer of the Department of Theatre and Drama, said the department needed to move the classes out of the building for safety. Most of the staff and the classes ended up in the Theatre Annex located at 306 N. Union St.

“The Theatre Annex is a long hike away,” Michaelsen said. “We opened up one classroom in the old building for the staff to start their classes if they wanted to, but once the construction is underway, it will be too dangerous for the classes to be in the building. We are trying to make it convenient for the students and instructors and make the move as humane as possible.”

Michaelsen said the contractors are drawing up an estimate for the cost of the building renovation next week.

A black box theater is part of the renovations, Michaelsen said. Students will use the space to create and rehearse their own work.

“The classrooms are in need of repair,” Michaelsen said. “This renovation will also open up new space for additional classrooms and for additional rehearsal space for musical theater and voice students. The new building will open up new public performance.”

Michaelsen said the cinema will hold film archives, and  he said he wants it to be useful for IU students. The new cinema will be located where the old theater was and can be used as an art house where students can show and preview their independent films.

Since the theater building is directly next to the IU Auditorium, the auditorium will also be affected, Michaelsen said.

“There will be more loading dock space, which is a much better way to unload scenery,” Michaelsen said. “It will keep labor costs down, and it is much faster and efficient.”

Doug Booher, general administration director for the IU Auditorium, said the IU Auditorium staff is “excited about the renovation.”

“The completion of the theatre and cinema will liven up the area and bring more attraction to this side of campus, and it will adequately serve the needs of the touring shows and events,” Booher said.

Booher said that the IU Auditorium plans to make full use of the loading docks, and it will connect the stage with the rest of the theater building.

Booher said he does not think the renovations will have much of an effect on the auditorium.

“The auditorium will not shut down. It will still be able to support events,” Booher said. “Most of the work will be down in select staging areas. We will still have a full calendar of events while the renovation is going on, and we intend to support all the events as best as we can.”

Students are willing to accept the renovations because of what they will bring.

“The building has great rehearsal space and good places for classes and workshops,” Eduljee said. “It is a really useful building. The renovation will hopefully make it even better.”

Michaelsen agrees with Eduljee.

“Ultimately, it will be exciting for the theater department to have all this new space and technologies,” Michaelsen said. “It will be disruptive, but I think everyone is just willing to live with it.”