'**"*TP«day, September 18, 1986
\\\
The Pendulum
Arts
Page 7
Jine Arts Center is eagerly awaited
By Yvonne Evans
Arts Editor
On Nov. 7, 1985, a ground
’^breaking ceremony marked the
tint' ■
' xginning of construction of the
[jew fine arts center, a building
Ehat could bring important artists,
■ speakers, and dramatic perfor-
mances to the college and the
iac
' Since that day, everyone has
- 'Wrtdted the center grow, eagerly
“^' anticipating the day when it will
"'“accommodate new classrooms,
well practice rooms and more
ll^technically advanced theater
productions.
R According to Robert Poindex
ter, vice president for ad
ministrative services, the center
will be completed by the summer
of 1987 and will open for students
in the fall of that year.
“It is a great &cility and a land
mark that the college and the
community can be proud of,”
Poindexter said.
“It is something we have need
ed for a long time,” said Dr.
David Bragg, chairman of the fine
aits department and associate pro
fessor of music. “We have a large
number of students involved in
fine arts, including band, art,
drama, chorus and orchestra. It
will be great to have adequate
space, but one of the major advan
tages will be that everything will
be under one roof.”
^ The new center will certainly
— have more room than existing
I facilities. There is a two-story sec
tion on the right wing which will
house practice rooms and studios
for teachers on the second floor.
Lxx:ated on the first floor will be
classrooms and a band and or
chestra rehearsal room, which is
acoustically designed.
The one-story left wing is the
art center which contains a
ceramic studio and a sculpture
room. There will be additional of
fice space and areas for display
ing art.
Found off the main foyer area
will be the chairman’s office, the
boardroom and a fine arts library.
The largest room in the
building will be the auditorium
which will have a seating capaci
ty of 625. While this is only 250
more seats than in Whitley
Auditorium, it will adequately
serve most of Elon’s productions.
Dr. Gerald Francis, dean of
academic affairs, said that there
is really no need for a high
capacity auditorium at Elon.
“If you have an auditorium
large enough to seat the entire stu
dent body, you might only use it
at capacity twice a year,” he said.
“ At the average Elon production
an auditorium of that size would
appear half empty.”
There will be a recital hall that
will seat 200 people for smaller
productions and accommodate
fine arts classes.
According to Poindexter, the
stage in the auditorium will be
equipped with sound, lighting and
rigging equipment capable
of facilitating a Broadway prod-
uc tion. “It will truly be a
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: The Fine Arts Center will house classrooms, practice rooms and
technically-advanced auditorium. It will be completed by the summer of 1987.
working stage,” he said.
Poindexter indicated that the
center will also be technically
equipped with “state-of-the-art”
electrical wiring for telephone,
computer service and cablevision.
Another feature of the center
will be a centralized main en
trance for loading and unloading
equipment.
All of these features will enable
the fuie arts department to expand
its boundaries of teaching and
performance. There have been
questions, though, as to why there
are no appointed dance facilities
in the center at this time.
According to ftit Gray, part-time
instructor of physical education
and fine arts and director of the
Construction Company dance
ensemble, “the East Gym houses
a nice dance studio, but the fine
arts department could be more
cohesive with dance as a part of
the center.”
“The building is being con
structed for 150 years or more and
will enhance a growing fine arts
department,” Poindexter said. He
added that the facility was design
ed to accommodate the most
students while remaining within
a certain budget.
“As the fine arts department
grows, I am sure that the center
can be modified to include
various classes that are taught in
the fine arts area,” he said. '
The center will cost between
$7.5 and $8 million. “When the
center opens, 75 percent of its cost
will be paid for,” Poindexter said.
Poindexter indicated that the
center will be named after so
meone who provides a donation
between $500,000 and $2 million,
which he said would just about
complete the cost of the center.
NCSF performs ’Love’s Labour’s Lost’Wednesday
i
By YVonne Evans
Arts Editor
The North Carolina Shakespeare
Festival will present Love's
Labour’s Lost on Wednesday at 8
p.m. in Whitley Auditorium. Ad
mission is by ticket only; Elon
students with tickets get in free,
but the public will pay $8.
The play centers around the
King of Navarre and his followers
as they attempt to lead a celibate
lifi; devoted to scholarship for
three years. Each must fast for
one day a week and see no
woman. Their task becomes more
difficult when the men fell prey
/
to the charms of the Princess of
France and her three attendant
ladies as the women attempt to
gain entrance into the city.
Love’s Labour’s Lost will
fixture a cast of Festival regulars,
including Lucius Houghton as
Nathaniel, Max Jacobs as
Holfemes, John Woodson as
Costrad, Michael LaGue as
Boyet, Eric Zwemer as Berowne,
Johanna Morrison as the Princess
and Mary Hopeman as Katherine.
The play is directed David
Pursley, who pl^ed Baptista in
The laming of the Shrew on last
year’s tour. This is Pursley’s first
directorial undertaking with the
Festival.
The NCSF’s performance of
Love’s Labour's Lost is part of the
outreach program established by
NCSF. This touring program was
originally structured in an Actor-
in-the-School format to lead
students and teachers to a fuller
appreciation of Shakespeare’s
world and works through a per
formance/residency design.
According to Pedro Silva,
managitig director of NCSF, the
Festival was founded in 1977 “as
a professonal repertory theater
dedicated to serving the cultural
and educational needs of the
region with a quality program of
classical theater productions, par
ticularly those of William
Shakespeare’s pl^s.”
The NCSF’s 10th anniversary
season opened July 24 in the High
Point Theater with a production
of Shakespeare’s The Temptest.
Love’s Labour’s Lost is the fourth
production this season and is the
longest fall tour the outreach pro
gram has attempted. Also includ
ed in this season’s lineup of pls^s
is Moliere’s Tartuffe and C.P.
Tiiylor’s And a Nightingale Sang.
In a recent article, Silva in
dicated that in the future, “the
company anticipates establishing
a major residency relationship in
key North Carolina locations
while maintaining its operations
base in the Triad.” He added that
“developing ‘second homes’ at
our state’s eastern and western
borders and at the population
centers represented by Charlotte
and the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel
Hill Triangle appeals to NCSF
because it will allow the company
to make its main repertory pro
gram totally accessible to the
state’s citizens.”