New facility will provide more theatrical opportunities for Berry students
Saif Sarfani, Viking Fusion Reporter
The Berry College LifeReady program held the ceremonial groundbreaking for the 250-seat theater with a newly conceived black-box stage Tuesday. The new theater will be a 9,000 square-foot addition to the east side of Blackstone Hall.
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Audrey Morgan, Honorary Co-Chair of the LifeReady Campaign, speaks at the ground breaking.
Photo by Saif Sarfani
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Last summer, Atlanta philanthropist and Berry supporter Audrey Morgan offered $1 million in matching funds to double the gifts of other donors to support a summer 2016 construction start date. The challenge was highly successful with more than $5 million raised.
“I’ve watched the campus and we have added much needed great projects,” Morgan said. “If you’ve had the opportunity to see any of the performances here, as I did this spring, Cabaret was absolutely awesome. There was no doubt that we had the leadership and the quality team, there’s no doubt we have the Broadway quality talent and they deserve a first-class facility.”
Morgan also announced a $1 million contribution to the theater from her sister and business partner, Bobbie Bailey of the Bobbie Bailey Foundation. The theater needs $600,000 to meet their $6.7 million goal.
Sophomore Candace Shirley is the assistant production manager for the Berry College Theatre Company (BCTC).
“It’s going to help us better perform shows than we already do,” Shirley said. “Hopefully we’ll grow and attract more students [to] become theater majors, theatre minors or just to participate in our program.”
Director of Theatre Anna Filippo said the theater will allow students to receive varied performance, design and technical experiences.
“Students are naturally attracted to learning environments that will prepare them for their careers,” Filippo said. “The new theater will accomplish this as well as provide more room for the production process.”
BCTC is holding outdoor performances of “Peter and the Starcatcher” as renovations to E.H. Young Theatre are underway.
The project will be complete in time for the 2017-18 school year.