Fans of music, drama and dance don’t always have to head to big cities and see amazing performances. Colleges across the nation put on top-notch shows through their own programs, and you just might get a chance to see a rising star on stage before he or she hits it big. While the performance is, of course, the main draw, some colleges boast theaters and performing arts centers worth seeking out for their architectural beauty and innovation alone. Here are ten of the most impressive examples we’ve ever seen, embracing styles from the ultra-modern to the gothic, that give audiences something to marvel at before the show even starts.
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Young Center for the Performing Arts, George Brown College
The Young Center didn’t start out as a performing arts complex. In fact, the original building, first constructed in 1888, was a whisky distillery’s storage facility. Today, it is home to four theaters and four studio spaces, which are shared by Toronto’s George Brown College and the Soulpepper Theatre Company. The original has been modified, however, and a brand-new, modern facility was built into the 19th century Victorian buildings by architectural firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects in 2002. Remnants of the original are incorporated throughout, including the brick facade, steel beams and exposed brick walls in the studios, giving a great deal of character to the renovated space.
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Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard College
Located in New York’s Hudson Valley, this theater provides a performance space for students at Bard College studying drama, opera dance, and a variety of different types of music as well as well-known international performers visiting the school. Designed by Frank Gehry, it features his characteristics undulating spaces and slick metallic surfaces and cost nearly $62 million. It may have been worth it, as the building is not only aesthetically pleasing, but was called "possibly the best small concert hall in the United States" by The New Yorker . Inside, visitors will find a large main theater as well as a smaller stage for theater and dance performances.
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Valley Performing Arts Center, California State University, Northridge
Simplicity doesn’t get much more beautiful than this minimalist structure at Cal State. The center’s large stage is used by both students and well-known performers like the New York Ballet, Bernadette Peters and Jamie Lee Curtis. Even if visitors don’t have time for a show, the building itself is worth touring. With the original performing arts center was all but destroyed in a 1994 earthquake, this new $125 million structure is a welcome addition to the campus. Opened in January of 2011, it boasts a striking curved glass exterior and is LEED Silver certified, with a 1,700 seat concert hall, 175 seat theater, classrooms, offices and practice spaces inside.
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Brother Stephen Debourg Performing Arts Centre, Sacred Heart College
Located in Somerton Park, Australia, this college performing arts center designed by Tridente Architects is not only state of the art, but also pretty easy on the eyes. Minimalist contemporary design, with the school’s signature purple color projected onto the pristine white surfaces throughout, help make the space simultaneously sparse and inviting. Designed with energy conservation in mind, the building takes advantage of natural lighting and cooling systems, and was also designed to fit into the college’s existing landscaping. Inside, students and visitors will find a large stage, practice spaces, offices and classrooms.
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Mashouf Performing Arts Center, San Francisco State University
Still under construction, plans for this amazing performing arts center were unveiled in early 2011. While completion is likely still some time away, the drawing for the buildings alone are enough to make an archiphile giddy. The center will consist of five different performance spaces linked together by glass in hallways and classrooms. Renderings of the space, both inside and out, are jaw-dropping, and it may be well worth planning a trip to see once finished. It is sure to become one of the most iconic modern architecture works found on a college campus.
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Murchison Performing Arts Center, University of North Texas
You’re not likely to soon forget the pentagonal window or the caterpillar-like exterior of this building. Opened in 1999, the facility is part of the Texas College of Music and features two performance areas –The Margot and Bill Winspear Performance Hall and Lyric Theatre. While the outside of this building is notable, the inside is even more so, with the breathtaking ribbed vaulting and the beautiful lighting system within the main performance hall. It is simply stunning, and students on campus who haven’t been to the center for a performance should try and make it to at least one event before graduation.
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Marjorie Walter Goodhart Theater, Bryn Mawr College
A radical departure from the mostly modern buildings on this list, the Goodhart Theater is nonetheless impressive in its own right. Designed by Arthur Meigs, the building houses a large auditorium with pointed gothic arches and two smaller spaces for more intimate performances as well as practice rooms, classrooms and offices. Throughout, visitors will find gables, friezes, carvings and ornamental ironwork (all done in the Gothic revival style) that create a unique space unlike any other college theater in the nation.
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Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri, St. Louis
Designed by the architectural firm of I.M. Pei, this theater first opened its doors in 2003. Used by students of the college for theater, dance and media studies performances, it hosts a number of professional visitors each year as well. While the exterior of the building is deceptively simple, the 1,625-seat main performance hall is sure to leave visitors in awe. Stacked balconies and an expansive glass ceiling give it the feel of a turn-of-the-century European opera house — with modern sound and technical capabilities, of course. The center also features a smaller 300 seat theater and a wide variety of practice rooms and classrooms.
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Hylton Performing Arts Center, George Mason University
This new facility just opened its doors in May of 2010 and features multiple performance spaces. There is the huge Merchant Hal opera house, the smaller Gregory Family Theater and the Buchanan Partners art gallery, offering visitors a wide range of art to enjoy. The building itself might be included as an artistic work as well! Copper, wood and concrete combine with red and purple accents to create a stunning space inside and out. The large opera house is not to be missed as well, combining elements of both the traditional and the modern.
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The Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Brown University
Opened in February of 2011, this large-scale performance center just completed its inaugural season. Designed by the New York architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the building is full of cutting-edge features, as well an unusual floor plan created to help foster more interaction between students in different artistic fields. While the interior of the building is impressive, the exterior will give even the most disinterested passerby pause. Covered in raised zinc panels pinched along the sides and dozens of floor-to-ceiling windows, the building is seemingly cleaved in half, with part sunken just slightly below the other. The result is a building sure to turn a few heads.
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