Atlanta’s largest nonprofit theatre, the Alliance Theatre has spent nearly half a century in a “facility that predated our organization identity,” as they put it politely. Slighlty more bluntly: Though its facility, built in 1968 on the campus of what is now called the Woodruff Arts Center, was never racially segregated, some aspects of its construction—particularly a balcony served by an independent staircase—reflected a Southern legacy that feels “misaligned” with its current values, as the Alliance words it, invoking Martin Luther King Jr.’s “mandate of the beloved community” as a guiding principle of its current rebuilding, to be completed by next season. Meanwhile, the Alliance is starting an ambitious itinerant season all around Atlanta.
Trahan Architects led the team, with consulting by Theatre Projects, structural engineering by Uzun+Case, MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) engineering by DLB Associates, and acoustics by Talaske Group.
A terraced auditorium with a proscenium opening will seat 650. The renovation also includes a costume shop, two rehearsal halls, a green room, two “actor quiet” rooms, 10 dressing rooms accommodating a total of 60 performers, stage management and production offices, electrical and sound shop, a properties kitchen, and production storage.
“It never felt like the right choice to simply produce the off-campus season in a single venue, or even in two venues that might approximate our two theatres,” says Alliance artistic director Susan V. Booth. Her reasoning: “For 48 years, metro Atlanta has supported us by making the trip to our front door. It seemed like we had the opportunity to return the favor, and to do so in a way that celebrated the best of Atlanta by taking our work to a slate of cultural venues across our city.” If it works as planned, she adds, “We’ll be both taking our loyal supporters on a curated trip around their city and meeting new audiences that we can hopefully bring home with us in the years ahead.”
So the Alliance’s 2017-18 season promises to cover every corner of ATL, from the Fulton County Southwest Arts Center and Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center on the city’s Southside, to the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta and the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on the Northside, and all points in between: Actor’s Express, Spelman College, Dad’s Garage, Atlanta Symphony Hall, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta History Center, the Galloway School, and the Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University.
In addition to off-site productions, the Alliance education department will embed itself in the communities they’re partnering with by offering acting classes, summer camps, and in-school residencies at select satellite locations.
Read full article here.
Atlanta’s largest nonprofit theatre, the Alliance Theatre has spent nearly half a century in a “facility that predated our organization identity,” as they put it politely. Slighlty more bluntly: Though its facility, built in 1968 on the campus of what is now called the Woodruff Arts Center, was never racially segregated, some aspects of its construction—particularly a balcony served by an independent staircase—reflected a Southern legacy that feels “misaligned” with its current values, as the Alliance words it, invoking Martin Luther King Jr.’s “mandate of the beloved community” as a guiding principle of its current rebuilding, to be completed by next season. Meanwhile, the Alliance is starting an ambitious itinerant season all around Atlanta.
Trahan Architects led the team, with consulting by Theatre Projects, structural engineering by Uzun+Case, MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) engineering by DLB Associates, and acoustics by Talaske Group.
A terraced auditorium with a proscenium opening will seat 650. The renovation also includes a costume shop, two rehearsal halls, a green room, two “actor quiet” rooms, 10 dressing rooms accommodating a total of 60 performers, stage management and production offices, electrical and sound shop, a properties kitchen, and production storage.
“It never felt like the right choice to simply produce the off-campus season in a single venue, or even in two venues that might approximate our two theatres,” says Alliance artistic director Susan V. Booth. Her reasoning: “For 48 years, metro Atlanta has supported us by making the trip to our front door. It seemed like we had the opportunity to return the favor, and to do so in a way that celebrated the best of Atlanta by taking our work to a slate of cultural venues across our city.” If it works as planned, she adds, “We’ll be both taking our loyal supporters on a curated trip around their city and meeting new audiences that we can hopefully bring home with us in the years ahead.”
So the Alliance’s 2017-18 season promises to cover every corner of ATL, from the Fulton County Southwest Arts Center and Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center on the city’s Southside, to the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta and the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on the Northside, and all points in between: Actor’s Express, Spelman College, Dad’s Garage, Atlanta Symphony Hall, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta History Center, the Galloway School, and the Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University.
In addition to off-site productions, the Alliance education department will embed itself in the communities they’re partnering with by offering acting classes, summer camps, and in-school residencies at select satellite locations.
Read full article here.
