Western Illinois University officials were amazed by what they saw as they entered the main theater of the Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts during a recent tour of the building.
It was the first time they had seen the space with the scaffolding removed.
“We’ve been waiting for this for a year,” said Ted Renner, Deputy Director of Facilities Management.
As they walked into the room, GCPA Director Anne Lefter liked what she saw.
“My heart stopped for a second. You can just feel the spaciousness in here, how it just opens up,” she said.
Renner was also impressed.
“I’m at a loss for words, honestly,” said Renner. “It makes it feel like it’s all worthwhile. It’s amazing.”
Construction of the $119 million building began three years ago and should be substantially completed by March 9. Construction should be fully completed by early June.
Lefter was impressed by the progress made since the last time she walked through the building.
“These guys are not sitting around. There’s work going on every day,” she said.
Lefter said there will be a dedication ceremony when the building is completed, and another major event will be held in the fall to officially open it to the public.
She believes there is a hunger for the arts in the region, and hopes people will come out when they see what’s offered at the GCPA.
The Great Hall
The main theater is called the Great Hall. It will seat 869.
Lefter said tiny lights in the ceiling are designed to represent a star field. She said when the house lights go down, it will seem like there’s a night sky above.
The pit in front of the stage is on a hydraulic system so that it can be raised and lowered depending on what’s needed.
Lefter said the acoustics will be amazing. Kirkegaard, a design and consulting firm that specializes in architectural acoustics and integrated systems, designed the space so that every element can be adjusted based on what’s on stage.
“So if it’s an orchestra, if it’s a rock band, if it’s a single speaker, if it’s a theater production, there’s going to be moveable banners back here that allow us to fine-tune. There is a full stage orchestra shell that we can bring out or put away,” she said.
Even the cinder block walls are designed with acoustics in mind.
“The surface of these cinder blocks, which you can see are really uneven, are designed specifically to sort of capture the way the sound moves so that it doesn’t just bounce and become harsh. It actually has a richer sound to it,” Lefter said.
‘Little details inside these walls’
Lefter said Kirkegaard designed the acoustics for the entire building to ensure sound does not travel to places it’s not wanted.
That way, for example, an event can take place in the Great Hall and it won’t interfere with a class or a rehearsal elsewhere in the building.
“There are all of these little details inside these walls that you can’t see that are designed to make sure that there is no connection that can carry sound from one place to another when we don’t want it to go there,” Lefter said.
Massive window walls
The building features several massive window walls. Lefter said there’s a reason for that.
“Part of the design of this building is that through these window walls, we’re sort of inviting the community in to see that art is being made all the time. It’s not just when there’s a show on the stage. There are performers in here rehearsing. There are students in here learning and honing their craft, and it’s always going on,” Lefter said.
She said the building will be in use 12 to 16 hours a day during the times when classes are in session.
A smaller black box theater will be able to seat up to 200, depending on how it’s configured for a particular performance. It includes a control booth, and there are catwalks where students will hang lights and scene pieces.
“This will be a laboratory for our theater students, grad and undergrad students who are studying design and technical direction as well as the actors. It’s a tremendously tricked out space,” Lefter said.
She said the black box theater will be an active space used by students “all the time.”
The building includes rehearsal rooms and classrooms for dance, music, and theater. But the scene and costume shops will remain in Browne Hall, which is right next door to the GCPA.
“This building obviously has been through a couple of designs and had to be condensed because of budgetary issues. So every decision was about maximizing student space, maximizing the new space in the new building,” Lefter said.
“We have a scene shop that works just fine. Don’t use any space in this building for another scene shop. Let’s give all of that space over to students.”
With that in mind, the building has only a few offices for staff.
Lefter also said the building has numerous ramps to ensure it is accessible to everyone.
A 200-foot piece of art
A long hallway stretching from west to east as visitors enter the building will feature an original piece of art. But it won’t be mounted on a wall.
As part of the state’s Art in Architecture program, the entire 208-foot floor in the hallway will be a work created by artist Angela Bryant.
“It’s going to be a poured terrazzo floor designed by an artist who was selected in something like 2012 or 2014 and is finally going to get to see her work created and laid out here,” Lefter said.“So as you enter, you will enter a space built for the arts, to experience the arts, you will walk along art, and you’ll empty out into the newly formed arts quad at WIU.”
The second-floor balcony will allow visitors to take in the piece from above.
Lefter said the building does not have an official art gallery, but there is space available for hanging art.
Donations still accepted
Lefter said naming opportunities remain throughout the building.
Information is available on WIU’s page for the GCPA.
Renner said the GCPA will help WIU attract shows that otherwise might not come to Macomb. Western Hall, which has hosted athletics and other activities for decades, is large enough for shows, but Renner said many times artists declined to perform there because it doesn’t provide everything they need. For example, it doesn’t have rigging capacity for today’s scenery requirements.
“It wasn’t a slight. It was just that Western Hall didn’t have the equipment to be able to support them properly for them to give the performance they needed,” he said. “This building will.”
Renner said Western Hall wasn’t built to be a performance space – it was built to be a basketball arena.
A couple other existing performance spaces will remain in use once the GCPA opens. They are the Hainline Theater and the recital hall in Simpkins Hall.
But the arts-related spaces in Horrabin and Brophy Halls will be put to other uses.
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