by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
There’s something new in the JU Theater Department: the JU Swisher Auditorium. The theater has been on campus since 1955, built soon after JU came into being as a primarily fine arts centered college. It hadn’t had a real refurbishment since it was built, which is why the theater had been closed for 5 years. Understandably, a building that old is going to have code issues. Says theater department head Ben Wilson, “Making a building this old into a state-of-the-art facility was a real challenge, but we worked closely with Haskell Construction…We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we sure came close.”
JU took the opportunity to not only bring the building up to code, but also to add up-to-date equipment and much needed extra rooms. The Swisher will now be the site of all main stage productions at Jacksonville University. The long-awaited Theatre was the project of Haskell Contracting and Construction as well as the contribution of many friends of the Fine Arts. Dean Bill Hill spearheaded the progress of achieving Swisher Theatre’s current code status and getting it back on its feet again. It will now be used for main stage productions as well as an educational setting with several classrooms.
The theater itself seats 400. The seats have been re-cushioned and the walls, which look like a wood-paneled artistic statement, were actually designed by an acoustician for maximum sound quality. They’ve uncovered the old orchestra pit, which they will now make full use of for productions. Behind the audience, in the booth, are new, computerized sound and light boards. They’ve also installed an automated fly system to fly in scenery or actors, as the case may be. Wilson is most excited about his students being able to produce things on a main stage. “[The new theater] is going to help our recruiting efforts and give students experience with systems like automated rigging.”
Backstage is whole new world for the students of JU. There are spacious dressing rooms, a make-up room with 20 stations, a costume shop, scene shop, laundry, classrooms and 3 new offices.
For theatre design students, they’ve got a new tech lab with 5 computers dedicated to design and a HD designer blue printer. Students interested in scenery design can now use the latest design tools in the lab. The brand new, fully equipped costume shop is used for creating costumes and for costume instruction.
If you haven’t seen any of the plays out of JU, now’s the time to see one in the new Swisher Auditorium!
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