Letter from Alan MacVey, November 10

Dear Theatre Students,
 
I'm writing to bring you up to date on developments related to the flood. Let me begin, though, by thanking you for your patience this semester. I know it has been difficult at times, yet you've brought a very positive attitude to everything you've done. Your dedication to learning has been exemplary - and I've often spoken about it to the administrators who are working hard to help us through this challenging time.
 
Return to the Theatre Building
 
We plan to return to the Theatre Building during finals week. Our target dates are Thursday and Friday, December 18 and 19, with a few things moving earlier that week. On those two days we plan to move nearly everything and everyone back to TB. If you have personal things in Brewery Square or in any of our temporary locations, we will ask you to move them at that time. Professional movers will help us take department files, furniture, lighting and equipment back to TB, but we'll depend on students to handle their own items.  Once we return to the Theatre Building it will take quite a while to get organized. You are very welcome to come by, but the staff won't be able to assist you very much at that time.
 
What to Expect
 
When you return to school in January we anticipate the first and second floors of the Theatre Building will be largely back in shape. It's possible that some of the communication systems for production won't be ready for another week or two, and Mabie Theatre will not be open for production until March. The basement will not be used except for costume maintenance during productions. In my last message I said we would keep our classrooms in Brewery Square, but that plan has changed. We now expect to have modular units (trailers) near the Theatre Building to take the place of basement offices and classrooms. These trailers (which are quite nice) will provide offices for six faculty and staff members and all teaching assistants, and will serve as a large classroom to replace Room 41. Offices will be wired for phone and data and all the rooms will be heated and air conditioned.   The costume shop and storage areas will remain at Studio Arts (Menards) for at least next semester and probably longer. The scene shop will move back to the Theatre Building sometime in January or early February.
 
I caution, however, that plans change all the time. If trailers are not available, we will keep our classrooms in Brewery Square.
 
Productions
 
All productions will take place in the Theatre Building. As You Like It and Kid Simple will play in Thayer Theatre. We anticipate that Intimate Apparel will be presented in Mabie, although we're not completely sure of that yet. We will use Thayer dressing rooms for the Mabie productions this spring and we'll find a different solution next year. All Gallery, Workshop and Festival productions, as well as Readings, will take place in the Theatre Building as they normally would.
 
The Future
 
It's still not clear how we will replace the damaged rooms in the basement. There are at least three possibilities. (1) Rebuild the basement so it houses the same functions it once did. All the walls have been demolished now, so if we follow this plan we will re-design the basement to better serves our needs. Improved heating, air conditioning and lighting will also help. (2) Build new offices, dressing rooms and classrooms in the basement, and construct an addition to TB for the costume shop and costume storage. (3) Leave the basement completely and construct one or more additions to house offices, dressing rooms, classrooms, the costume shop and storage.  Other solutions may also be developed.
 
I'm not sure when we'll know which solution will be chosen. The University is waiting for a report that will tell us whether the river can be mitigated so water won't flood buildings on its banks. If that can be done successfully, those buildings can be fixed with less expense. Once a decision is made, planning will take place and construction will begin, not only on the Theatre Building but on facilities that serve the School of Music, the School of Art and Art History, the Museum, Hancher, and other buildings. Because of the scope of this work, I expect that the department will be using trailers until at least December of 2009.
 
Questions
 
Even as we move toward temporary solutions, complex questions regarding the entire arts campus continue to arise. I'll write to you whenever there is information that I think you'll find helpful. In the meantime, if you have questions that you think we can answer, don't hesitate to ask me or Becca Tritten. We'll do our best to help you. Thank you again for your patience and your great attitude.
 
 
Sincerely,
Alan
Director, Division of Performing Arts
Chair, Theatre Arts Department