Indiana University Department of Theatre and Drama - Bloomington, Indiana

"We are training professional artists to enter a very competitive field. Our students must receive the very best opportunities we can provide, designing, building and performing in state-of-the-art facilities. We are fortunate to have these venues on the Bloomington campus." Jonathan Michaelsen, chair of the IU Department of Theatre and Drama

Wells-Metz theatre

Wells-Metz theatre computer renderings

Ruth N. Halls Theatre

Jordan Avenue Facade

Indiana University recently completed construction of its new drama teaching facilities. The project includes a new 400 seat proscenium theater, new 200 seat experimental theater, new drama labs, studios, classrooms, costume and scenery shops, new faculty offices, loading dock, and renovation of the existing facilities with a renovated 400 seat theater, classrooms, and offices.

The new and existing facilities of the Department of Theatre and Drama are physically connected to the recently renovated 2700 seat IU Auditorium.

Construction view September 27, 2001 looking across the proscenium theatre stage from upstage left to downstage right about halfway up the fly tower. At bottom center is the stage manager's location. From bottom to top on the right side are a locking rail, index striplight, fly gallery, three loading galleries, and the grid. From bottom to top on the left side are a contractor's scissors lift in the proscenium opening, the light bridge, the back of the fire curtain, and the grid. The house curtain is not yet installed.

Construction view mid April, 2000. Panoramic view of the proscenium theatre looking from the last row of seats toward the stage. The steel frames on each side of the room carry the limestone interior walls of the auditorium and provide floor levels for the six box boom lighting positions. This steel frame is topped by a continuous technical gallery - not yet installed - that encircles the room.

Construction view, January, 2000. View from behind the stage house over the stage toward the proscenium theater house with the lobby and Jordan Avenue in the distance. Through the proscenium opening on the right hand side of the photograph is the auditorium floor rake with no concrete yet. In the right center of the photograph is the fenced-in hole in the stage floor for the traps. The large formwork in the center of the photograph is for the downstage and stage left walls of the stage left sidestage. The scene shop and future scene shop doors are to the far left of the photograph, with the flexible theatre obscured by the sidestage formwork.

Architect: MGA Partners - Philadelphia PA
Acoustician: Acentech - Cambridge MA