Shanley Pavilion, long the neglected sibling of Northwestern’s performance spaces, is undergoing repairs to lighting and plumbing and also is receiving much-needed portable items such as collapsible risers and full-length mirrors.
Improvements to house lighting, plumbing and the addition of a bathroom stall are the only structural repairs, as students have asked mostly for portable items because Shanley is expected to be torn down once new black box theaters have been added to Norris University Center, said Joel Richlin, an Associated Student Government senator.
Two black box theaters are included in the plans for Norris renovations, but a lack of funds has put the renovations on hold, said Associate Vice President for Facilities Management Ronald Nayler.
“Until that proceeds, we agreed to make modest improvements in Shanley,” Nayler said.
The Undergraduate Budget Priorities Committee, a five-person group of students that lobbies administrators for funds for student-aimed improvements, asked for Shanley renovations in the spring. Administrators granted $60,000 in funds, split between Shanley and the Black House.
Jordan Heinz, ASG president and a UBPC member, said the improvements are needed.
“These are bare necessities – a phone, a full-length mirror,” said Heinz, an Education senior.
“There’s not even a start date (for the renovations to Norris),” he added.
Students who use Shanley consulted Facilities Management last year about possible improvements in lieu of the pavilion’s planned destruction, Nayler said.
The house lighting, currently six lightbulbs dotting the ceiling, is insufficient even for building sets, Richlin said.
“When I was working on ‘Hello Again,’ I dropped a nail and I couldn’t find it,” he said.
Other improvements to Shanley will be in transportable forms, such as collapsible risers and black velvet backdrops, Richlin said.
Many shows use risers in Shanley so the audience can see the stage, said WAVE Producing Technical Director Danny Erdberg, who worked on three shows in Shanley.
Another downfall to working in Shanley is the instability of the structure itself, said Erdberg, a Speech sophomore. Restrictions have been placed on hanging set items and lighting from the ceiling for fear of a collapse.
Despite the difficulties with the space, including smaller audiences that necessitate tight budgets, Erdberg said he still enjoys working on shows at Shanley.
“It’s both a wonderful space and also an absolutely terrible space,” he said. “You can make it into a phenomenal set.”
Shanley is where theatre majors head to find a good show, said Jon Faris and Matt Williams, founders of NU’s Shakespearean theater group, Lovers and Madmen.
“This is, believe it or not, the premier theater space on campus,” said Williams, a Weinberg senior.
