By Lauren LevyThe Daily Northwestern
Once a military barracks, Shanley Pavilion – a theater sitting in the shadows of the Jacobs Center – now fills past capacity for about 30 student performances held there each school year.
Despite student complaints that Shanley is outdated and uncomfortable, there are no plans to improve the space in the near future, said Jonathan Lewis, Norris University Center’s event production manager.
Communication sophomore Alec Thorne said Shanley is a last resort for student groups with nowhere else to hold their performances.
“It’s a major problem that we have one of the most active student theater communities of any university in the United States, yet we perform most of our shows in a 50-year-old facilities management storage shed,” Thorne said. “It has some interesting aspects about it because it’s an alternative space, but it’s not a real theater.”
Shanley dates back to World War II, when the campus served as a naval base, according to university archivist Pat Quinn. In the late 1960s, it was home to the Amazing Grace coffeehouse, one of the social centers on campus, Quinn said.
When the coffeehouse was moved, Shanley became a university storage area for the next 15 years. Shanley was converted into a theater by Norris administrators in 1974.
Shanley underwent renovations during August 2005 that were completed in January 2006, said Steve Guinta, Norris’ assistant director. The renovations included flattening the floor – because it was hard to build platforms for sets – and installing a double door. The university also added sprinklers to comply with the fire code, replaced the roof and light fixtures, altered the bathrooms, painted the building and installed new air conditioning units.
Thorne, the designer and technical director for Sit & Spin Productions, said it’s problematic to do shows in Shanley because its size, low ceilings and vertical columns make it an unappealing space.
“While the shows are a bit more manageable and the budgets can be smaller than Norris, it’s still a strain on theater groups, and it’s difficult in many ways,” Thorne said. “It’s frustrating, really.”
But Communication junior Jim Rodman said Shanley’s size and constraints give the building a unique charm.
“It has some sort of quaint feeling to it compared to other theaters at NU which are too big,” Rodman said. “It’s intimacy I enjoy, and it unifies a lot of student theater at NU.”
Thorne said the whole building should be torn down, and suggested that a new theater should be built with higher ceilings and a grid to hang equipment.
“I just think it is badly overdue that student theater groups get a real space to perform in, given the amount of energy we put into shows,” Thorne said. “It’s really a shame that we don’t have proper facilities.”
But Shanley is a flexible space and can be used as a venue for more than just theatrical productions, Rodman said.
Any improvements made would exclude other organizations – such as radio shows or a cappella groups – from using Shanley for their events, he said.
“There are always going to be shows at (the Theatre and Interpretation Center) or concert events in Pick-Staiger that will have more money and better features and capacity,” Rodman said, “But Shanley is like the underground place where you can see theater.”
Reach Lauren Levy at [email protected].
