'62 Center for Theatre and Dance

Williams College, Williamstown, MA

William Rawn Associates Architects, Inc., Boston, MA

106,000 square feet new construction
20,000 square feet renovation
The area of the entire project is 8.21 acres.

$50 million

April 12, 2003

The Center's official opening was held Sept. 30 to Oct. 9, 2005, featuring 10 days of theatre, dance, readings and musical performances by visiting artists, Williams College students and alumni. The Williamstown Theatre Festival will present its summer 2005 season at the Center, from July 6 to Aug. 21, 2005.

The '62 Center for Theatre and Dance will provide teaching, performance and technical spaces for Williams College's theatre department and dance programs, as well as host renowned visiting artists for performances and collaborative interdisciplinary residencies. The '62 Center for Theatre and Dance will also be home to the Williamstown Theatre Festival, one of the country's top regional theater companies. The facility is named for the Williams College Class of 1962, whose members envisioned the state-of-the-art venue and led the campaign to build the complex.

The building takes full advantage of the rural Berkshire landscape by creating panoramic views to the surrounding hills and mountains. The interior of the building is infused with daylight, either through large glass walls modulated by wood shutters in the MainStage Lobby or by skylights creating changing patterns of light along circulation routes.

The Center is located in a prominent position on Main Street, emphasizing the importance of connections between theatre and dance and other disciplines on the Williams campus. Non-theatre/dance students are exposed to the inner workings of the two departments by a direct cross-path through the Center that connects the main campus with dormitories; most dramatically along this path, a 20-foot-high steel door opens to reveal the interior of the CenterStage.

The MainStage Lobby, a glass cube with strong overhanging roof and dense wood shutters, presents a strong form, warm materials and natural light for the face of the building on Main Street. It engages the Town Green with large sliding doors and a broad overhang that allow patrons to stroll onto the generous front lawn, and it offers an architectural counterpoint to the semi-circular stone walls and the 80-foot fly tower of the MainStage.

The building's circulation routes engage visitors with back-of-house activities, including rehearsal spaces, break-out spaces, costume shops and faculty offices. The publicly accessible passageway from front-of-house to back-of-house is marked by a strong change in character and materials. Beginning with the glass and warm wood of the front lobby, the passage evolves into the glass, metal and steel industrial aesthetic of the CenterStage and its lobby. That aesthetic is continued in the monumental stair that moves one up to the major dance space and in the gradual ramp that moves one down to the rear entrance.

The '62 Center for Theatre and Dance features three distinct performance venues of varying styles and sizes, designed to meet the College's unique performance and programming plans. In each case, immediacy and intimacy were paramount to the design.

The MainStage (60' x 63'3" x 65'4") is a "courtyard" type proscenium theatre. Detailed in wood, its two balconies heighten the connection between audience and performer. With 550 seats, it is large enough to attract touring artists yet its design provides an intimate setting for college-based rehearsals and productions.

The CenterStage (51' x 71'6" x 25'10") is the "work-horse" of the theatre department. Designed as a 150-seat flexible flat floor studio theatre with a strong point-of-view, it includes moveable balconies, a lift, and giant sliding doors that open onto a lobby.

The existing Adams Memorial Theater (97' x 57' x 23') has been renovated and converted into an intimate 220-seat thrust-type theater.

The Dance Rehearsal Studio (50' x 65' x 26') has full-length glass walls that provide panoramic views of the campus and surrounding landscape, and will serve as a unique performance space for small dance productions and music recitals.

Exterior Limestone Veneer: 10,000 pieces (approx.)
Exterior Limestone Veneer: 18,000 square feet
Aluminum/Glass Curtain Wall: 13,000 square feet
Sprung Wood Floor in Dance Studio: 4,000 square feet
Ash Wood Paneling in MainStage: 7,000 square feet
T&G Wood (Douglas Fir) Siding on Lobby Canopy: 6,000 square feet
Perforated Aluminum Panels in CenterStage Lobby: 12,500 square feet
Slate Paving in Interior Lobbies: 5,000 square feet

Barr & Barr Builders, Inc., Framingham, MA

Theatre Projects Consultants, Inc., South Norwalk, CT

Acoustic Dimensions, New Rochelle, NY

MEP/FP: TMP Consulting Engineers, Inc., Boston, MA
Structural: LeMessurier Consultants, Cambridge, MA
Civil: Vincent P. Guntlow & Associates, Williamstown, MA

Bruce J. Decoteau, Buildings & Grounds