Theater

Facilities

Palmer Auditorium
Seats approximately 1,300 and houses theater classrooms and offices for the theater department and the onStage series. The onStage Series is the college's performing arts series, which brings professional music, theater and dance companies to campus for performances and workshops. Palmer is one of four venues on campus for performances. The others are: Evans Hall, Myers Dance Studio, Tansill Black Box Theater. Occasionally performances are held in Harkness Chapel as well. Tickets for all productions may be purchased at first floor ticket office.

Palmer Auditorium

• All performances are open to the public.
•Students can purchase tickets at a discounted rate.
•Recent onStage Performances include: Vienna Boys Choir, the Drummers of West Africa, Parsons Dance Company, pianist Emanuel Ax and a production of H.M.S. Pinafore.
• Anyone can work backstage (work-study or non-work-study students) building or lighting sets as well as loading and running any of the visiting productions.
• Celebrities who have come to Palmer Auditorium: Hillary Rodham Clinton,Toni Morrison, Collective Soul, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Dave Matthews Band.

Hillyer Hall
Hillyer Hall was built in 1917 and served, at various times, as a gymnasium, chapel, lecture hall, concert stage, post office and bookstore. It now houses the Tansill Theater, an intimate performing space named for Dhuanne Schmitz Tansill ’64, whose vision initiated the renovation. A grant from the Kresge Foundation and gifts from the Tansill family supported the project. Trustees, alumni, parents, and friends of the college provided additional support.

Tansill Theater at Hillyer Hall.

The centerpiece of the renovation is the large black box theater on the second floor of the building. This flexible setting provides an intimate space for every conceivable type of performance, whether dance, music, or theater. Moveable platforms can be used to construct a stage in the center of the room, against the back wall, or in a corner. Seating for audiences of 150-200 can be adapted to any stage configuration. The first floor contains dressing rooms for performers, public restrooms , the box office as well as the College print shop.