By Callie Marsalisi, news correspondent 

The Studio Theatre, nestled snugly between Ell Hall and Curry Student Center and home to more than 50 student productions a year, is getting a facelift.

Students who seek to attend one of the dozens of performances put on every year by the Department of Theatre can expect to encounter a vibrant display of bold, clean decorations juxtaposed against changing backlit wall panels. The creative overhaul of the theater is being completed by Bergmeyer Associates, Inc., under the supervision of designer Anna Butterfield and is expected to be completed by the end of spring break.

“I loved thinking about the theater as a blank canvas that gets constantly shaped and reshaped by the actors and design elements for each new production,” Butterfield said. “We tried to play on that idea by using customizable wall facings, which reference an unfolding box or piece of origami in their form – items that can be made into endless configurations from the same original material. On a more literal level, the back-lit wall panels act as a kind of sculptural marquee, giving a face to the theater inside.”

Butterfield, who has worked on several projects with Northeastern in recent years, said that she hopes the fresh new look will draw even more students to the theater.

 “This corner between the student center and the gallery has been fading into the background and [is] acting basically as a way to get from point A to point B,” Butterfield said. “My hope is that the redesign turns the theater lobby into more of a destination and makes people stop and get curious about what’s happening inside the theater.”

Matthew Gray, assistant professor of acting and directing, said he hopes that the redesign will draw more attention to the space, which can seat about 100 audience members.

“When you walk from [Curry] to Blackman, you sort of see this dark corner, and that dark corner is actually the entrance to our theater,” Gray, who directed the recent production of “columbinus,” said. “I think now, with the redesign, people will realize that it’s not a dark corner. It’s the entrance to this really rather wonderful studio theater.”

Gray said that he would love to see students of all majors getting involved in theatre, whether as actors, audience members or through classwork. He anticipates that the newly refurbished lobby will encourage audience engagement, citing the recent talkbacks after “columbinus” as an example of the types of discussions he hopes to foster.

“The audience wanted to stay and talk about the show they just saw,” Gray said. “This lobby is a way of inviting a wider conversation and also wider participation.”

Scott Edmiston, a professor of the practice and interim chair of the Department of Theatre, said that the theater should be ready for its next production, Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” on March 31. He is grateful for the chance to shine more light on students in the Department of Theatre and its productions.

“Our department presents nearly 50 performances a year in the Studio Theatre,” Edmiston said. “The quality is exceptional and features student actors working side by side with professional directors and designers.”

Edmiston also has great expectations for the future, in which he hopes to have as many students involved in the shows as possible.

“We want to connect with even more students from all across campus – everyone is welcome to audition or take a class in the Theatre Department,” Edmiston said. “The new lobby design is literally 3-D and interactive. It has sculptural walls that light up and change color. I hope students will see it as an invitation to come play with us – and make plays with us – to reveal all of the colors within themselves.”

Students hope that the reinvigorated design will breathe new life into the Studio Theatre, attracting new performers and bigger audiences.

“One of the toughest things for me about promoting the shows I’m in is trying to explain to non-theatre majors where the Studio Theatre is,” Farah Griffin, a senior theatre major, said. “I think that the lights and the design on the outside of the theater will really draw peoples’ eye because currently the beautiful artwork for the gallery on the walls around it tend to overpower the fact that there is a theater space right there.”

Griffin believes that the redesign could provide a more polished atmosphere for the theater.

“I also think that it will make the theater look a bit more professional [from the outside] because every show done at Northeastern is so well done and professional looking on the inside,” Griffin said. “The sets that are created in that space blow me away every time and they are always so different.”

Phillip Esposito, a  senior theatre major, is also excited about the renovations, which he thinks will be a plus for the Department of Theatre.

“At points, the Studio Theatre has flown somewhat under the radar, and with the departments increased marketing efforts, I think now is a good time to be improving our image,” Esposito said.

Both Griffin and Esposito recently finished working on “columbinus,” a docudrama about the April 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado.  While the show has already finished its run of six sold-out performances, students interested in catching a show at the Studio Theatre can look for its next production, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” slated to open to audiences on March 31.

 Photo by Arzu Martinez