Theatre Facilities

 THEATRE FACILITIES

Our theatre and dance facilities are housed in the beautifully historic, yet recently renovated Arkansas Hall which includes 2 performance venues—Arkansas Hall Auditorium and the newly constructed Studio Theatre.  The building has many functions and serves the university community as a fine arts performance and education facility.
Recent  renovation included construction of design lab, costume shop, dressing rooms, makeup room, dance studio, computer lab & television studio.  The 969 seat theatre/auditorium was also renovated in the process. 

In addition to the the theatre arts & dance program, Arkansas Hall houses mass media & communication programs.

 STUDIO THEATRE: 162 seat thrust theatre designed specifically for the program with the audience on three sides of the acting space.  The Studio Theatre lighting system is equipped with state-of-the-art lighting using an ETC Emphasis system with an Express 250 console and complete with an inventory of ETC lighting fixtures.

An overhead tension-wire grid is used in place of catwalks, ladders, scaffolding or hanging pipes, as a method for hanging lighting instruments & carrying technicians through space. 

The tension-wire grid is 20' above stage level and is one of only two in the state of Arkansas.

ARKANSAS HALL AUDITORIUM: 
The auditorium is a traditional proscenium theatre seating up to 969 and has many functions.  It serves the university community as an education and  fine arts performance facility  accommodating a wide variety of events including theatre, dance, music,  receptions, corporate meetings, and broadcast events.   

The theatre program mounts productions in the proscenium theatre on a regular basis. In addition, all spring dance concerts are held in the proscenium theatre.

In addition, the Arkansas Hall Auditorium facilitates almost a hundred events each year. These events are administered and produced by the HSU theatre faculty and work study staff but are often sponsored by other university organizations and departments, as well as the local community. 

Among the many events hosted during the year are the Miss HSU Pageant, Band & Choir Concerts, university lectures and special guest artist performances. 

The Arkansas Hall auditorium stage shares makeup and dressing rooms with the Studio Theatre.

DANCE STUDIO: rehearsal space for all dance classes and the HSU Dance Company. 
The dance program presents one major concert a year onstage in the Arkansas Hall Auditorium. The Spring Dance Concert concert presents faculty and guest artists' choreographic works, as well as works choreographed and performed by students. Informal concerts are held throughout the year in the dance studio. Noted dance artists are regularly brought to campus to perform, teach master classes, conduct special workshops, and set choreographic works on the students. Recent guest artists have included Marlies Yearby, Chet Walker, Eva Tessler, David Wick, Micki Saba, Patrick Crommett, Lucy DuBose, Michael Tidwell, Richard and Roberta Walker, Ameria Jones, Zinse Agginie and Sherman Steward.

DESIGN LAB:classroom with drafting tables for all theatre design courses.  Ten drafting tables provide an optimal environment for students to succeed in drafting, rendering and design courses.  A computer station equipped with Photoshop, Virtual Light Lab, MacLux Pro and VectorWorks Designer software offers a place for students to do production and design work. The Design Lab is also available for students working on design projects outside of class. 

MAKEUP ROOM: The Make-up Room is a space used both for educational purposes and for performance preparation. As a single large room, the space is used for make-up classes seating a total of twenty-two students at fully lit make-up stations.