Groton School

Campbell Performing Arts Center

Attracting students to the arts.

The design of the new performing arts building complements Groton's remarkably cohesive campus of memorable Georgian buildings and a formal Olmsted-designed landscape. The new building is sited at the edge of campus with a new entry point into the campus core. A gently curving lobby is revealed through an expansive plane of glass where passersby can see the arts activities taking place within. A lantern-like tower closest to the main pedestrian path beckons the student body into the arts experience.

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An intimate performance space.

Underscoring the primacy of the student experience, the interior spaces create an intimate and supportive learning environment. Acoustics in the main theater are tuned so students do not have to be amplified, with the goal of building confidence in students' presentation abilities. The shallow fan-shaped seating arrangement puts the furthest seat at only 40 feet from the stage and helps the audience and performer become intimately connected. With a foreshortened two-story balcony, the house feels full in a variety of configurations.

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A fully immersive learning experience.

The flexible workshop theatre seats 80-125, depending on its use and configuration. A full control room, resilient performance floor, and suspended pipe system with full catwalk access allows students to create multiple environments. Throughout the theaters, catwalks and ladders are designed with strong safety considerations to ensure student participation and learning. The tension between formal and informal, fixed and flexible, technical and creative, serves as a strong teaching device for students’ first, formative theater experience.

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All of the spaces are designed for multiple uses.

The main theater can be configured in a variety of experimental configurations. A 20’ x 40’ proscenium, with proportions of a dance theater, is supported by a forestage that can thrust 14 feet beyond the proscenium. Seats in the first two rows are removable to allow flexible staging. Differing levels of pit fillers can be added, allowing the performers to move almost one-third of the way into the orchestra level. Side boxes flow into the stage and project into the audience. This allows the edges to double as stage area and facilitates access. Removable railings are used in both the pit and side boxes. A deep stage, with the scene shop to the rear, facilitates moving large sets and installations.

Let's aim for

extraordinary

together

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