Praises haven’t stopped since the doors to the greatly expanded Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center opened in February and hosted a series of grand opening performances in late March-early April.
The $50 million expansion grows the footprint of the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center from 60,000 to 150,000 square feet. To put that size in perspective, it is roughly the same size as the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Center, which features an eight-lane 300-meter track and a 100-yard football field from back end zone to back end zone.
Just as the indoor track and practice field has been a game changer for athletics, the new Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center puts the School of Performing Arts on a whole new stage, or several stages.
The facility had hardly opened and applications from music majors were up 30 percent from 2018, according to David Reynolds, director of the School of Performing Arts. J.D. Ackman, who oversees the theater program, also expects to see an increase.
The major pieces of the expansion are an 850-seat proscenium theater and a 225-seat concert recital hall.
Theater turns heads
Bringing a professional stage to campus opens unprecedented opportunities for not only the university but also for Brookings and beyond.
Reynolds said, “Larson Memorial Concert Hall has been able to host some of the top musicians in the world—from Itzhak Perlman to the Vienna Boys Choir to the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra—since it opened in 2002. Our new theater gives us that same opportunity for theater. You saw what happened with ‘Chicago.’â€
Barry and Fran Weissler’s Broadway production of “Chicago†brought nearly 2,500 people to the theater for three performances April 5-6, which included the April 5 gala that honored hundreds of donors and saw alumni fly in from as far away as Texas, Florida and California for the event that also included hors d’oeuvres before the performance and dessert afterward.
“The Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center is sure to be a destination for students and visitors for decades to come,†Reynolds said.
Jim Speirs ’99, executive director of Arts South Dakota, an advocacy organization, got a close look at the theater that weekend as he was hired to play the trumpet in the production’s orchestra.
“The facility is a major element in drawing the best professional touring ensembles to Brookings. The technical needs of many touring groups require a facility like the PAC and without such a venue, they would not make a stop in Brookings. Essentially, the Performing Arts Center puts Brookings on the map in terms of top-rated touring ensembles,†Speirs said.
Three programs under one roof
The impact of four top-notch performance facilities—the Proscenium Theater, the Larson Memorial Concert Hall, Fishback Studio Theatre and Founders Hall—will have on the entertainment picture in the area is only part of the impact of the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center. The center’s daily function is, after all, an educational facility.
Speirs said, “A facility like the PAC is an important recruitment tool for the music and theater departments. Serious students want a serious performance environment. As someone who majored in music, the opportunity to perform in a place like the PAC would have been a game-changer.
“This project emphasizes South Dakota State University’s dedication to the arts. SDSU has long been a leader in the fine arts and the new Performing Arts Center continues this tradition.â€
Among the advancements found under its roof is the fact that theater, music and dance are under one roof for the first time.
Prior to moving in, theater was split between the 1912 Doner Auditorium and the 2002 Performing Arts Center, where the set construction shop and studio theater were, respectively. Music students had Larson Memorial Concert Hall for its large performances, but practices, recitals and offices were in Lincoln Music Hall.
Dance students, which once had its rehearsal studio in the Marshall Health Physical Education and Recreation Center, were practicing in the PAC but performing in Doner. Its new classroom, rehearsal and performance facility, a 40-foot and 50-foot area off the theater lobby, offers ample natural light and a “spring†floor, which lessens the stress on dancers’ feet and joints, according to Melissa Hauschild-Mork, who has directed the program since 1994.
Hauschild-Mork said, “Having a dedicated space for dance education and artistic dance production on campus improves the quality of experience for SDSU students, community members and regional audiences. The incredible space highlights the commitment of SDSU and the school to dance education. I am so excited for the future of performing arts on campus.â€
Other areas added adjacent to the theater include a costume shop, numerous storage areas (including one specifically for pianos), dressing rooms and theater faculty offices.
Founders Hall—a singer’s dream
Added spaces on the west (or music) half of the roughly pentagon-shaped Performing Arts Center include choir and band rehearsal rooms, two classrooms, a keyboard lab, storage, faculty offices and practice rooms. There is a wing of eight permanent rooms and a pod of 12 freestanding Wenger practice rooms the school was able to buy on auction when a Minneapolis music school closed.
Accessibility is one stanza of a long song that sophomore music major Micah Perry, of Brookings, sings in praise of the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center. He said, “It’s been nice to rehearse something in a lesson and walk into Founders Hall to record or just sing in there. It’s my favorite place in here to sing.â€
Architecture theme tied to S.D.
Like virtually every room in the center, large windows are incorporated into the Founders’ Hall architecture.
“I love the bright, natural light. You contrast that with Peterson Recital Hall (Lincoln Music Hall), which had no natural light. Natural light is really cool and the construction is really cool. Acoustical circles, beautiful exposed cedar, granite on the stairs. It’s well thought, well done. It’s really connected to South Dakota. It really feels like it’s our house. You feel like you get to embrace the building,†Perry said.
The space reflects South Dakota with green seats for the prairie. The ceiling is made of pine representing the Black Hills and the acoustic panels are colored rose quartz.
Of course, the focal point of the 225-seat concert hall is the 2,848-pipe Reuter organ, which was built in 1961 for the Colorado Women’s College chapel. After an ownership change at the private school, the organ was donated to SDSU and held in storage until it was ready to be incorporated into the expanded Performing Arts Center.
All rooms soundproofed
Strolling the hallway between practice rooms and faculty offices, hardly a sound can be heard despite their use. Each room is soundproofed and faculty offices are large enough for lessons to be held within them.
John Walker’s office has space for two full grand pianos in addition to bookcases and a desk. Mary Ermel’s office has two pianos and a portative organ, a minipipe organ that is used in baroque performances.
“When I first moved into my new studio the overwhelming quiet was a bit disturbing, like sensory deprivation,†Walker said. “I decided to give it a good trial and was not disappointed. When practicing I discovered the true voice of my Steinway piano, not cluttered and confused by ventilation and external noises.
“It is a music teacher’s dream to be able to hear the real sounds of an instrument and refine our playing and teaching accordingly.â€
Variety of funding tools used
Groundbreaking was March 24, 2001, for Phase I of the Performing Arts Center, which was built for $10.4 million, primarily with second-penny sales tax from the city of Brookings and private gifts.
Construction began in spring 2017 for the $50 million second phase. The financial mix included $13 million from student fees, $6 million each from city sales tax collections and redirected university funds and $25 million in private giving. The lead gift came from the Dale and Pat Larson family. Betha and Oscar Larson, parents of Dale, invested in the original Performing Arts Center.
During the Feb. 5 gala, SDSU President Barry Dunn announced that entire facility would bear the name of Oscar Larson, a musician at heart.
School children also benefit
The city saw its investment not only as an economic development shot in the arm but also a great asset for its school children.
“We, as a greater Brookings community, are so lucky to have the PAC right in our backyard to enjoy student performances as well as national traveling shows. This new building is truly beautiful. What an awesome facility the SDSU students have to learn and perform in.
“Our Brookings K-12 students also have an outstanding opportunity to perform on these stages for their school programs,†said Brookings resident Susie Keenaghan, who went on the free public tour offered April 7.
Nearly a half-century since envisioned
Putting theater, music and dance programs under one roof in a world-class facility is a dream that outlived many who first envisioned the possibility.
In an April 5, 1976, letter to University Vice President David Pearson from President Sherwood “Woody†Berg, he wrote on the need to meet with the University Private Support Council and added the imperative “We should ‘begin some stirrings’ regarding the Performing Arts Center on campus.â€
Longtime theater director Ray Peterson said, “My first committee assignment when I came to SDSU back in 1971 was the Fine Arts Committee. A new performing arts center was the top agenda item way back then. It took 30 years for Phase 1 to become a reality and an additional 18 years to complete the performance venue we celebrate today.
“It may have taken 48 years to finish the job, but in the end, SDSU and the Brookings community has a performance venue second to none—a job well done!Â
“Having spent 40 years of my lifetime designing,
directing and coping show by show with one challenge after another in Doner Auditorium, I can only imagine what it will be like for future faculty members and students who will now benefit from this beautiful facility made possible by the loyal and dedicated artists and performers who paved the way.â€
– Dave Graves
