To see a slideshow of the building, click here.Carly Zimmerman said she couldn’t believe she was finally standing in the newly renovated Claude L. Shaver Theatre. She wasn’t alone — hundreds of students and interested members of the University community gathered in the art deco theatre Sunday for the rededication of the Music and Dramatic Arts Building, which just recently completed a nearly five-year, $22 million renovation. Zimmerman, president of the Music and Dramatic Arts College Council, and other leaders spoke about the long remodeling process and what the renovations mean for the University.
“It’s a symbol of our past,” Zimmerman said. The latest remodeling comes after a nearly 30-year struggle for state funding and support, said Ronald Ross, former College of Music and Dramatic Arts dean. Originally constructed in 1932 during the Great Depression, it cost about $600,000 and took a mere 18 months to complete. The dilapidated facilities didn’t match the talent and growing national and international recognition of the school, said Gresda Doty, alumni professor emerita who taught at the University for 29 years. “Our aging facilities didn’t keep up — not even close,” Doty said. She recalled a time when two graduate students were scheduled to present their theses in the same room at the same time. One was a directorial graduate student and the other was a music student studying the French horn. The incident was the perfect example of the school’s need for not only more space, but better space, she said. Laurence Kaptain, College of Music and Dramatic Arts dean, Chancellor Michael Martin, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Astrid Merget, Keith Steger, principal designer at HMS Architects — the firm that designed and managed the renovations — and Christel Slaughter, chair of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and chair of the Swine Palace Productions’ Board of Directors all spoke at the event. One name was mentioned in each of their speeches as a key player in getting funding for the building — LSU President Emeritus William Jenkins, who was also in attendance. “I’m ecstatic — I could not be happier,” Jenkins said. “The building fits with the spirit of the institution. Now we have a competitive edge to attract and retain outstanding students and faculty.”The building — which is now 20 percent bigger — has new features like a black box studio theatre for student productions, a dance/opera studio and a design technology lab, complete with a dozen drafting tables and computers equipped with the latest design software.  Classroom demonstrations and small performances were held after the rededication ceremony.  A presentation of Swine Palace’s latest comedy “The Royal Family” ended the evening in the Shaver Theatre, where some Swine Palace and LSU Opera productions take place now. Several “smart” classrooms have also been added, equipped with projectors, computers and other luxuries the school didn’t have before. A new movement studio, allowing students to experiment with Cirque du Soleil-style fabric performance, and a high-tech piano lab are also part of the renovations. Asbestos abatement stalled the construction process early in 2005. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita also delayed the project because workers were occupied with repairing the damage in New Orleans. —————Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]