University unveils new Dramatic Arts Building
Speakers reflected on the transformative power of dramatic arts performances.
By CALEB KIM & HALO LYMAN
USC unveiled the School of Dramatic Arts’ new Dramatic Arts Building with a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon.
The new building — set to open April 13 — is a renovation of the former United University Church, one of the oldest buildings on campus. Located on West 34th Street, the church is a historical landmark that has stood on campus since the 1930s.
Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.
The renovations preserve the building’s historical exterior architecture while revamping the interior design, according to a news release from USC.
Notable additions to the building include classrooms, flexible theater spaces, dressing rooms, vocal practice rooms, rehearsal spaces, a media space with a green screen and a professional development center.
During the grand opening ceremony, students, faculty and alumni took the stage to give speeches. Many of the speakers, including President Carol Folt and SDA Dean Emily Roxworthy, reflected on the important role the dramatic arts have played in their own lives and in shaping the human experience.
Folt said she believes watching an outstanding performance compels, moves, shakes, challenges, and even delights our hearts and minds.
“Dramatic performance is truly one of the greatest educators of all human time. And it is a feature of what makes us human,” Folt said. “It needs to be part of our education, and we need to enliven and allow everyone to have a piece of it … SDA has this amazing history showing throughout the decades that a great school truly can harness that energy in truly transformative ways.”
Storm Reid, an Emmy award-winning actress and a junior majoring in theatre, shared that even when she is away from campus, she finds herself missing and wanting to be at SDA.
“At SDA, I’ve discovered a nurturing environment where we are encouraged to explore, stumble and grow. It’s here that I’ve deepened my understanding and love for theatrical arts, gaining insights that enrich my work on set and forging relationships and friendships that I believe will last a lifetime,” Reid said.
Reid said the Dramatic Arts Building is more than just a building; it is a landmark inspiring growth, possibility and ambition for all who walk through its doors.
“This new building represents more than just a physical space. It symbolizes our growth, aspirations and the legacy that we’re building as the inaugural generation of artists to learn and create,” Reid said.
The Dramatic Arts Building includes theater spaces, rehearsal spaces, a media room with a green screen and a professional development center. (Caleb Kim / Daily Trojan)
In earlier interviews with the Daily Trojan, other students said they love the SDA community’s new centralized hub.
“I love that we have a new space,” said Colleen Gapuzan, a sophomore majoring in theatre with an emphasis in acting. “We have more room to play and to learn … So many people are so excited for this building. It’s a long time coming.”
Gloria Aung, a sophomore majoring in theatre with an emphasis in acting who is also a student worker at the new building, said the building “feels like home.”
“I’m excited for what the future holds, and I’m excited for prospective students to come in, because they’re going to be able to see this building as their first taste of what SDA is,” Aung said. “There’s so much to see and so much to experience.”
SDA alumni LeVar Burton — who graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the late 1970s — and Troian Bellisario — who graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting in 2009 — also addressed the audience with brief speeches at the ceremony.
Burton’s speech contextualized how significantly SDA and the dramatic arts programs have expanded since his time as a student in the 1970s.
“This [new building] is so freaking incredible, because when I was an undergrad here, there was no school of theater. There was no School of Dramatic Arts,” Burton said. “We were in the midst of the school of music, the school of theater, the school of cinema, as the division of drama. We did our mainstage productions in Bovard Auditorium.”
During the ceremony, students wearing colorful outfits sang a rendition of “Seasons of Love” from the musical “Rent” by Jonathan Larson, which also served as a teaser for SDA’s rendition of “Rent,” which students will perform at Bing Theatre from April 5-14.
The ceremony arrived at a conclusion when all the speakers gathered together at the front steps of the new SDA building and cut the red ribbon that stretched the length of the staircase.
With the opening of the new building, Burton reflected on the transformative power of storytelling and how the new Dramatic Arts Building will become the center for even more stories.
“Storytelling, I like to say, is the currency of human interaction,” Burton said. “Here is where we learn skill sets and the confidence to take risks, use our imaginations to tell the stories of people being.”
