Building creative walls: the new theatre building
Emma Ogren, Staff Writer
Photo by Emma Ogren
In 2024 the North Greenville University theatre department conceptualized an idea to make a new space for their creativity.
Construction on the new theatre building started at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year. It took some time for the project to come to life as there are many permits needed to construct a new building: plumbing, electrical, mechanical, building, etc. The team also needed to take time for zoning: picking the best place for the building and making sure the land it is built on is properly used.
All of this then needs to be inspected to make sure that it’s done in a correct manner. This ensures the safety of the crew who will be working on the project. There was also a wait on materials once plans were finalized. Including specialized equipment, it can take up to a year to obtain the proper materials needed.
The structure will soon become the new scene shop for the theatre department. This is where they will focus on building all of the sets for the shows they put on. Currently their scene shop is located on the bottom level of the main theatre building. It also is utilized for storage.
Amy Dunlap, associate dean of the school of arts, said, “We have outgrown this space. It’s not just a shop where we build things, it’s also our storage space. When we build a set for a show, we don’t just throw that away and then buy all new stuff and build a new set. We save all the materials and reuse them.”
Another reasoning behind the creation of the new building is finding a new place for the costume shop. It is currently placed in the upper level of the Billingsly Theatre. They also have classes that operate in this space.
Now, the costume shop will occupy the lower level of the main theatre building, where the scene shop used to be before the move into the new building. There are hopes that this will be more accessible to students who need to be in the costume shop regularly.
There are also hopes that this switch will allow a more seamless transition every time a set needs to be brought into or taken out of Billingsly Theatre.
Dunlap said, “We’ll be able to build scenery in the new building and transport it into the theater, more swiftly and easily. Having a little more space will hopefully allow us to prebuild some things, so we’ll be able to shift over into the new production a lot more easily and a lot more quickly.”
There is another very large reason that there was a push to get this structure built: currently the NGU theatre department is applying for accreditation through the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST).
According to their website, “It establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials for theatre and theatre-related disciplines, and provides assistance to institutions and individuals engaged in artistic, scholarly, educational, and other theatre-related endeavors.”
In order to complete this accreditation, there will be an evaluation of the space and those who are a part of the theatre department believe it would be a better representation of what the department has to offer.
Through this project, they also hope to show that NGU cares about and invests in the arts.
Dunlap said, “Human beings are created in the image of God as creators, as He is a creator. It’s a mandate, what he’s calling us to do. If we undervalue the arts, we are not only not fulfilling the mission that God has put us on Earth for, but we’re going to destroy our society.”
