Shriver Hall will close for the fall semester

The University’s largest auditorium space on campus, Shriver Hall, will undergo renovations at the end of this summer. The building will remain open through Sept. 4. Shriver hosts widely attended performance events like the Orientation Shows (O-Show) and the Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium (MSE).

Facilities and Real Estate Project Manager Michael Gourley said the construction is expected to last until the beginning of the spring 2018 semester.

Built in 1965, Gourley explained that Shriver has lighting and wiring problems that pose a safety hazard. The renovations are currently being designed, but will focus on the system controls for the stage, and house and stage lighting. According to Gourley, all of the student groups affected by the renovation were notified at the onset of the project.

MSE and dance performance groups are the ones most affected by the change. Other performance groups, including a cappella groups on campus, usually use spaces like the Bloomberg Center or Mudd Hall for their performances. 

Ana Moszkowski, a member of the Sirens, an all-female a cappella group, laid out how the renovations would impact performance groups.

“[I]t won’t affect us that much but it’ll affect the general arts performances because there’s no other big performance space,” Moszkowski wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “A lot of groups use the other rooms in Shriver as rehearsal space. We already have really limited space for that.”

Senior Isaac Nemzer, a member of the All Nighters, an all-male a cappella group, explained in an email to The News-Letter, that the renovations could potentially cause scheduling conflicts.

“The bigger question for us is where the larger combined concerts are going to take place,” Nemzer wrote. “This especially applies to the O-Show. There have been ideas thrown around to have the O-Show in the gym or a location like that, but that comes with its own set of scheduling difficulties.”

Homewood Student Affairs is willing to work with student groups to find new locations for their events. According to Assistant Director of Scheduling and Event Services Reginald Anthony, the office notified groups who would most frequently use Shriver Hall, like the Alumni Association and the Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium (MSE), as soon as they were made aware of the renovation plans.

But Anthony explained that it is ultimately up to the student groups in charge of the events to find relocation spaces.

Rachel Biderman, one of MSE’s two programming chairs, said that they are aware of the renovations and have been communicating with the administration.

“The Symposium will still go on in the fall. At this time we’re coordinating and cooperating with the administration and campus officials to explore other options,” Biderman said. “We don’t have an official announcement at this time.”

The Ladybirds, a dance group on campus, were notified in an email sent on Feb. 17 by Eric Beatty, the Homewood arts director. Beatty told Senior Maddie Mitchell, the president of the Ladybirds, that the annual O Show would now take place a week earlier than usual to accomodate the September closure.

“I support any renovations that will enhance Shriver, but I’m not quite sure what these particular renovations are supposed to accomplish,” Mitchell wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “This might be because the school hasn’t been very transparent about them, however. As of now, the Ladybirds are not sure where we’ll be holding our performances, but there are a number of other good theater spaces on campus, so hopefully we (and other dance groups) can make use of those.”