Performing Arts Venues
Since its opening in 1913, this
impressive structure has served as a showplace for important debuts
for wide variety of the arts, and also has provided the locale for
long relationships between artists and Ann Arbor audiences. With
superb acoustics that highlight everything from the softest high notes
to the most thunderous climaxes, Hill Auditorium is known and loved
throughout the musical world |
Located within the Michigan
League building on the central campus of the University of Michigan,
the Mendelssohn Theatre is an intimate, shoe-box theatre seating 658
people. It opened on May 4, 1929, and is one of the few theatres
in the United States to have a "cyclorama," a curved wall
at back of the stage. The cyclorama improves sound in the theatre
and can be used for creative lighting effects. |
Opening in 1971, the Power Center
is the most technically sophisticated performance space on campus. The
building was designed during a very innovative period in theatrical
architecture. Known as "modern classical," the Power
Center combines massive concrete columns and mirrored glass with ancient
corms. THe audience's seating area is modeled after the Greek
theatre in Epidarus, while the stage was an experimental combination
of proscenium arch and thrust. No seat in the Power Center is
more than 80 feet from the stage. |
Rackham Auditorium has been
the site of many major occasions in the advancement of knowledge, with
numerous notable lectures, academic symposia, and scholarly papers
presented in the sixty plus years since its opening. In addition,
it is the favorite venue in the area for intimate musical performances,
particularly chamber music, small ensembles, and world music. Designed
in the classical renaissance style the Rackham Building is considered
to be one of the most historically significant buildings on campus. |
Several unique performing arts centers at the University of Michigan
draw in the best performing artists the world has to offer. From
the majesty of Hill Auditorium to the intimacy of the Mendelssohn Theatre,
the presenting spaces at UM provide a variety of options to experience
performances from groups such as: The UM
Music School, Musical Society, Theatre & Drama
Department, Life
Sciences Orchestra (LSO), Basement
Arts and many more. A rewarding aspect of student life at the University of Michigan
is the presence of an unusually high and diverse cultural life. The UM
Music School, Musical Society,
and Theatre & Drama
Department combine to create an environment where these are nearly
daily performances, most of which are free or at a reasonable cost
to students.
Trueblood Theatre (Not Pictured Above) - The Trueblood Theatre located
in the basement of the Frieze building is an intimate venue where numerous
student productions have taken place over the years. With the
ability to change seating arrangements the Trueblood Theatre allows
for flexibility with stage design and audience interaction. In
2004 the Walgreen Drama Center and Arthur
Miller Theatre were approved. The 250-seat Arthur Miller
Theatre will replace the 140-seat Trueblood Theatre and will be located
on North Campus adjacent to the Walgreen Drama Center. |