THE ARTS PROGRAMS AT FRANK THOMPSON:
UNIVERSITY THEATRE, THE CRAFTS CENTER, THE DANCE PROGRAM

UNIVERSITY THEATRE

“The personal attention, genuine caring and incomparable expertise from University Theatre faculty and staff were worlds away from what one would expect from a large university … I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my college years, and I couldn’t have asked for a better ‘family.’
— Margaret Ellen Jeffreys-Shouse, Class of 2002, Raleigh, NC

As NC State’s volunteer student theatre, University Theatre is open to students from all majors — engineering, life sciences, business management and the humanities, for example — whether or not they are enrolled in theatre courses. Under the direction of a full-time professional staff, University Theatre produces as many as ten performances each season, wowing an annual audience of more than 12,000. Over the years, thousands of students have performed on stage, worked backstage, or taken theatre courses for academic credit. Student actors, budding directors and innovative costume designers can enjoy a highly creative extracurricular program in theatre performance, or they can choose to receive course credit for classes in acting, directing and all areas of technical theatre, including stagecraft, costume, makeup, lighting and scenic design.

While student theatre has prospered, Thompson’s obsolete equipment and lack of rehearsal and storage space have kept University Theatre from growing and expanding. In the restored building, students will work with up-to-date technology that will make our extraordinary productions even better. And the audiences that forever have loved the intimacy of Thompson Theatre will be thrilled to find that atmosphere not only preserved, but surpassed. With seating you sink into, an entrancing lobby that boasts artwork from the Gallery of Art & Design, and climate control that defies the seasons, theatergoers will applaud the new and improved Thompson Theatre.

“In the 30s and 40s there were many dances held on campus: the Engineer’s Brawl, fraternity dances, mid-winters, finals and many others throughout the year. Many of the dances featured Big Bands, the likes of Tommy Dorsey, Eddie Duchin, Benny Goodman, etc. In those days, I even had the opportunity to dance with a young Ava Gardner in Frank Thompson Gym.”
— John Bratton, Class of 1944, Raleigh, NC

THE CRAFTS CENTER

“One of the things The Crafts Center does best is to bring together students, alumni, and others interested in the fine art of craft, allowing all to explore and develop talent in an open and supportive atmosphere. Where else could I share long talks with fellow students, young mothers and grandmothers while knitting or watch in amazement as a raku kiln is opened to reveal pottery from people of all skill levels?”
— Eileen Chevalier, Class of 2000, New York, NY

For more than 40 years, The Crafts Center has functioned as an art school specializing in crafts, providing student studio space for work in pottery, photography, woodworking, fiber arts, sculpture, lapidary and more. Each year, The Crafts Center offers about 100 classes and workshops at a variety of skill levels. An intimate gallery, presenting five to seven exhibitions annually, provides aesthetic inspiration and practical ideas for design and technique.
The Crafts Center — where master potters work side by side with students eagerly creating their first pots — provides a friendly and informal learning environment for students and craftspeople of all levels. A number of regional crafts guilds trace their origins from early support by The Crafts Center. Many guilds (e.g., Triangle Basket Weavers, Triangle Potter’s Guild, Triangle Art Quilters, Triangle Woodturners of North Carolina and Old North State Knitters) meet at The Crafts Center and have become a source of support for the program while serving as valuable resources within the arts community.

NC State’s Crafts Center is one of the finest university crafts programs in the country. However, The Crafts Center provides exceptional equipment and learning opportunities in less than optimal conditions. The new Crafts Center will be a hub of activity as more students will be molding clay or faceting stones in the reconfigured spaces. They may not even notice that the lighting shining on their creations is brighter, the air they breathe is cleaner, and the equipment runs more efficiently. But these enhancements, along with the beautiful new gallery and window displays where their pots or sculpture or jewelry or woodcrafts will delight the campus community, are essential to the survival of this much-loved program.

“NC State has a number of architecturally significant buildings. Only a few, however, can match the numbers and natures of lives touched by Frank Thompson. When I was younger my dad took me to see where basketball used to be played at Thompson. After it was turned into a theatre, I attended an occasional theatrical production. When I reconnected with Thompson after years away from the campus, I was stunned to find that the craft and woodworking shops occupied the very location of my swimming test some 40 years prior. Lots of memories... and a great-looking building. Now if we can just get that jewel as safe and effective for today’s uses, we’ll preserve a wonderful, living and continuously evolving heritage for NC State students and the community.”
— Ira J. Jackson III, Class of 1964, Raleigh, NC

THE DANCE PROGRAM

“I don’t think that anything I have learned in dance will help me coordinate traffic signals or design a concrete beam, but I do think that dance has improved who I am as a person by encouraging me to reflect on the impacts of my decisions just as I reflect on the intellectual and aesthetic impacts of decisions in dance. With every dance movement in choreography, I ask myself, ‘Does this make sense? Why?’ I think that these questions should be asked by everyone when they design something, towns and roundabouts included.”
— Elizabeth Sall, Class of 2003, Washington, D.C. (News & Observer, November 2002)

The campaign for the Frank Thompson building will provide a long awaited and much-needed home for the NC State Dance Program. Our dance program has been recognized nationally by the American College Dance Festival (ACDFA) and selected to perform at the national ACDFA gala on six occasions, five of those at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Dance Program offers opportunities in performance through two student companies, the NCSU Dance Company and DanceVisions. The Dance Program also works cooperatively with the NC State Department of Physical Education to offer academic classes in dance.

Today, classes and performances occur in several venues around campus, including an overscheduled Carmichael Gymnasium dance studio shared with many other groups. A dedicated facility will allow the Dance Program to respond to the growing needs and requests of the students. The space’s flexibility will offer room for more classes, lectures, demonstrations and workshops for students, faculty and community participants. Costumes and props will be developed and stored on site. Visibility on campus will be enhanced for this nationally recognized dance program as this state-of-the-art studio finally gives them a serious home.

Just imagine these energetic and dedicated artists as they throw open the doors and step into a room shining in the natural light of day. Around them, new sound, video and lighting technology will add dimension to their choreography, and under their feet the protective resilient energy of the sprung flooring will offer freedom of movement as they perform to communicate and connect. At last, they will have the space and time to develop meaningful experience in technique, and for the creation and performance of their expressive compositions.

“When I think about Thompson Theatre, I think of filling up empty space. The Theatre would start out empty before each show. Then we’d fill it up with sets, costumes, actors, and finally an audience. This is also a metaphor for our lives. As students we were filling up and rounding out our lives with activities at Thompson Theatre. It was a warm and inviting environment and a place where you could always go and feel welcomed by staff and friends.”
— Robert C. Dellinger, Class of 1978, High Point, NC