Theatre Design & Technology - May 1969 - 9

RICHARD D. MEYER
Florida State University

(Professor Meyer was a technical director at the Grinnell College theatre
for ten years. including the years when the recent theatre was planned.
and during the first six years of its use. Editor)

In the fall of 1961. Grinnell College (Grinnell, Iowa) opened
its new Fine Arts Complex. Most of the interest- indeed,
controversy-that accompanied its planning was centered upon
the design of Roberts Theatre, which contained one of the
first open stages to be design!=d for a new building in the
United States. Now, after seven years of use of the stage
and related facilities, it is time to make an evaluation of its
advantages and disadvantages-both aesthetic and practical.
Many of these might merit special consideration by anyone
contemplating the construction of similar quarters.
The factors that influenced the final plans of the Grinnell
Arts Center are common. First, there was need for a decent
theatre. Although Grinnell had been operating on a tiny
proscenium stage in the antiquated second-floor auditorium
of the old "Alumni Recitation Hall," the College has had a
long tradition of excellent theatre. Hallie Flanagan, first as
a student and later as a faculty member, founded her first
"experimental theatre" there. In the years since, the Theatre
Department has been adequately budgeted, relatively free of
restrictions, and has produced an interesting variety of plays,
including a high proportion of contemporary foreign drama
and original scripts. At the time of the new building's
planning, theatre and the other fine arts were considered a
valuable and integral part of the campus community.
Music and Art had also been functioning in improvised
quarters. It was logical to provide a common home for all

[]IDL] THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

MAY, 1969

Roberts Theatre (left) and the Fine Arts Building at Grinnell
College (photo: Baltazar Korab)

three fields, as well as dance, which at that time could be
accommodated only as a part of the physical education program. To combine them all as part of the humanities program, would be physically convenient, economical, and its
increased interaction between the components of the division
and occupants of the building would be mutually stimulating.
Seating capacity was set at about 400, one third of the student body, which is limited by school policy. While funds
always were to be limited, this was not expected to be a
"budget" structure. It would be, rather, an exciting reflection of an outstanding liberal arts college. It was decided
from the beginning that the theatre should break with tradition and feature an open stage.
The architects selected for the project were the top-ranking
firm of ~dmore Owings and Merrill, who had designed
Grinnell's library the year before. As architects, they were
naturally in agreement that the building should be different
and dynamic. They elected to use prestressed concrete
beams-the longest, in fact, that had ever been used at
that time. When the exterior size and shape of the theatre
had been established, they turned to their theatre consultant,
James Hull Miller, to fit a theatre into the space.
The result is a handsome theatre wing attached by a glasswalled lobby to the fine arts building. From the exterior,
the wing is a clean sweep of blond brick with a gracefully
sloping roof, reaching its lowest point at the rear, stage-end
of the building. Inside, the stage itself reaches across the
entire 80-foot width of structure, reaching out at the sides

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - May 1969