The Commission on Higher Education votes Friday on whether or not to move forward with the estimated $16.5 million teaching theatre project that is supposed to begin in the spring.

The old theater, located on Ingleheart Avenue, has been used for storage for the last two years while all performances have been moved to the small black box theater located in the basement of the Liberal Arts Center

“It was a logistical nightmare for the students,” Wasserman said. According to him, the old theater had very little parking, was badly situated, and with more students who don’t drive, using it was becoming impractical.   

INDOT plans to buy the old theater and one other building, which is used for costumes, due to its proximity to St. Joseph Avenue and the Lloyd Expressway.

The new theater will adjoin to the expanded University Center and will face University Boulevard.


Mark Rozewski, vice president of finance and administration, decided the location of the new theater.

“The theater is going to attract people to campus. It needs to be easy to find and a place that people go often,” Rozewski said.

The new theater will house around 300 people and have a three-sided stage. It will be made out of red sandstone as a homage to Robert Owen, the designer of the original Smithsonian building who lived in New Harmony.

The baffles, which absorb extra sound, also have a special meaning. They are going to be made out of Toyota mini-van dashboards made at the Toyota plant in Princeton.

According to Wasserman, the new theater will be hosting the more classical plays and bigger productions. The black box theater will host more experimental and student written and directed plays. This gives the department the ability to put on more than two shows a semester.

Ashley Riester is a junior theater major and is excited about the new addition.

“Its gives more of us opportunities. If we’re not doing just two shows a year, all 50 of our acting emphasis majors can get to do something that they wouldn’t necessarily get to do during the year,” Riester said.

If the project is approved Friday by the Commission on Higher Education, it will go befoe the State Budget Agency on November 18 for final budget approval.