Colony Hall, a new campus performance hall, is set to open next fall, and once it does, construction will turn to the neighboring Paul Mellon Arts Center. For the first time in the nearly half-century since the center was built, the PMAC will undergo a major renovation.
Built in 1972 and designed by I. M. Pei, the PMAC includes theaters, practice rooms, and work spaces for fine arts such as painting and sculpture. According to Head of School Dr. Alex Curtis, the planned renovation will keep the PMAC closed for at least one school year.
“We’re right now in the midst of working out what is structural and what can be removed,” said Dr. Curtis. “The PMAC is a complicated project. The hope is to remove whatever we can inside so we can have a new design and still support the arts program as it is today.”
Although the renovation remains in the early stages of discussion, it seems clear that the building’s distinct angles will not be modified. “The exterior is a really important piece of sculptural architecture,” said Dr. Curtis. “Keeping it intact is one of the reasons that Colony Hall is separate from the PMAC.”
Currently, arts facilities are dispersed across campus. The PMAC houses Choate’s main-stage theater, a black box theater, art studios, and music rehearsal rooms. The dance studio is in the athletics center, photography is in the Humanities building, and ceramics is in the laundry building. One more small theater lives under the chapel.
What might a renovated PMAC look like? “Think of the arts center in the future as three buildings,” Dr. Curtis said. Colony Hall will include a new auditorium large enough to hold the entire student body and will support most of the music and dance programs. The side of the PMAC that currently houses the main-stage theater will be devoted to theater and drama. The opposite side, which music and visual arts now share, will be devoted exclusively to the latter.
The renovated PMAC theater will become known as the Little Theater, named after Choate alumnus Ted Little ’49.
According to Ms. Kalya Yannatos, Head of the Arts Department, the main objective for the PMAC renovation is to improve the current facilities and create better working spaces for every art field. The Arts Department has plans for students of every level, ranging from dilettantes to members of Arts Concentration.
“Obviously, our goal is to serve everyone and ensure that everyone has a wonderful experience in the arts,” Ms. Yannatos said. “The Visual Arts Concentration, for instance — one of our goals is to ensure that they have an appropriate studio space. I would also like a space that’s really for everyone, regardless whether or not they’re in a visual arts class, like a community arts studio.”
Ms. Yannatos also envisions components to the new center that move beyond traditional art mediums. “There’ll also be a technology lab that serves all the digital media that’s emerging and evolving,” she said. “I see that potential for interdisciplinary pollination.”
Choate Rosemary Hall has a long tradition in the arts, Dr. Curtis said. When the PMAC was built, “it really did raise the bar. It provided new opportunities across the board for students to participate in the arts.” The goal of a PMAC renovation, he said, is to “have the same dramatic impact.”
