Renovations for theater are underway

Nicole Montero/Asst. News Director

As part of a partnership with the Office of Academic Affairs, the Biscayne Bay Campus Wolfe University Theater will be undergoing construction on one of its major establishments.

The Mary Ann Wolfe Theater has commenced renovations, with new seats, new paint and new theatrical lighting, as well as a new lobby.

“We partnered with academic affairs in the offering of courses in WUC last year,” said Scott Jones, director of WUC. “Through that partnership, we needed to upgrade the facility to meet the instruction needs.”

The interior of the theater will be redesigned and the layout of the seats will be changed from a center aisle to two aisles directly off the lobby doorway. The seats will also host power and USB capabilities, like plug-in means for students, to meet the requirements for the partnership.

“We’ve done a variety of things relating to the classroom, with course capturing and other things that academic affairs has indicated they need,” said Jones. “We’ve completely reimagined BBC and it’s important that we make sure the facilities remain up to date and meet all student needs.”

According to Jones, the plans for the renovations began when he first came to the University – roughly two years ago. The funding came from the Student Government Association, the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Academic Affairs.

Angelica Johnson, a junior public relations major, is particularly excited about the new plug-in capabilities that the theatre will offer.

“I really can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked for an available plug in that theatre,” she said. “There’s like maybe five plugs in that room and, when you have a class full of students that all use computers to take notes, that isn’t enough.”

Johnson also thinks that the renovations for the theatre should have started a long time ago.

“It’s just that, compared to the MMC campus, I feel like we’re always a step behind,” she said. “I’m really happy to see that BBC is stepping up and is ready to make a more-modern building – kind of like what they did with Panther Square.”

Panther Square, the area just outside of WUC, was renovated a little over a year ago.

Demitri Aristil, a senior journalism major, wasn’t too fond of the renovations for the square. Nonetheless, he thinks that the theatre needed much improvement.

“It was just old, you know?” he said. “It wasn’t modern at all and I think that BBC needed to fix that. I didn’t want them to renovate Panther Square at the time because I thought it was unnecessary. But I think this is necessary.”

According to Jones, some of the same elements and themes that were used for the Panther Square renovation will be used for the construction of the theatre.

“It’s not going to look like two separate spaces,” he said. “We had such success with the renovations of Panther Square and we’re really looking to carry that energy forward in pantherizing the Mary Ann Wolfe Center.”

Demolition of the theatre has already begun. The project is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 17.

Jones asks students and the surrounding BBC community to stay clear of the theatre, lobby and backstage area during the construction phase.

“I think it’s going to be a wonderful project,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to see how students will utilize the space once we’re completed with it.”

nicole.montero@fiusm.com

About Post Author