Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

DePaul University: The Theatre School

  • 01/01/14

For the past 30 years, the Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago operated out of “temporary” facilities — a well-worn, former elementary school and a reconverted nunnery.

DePaul University

PHOTOS: TOP LEFT, BOTTOM RIGHT © JEFF GOLDBERG / ESTO
PHOTOS: BOTTOM LEFT, TOP AND MIDDLE RIGHT © JEFF CARRION

Since opening in September 2013, the new $72-million, 165,000-square-foot Theatre School at DePaul — designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli and Schuler Shook Theatre Planners in unusually deep collaboration with school faculty and administrators — provides new classroom, rehearsal, design and performance spaces that finally align DePaul’s facilities with the school’s national ranking for theatre training excellence.

The five-story school houses two new theatre spaces: a 250-seat thrust stage theatre and a 100-seat flexible theatre. The groundfloor entrance opens into the “living room” of the building — a glass-enclosed lounge, concessions space, box office and lobby — where patrons and students are visible from the street. Floor-to-ceiling glass also places daily activities in the scene shop, metal shop and paint shops on display for the surrounding neighborhood.

The second through fifth floors intentionally mix spaces devoted to costumes, makeup, props, lighting laboratories, new media workshops and classrooms. All classrooms offer some level of performance and production capabilities. The building also contains three dedicated rehearsal spaces, each sized to replicate the dimensions of DePaul’s three different stages.

Projecting out 45 feet up on the fourth floor, the flexible theatre captures attention from the street below and serves as a bold new sign for the university, particularly when illuminated at night.

By emphasizing transparency, DePaul’s new Theatre School puts the excitement of a college-level theatre education on clear view for the neighborhood, providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse inside one of the top professional collegiate theatre conservatory programs in the U.S. Ultimately, the building is widening artistic horizons, adding vitality to the community and serving as a new recruitment tool welcoming generations of new students, faculty, artists, performers and audiences for years to come.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • California K–12 District Finishes Renovations on Multi-Sport Stadium

    The Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) in Alameda, Calif., recently announced the completion of a renovation project on the Encinal Jr. & Sr. High School stadium, according to a news release. The district partnered with Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) and Bothman Construction on the facility, and funding came from Bond Measure B.

  • Massachusetts K–12 District Selects Architect for New Junior High

    Swansea Public Schools in Swansea, Mass., recently announced that it has selected Finegold Alexander Architects to design a new junior high school for the district, according to a news release. The firm will create the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design for Joseph Case Junior High School after a lengthy selection process by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

  • 144-Year-Old High-School Campus Debuts New Academic Facility

    San Diego High School (SDHS) in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new student services and classroom building; the project is part of a larger SDHS Whole Site Modernization project that began in 2022.

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.