Performing Arts for All

It is well documented that involvement in arts programs can improve a student’s cognitive ability, critical thinking and verbal skills, along with enhancing his or her motivation, confidence, and teamwork. Greenhill School, a coeducational day school located in the greater Dallas area, recently celebrated the opening of its new Marshall Family Performing Arts Center which will support its well-known arts program and provide its students even better opportunities to practice and perform within a college-level program.

The 54,000-square-foot building is the centerpiece of the school’s Building Community Campaign. Designed by Weiss/Manfredi in association with Page, the facility includes a 600-seat proscenium theater, a 150-seat studio theater; a dance and recital hall; a green room, dressing rooms and a costume shop; a video and film production classroom; and a lobby, gallery and outdoor plaza. The building was designed to blend with the Greenhill campus aesthetic, and its strategic location provides a large Performance Courtyard for outdoor presentations while simultaneously serving as the focal terminus of the east side of the campus.

Each of Greenhill’s 1200 K-12 students will have opportunities to experience the new facility – even those who are not studying the arts. The Marshall Family Performing Arts Center houses a variety of collaborative spaces for students and faculty, such as classes, lectures, performances and community gatherings – both inside and out.

Page team members who helped celebrate the opening were Milton Powell, AIA; Dick Robinson, AIA; Will Butler and Annelie Persson-Call, AIA.