Columbus State theater program will have renovated home for 35th anniversary season
Campus News | Tuesday, November 19, 2024
An $8.5 million renovation of Nestor Hall Auditorium is wrapping up on the Columbus State Community College downtown campus. The hall – including classrooms, offices and the auditorium – originally opened in 1993.
The renovation of the 335-seat, 13,300-square-foot performance venue began in 2023. Funding is provided by a bond issue approved by voters in 2020, which is being used to upgrade classrooms and buildings across campus. The auditorium renovation was the first major project to have funding allocated after deferred maintenance infrastructure upgrades received initial bond proceeds funding.
“Students will now have the ability to work in a state-of-the-art facility that will better prepare them for professional work after they graduate,” said Professor Frank Barnhart, the lead instructor of Theatre Columbus State, which has held live stage performances since 1989. “Celebrating our 35th anniversary in 2024 with a space designed specifically for the performance of theater and music is a dream come true, and a demonstration of the commitment Columbus State has for students majoring in its arts programs.”
The design and upgrades will provide:
- Upgraded sound system and better acoustics
- Scene shop for the construction of stage scenery
- Modern lighting system
- Redesigned lobby and restrooms
- New dressing rooms for performers
- Increased storage areas for props, costumes and scenery
“My time at Columbus State was more than a schooling, it was a revival of my creative soul,” said Rodriccos Williams, a local playwright who received an associate degree with a Theater Arts emphasis in 2022. “The theater program there did not just teach me, it embraced and made room for me. I am journeying on an unknown road in an unending quest for artistic mastery, and a quest reignited in the Nestor theater auditorium.”
Williams, the first student to co-direct a play at Columbus State, has transferred to The Ohio State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in fine arts.
Over the years, Theater Columbus State has been nominated for 89 awards with 18 wins, including:
- “Titanic: A Retrospective” performed in 2012 (Best Play of the Year; Best Director of the Year, Frank Barnhart)
- “She Kills Monsters” performed in 2019 (Best Play of the Year; Best Director of the Year, Sonda Staley)
Bostwick Architects is the project architect. The general contractor is Miles McClellan Construction.
(View a slideshow of the newly renovated Nestor Hall Auditorium.)
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