 "Photo: Joey Castillo")
The UT Performing Arts Center will not hold a traditional season next school year, because the largest PAC venue, Bass Concert Hall, is under construction, said Pebbles Wadsworth, PAC director.
Construction on the concert hall, which was in violation of fire code, according to a 2001 inspection, is expected to cost about $15 million, said Brette Lea, PAC spokeswoman. While closed for renovations, events will be held at the five smaller theaters: Hogg Memorial Auditorium, Bates Recital Hall, B. Iden Payne Theatre, McCullough Theatre and Oscar B. Brockett Theatre.
Instead of planning events two to three years in advance, the PAC will organize "surprise" events that will be scheduled as the year progresses, Wadsworth said. The PAC will work with Live Nation, an event distribution company that hosts the Broadway Across America series, to explore additional venue options during the year, including permanent tents and the Frank Erwin Center, Wadsworth said. The College of Fine Arts will also continue to collaborate with the PAC to produce events.
"Right now, people come to the University and leave with a football experience," she said. "My goal is that those same students will leave with the football experience and the performing arts experience."
The building will undergo construction in late May. Renovations include additional fire alarms, sprinklers and improved emergency exit routes, said UT Fire Marshall Garland Waldrop. The new building will also feature a larger lobby, restaurants, a rooftop lounge, a donor lounge, additional rest rooms and exhibition spaces, Wadsworth said. The PAC will publicly unveil the design at a press conference today.
Bass Concert Hall was built in 1981 and has never been renovated.
The concert hall renovation was postponed to accommodate delays in the construction of the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts, Lea said. The Long Center will become the new permanent home for the Austin Symphony, Austin Lyric Opera and Ballet Austin, which have been housed at PAC venues since the 1980s, according to the civic organizations' marketing directors.
"The cultural landscape of Austin is going to change incredibly, because it's going to have these two amazing performing arts centers," Wadsworth said.
Riverbend Centre will temporarily house the symphony and the opera during construction, and the ballet will perform at Paramount Theatre, said Molly Browning, Austin Lyric Opera spokeswoman.
"We've have had a good relationship with the PAC," Browning said. "But we have outgrown the PAC, because they very much have their own programs."
When renovations are complete, the PAC hopes to become more student-oriented and increase focus on the University's arts programs, Wadsworth said.
"I generally like their programs," said Rachel Weinheimer, a classics junior who regularly attends a variety of PAC events. "I don't think students are aware of these programs. I'm always surprised at the lack of student attendance."
The Performing Arts Center is working with a panel made up of representatives from Student Government and the Student Events Center to set up the first student committee by spring 2007, Lea said.
"Our whole goal is to get students involved in the PAC," said Gina Dudics, a marketing junior on the advisory panel. "I think a lot of students don't realize the great shows and opportunities available to them."
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