The evolution of a cultural centerpiece

Lawrence Olivier once said, "I believe that in a great city, or even in a small city or a village, a great theater is the outward and visible sign of an inward and probable culture."

Spend just a few days on Earlham's campus and you will see a vibrant culture unfolding on a stage — where every week is filled with artistic productions: from choral to spoken word, from musical performances to lectures. For College students, faculty and staff, Goddard Auditorium is a center for the Earlham experience. It is where new students and their parents congregate for presentations during New Student Orientation; where the orchestra rehearses; where alumni gather for an annual awards ceremony; where the campus community comes together for convocation; and where countless presentations and performances are staged every year.

Yet, each production on Goddard's stage poses a challenge for those involved.

"Goddard is a beautiful space," says Xander Cogbill '09. "It's great in regards to the seating and the technical equipment — but the stage itself has been a real limiting factor."

Jess Kane '09 agrees. "I was in orchestra and Gospel Revs in the past, so I performed in that space. It was pretty cramped. We had to move equipment around a lot of times; there's no storage space or extra space to move."

In a matter of weeks, however, that will all change.

Thanks to a $200,000 Private Higher Education Grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, construction is currently underway on a secure, climate-controlled storage area behind the stage in Goddard Auditorium. This will particularly improve the staging problems that have plagued Earlham's instrumental and choral music programs.

"All of our equipment for orchestra — racks of music stands, racks of chairs, five timpani, chimes, harp and various other percussion equipment, as well as the piano — must remain on stage, even while Goddard stage is used by many other groups on campus," explains Forrest Tobey, associate professor of music.

Not only does the orchestral equipment add to the crowding of the space, but other users of the hall must work around these obstacles, and in doing so may endanger the instruments.

"The storage area will take care of all of these needs," Tobey says. "Once constructed, we will be able to simply move our equipment out onto the stage."

Barbara Gregg, director of foundation relations, worked with the Earlham faculty to prepare the application for the project's funding.

"The grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to expand the space on the Goddard Auditorium stage will make a significant difference for performances at Earlham," she said. "The expansion will especially impact our Music Department, and will benefit the entire Earlham community."

Established in 1952, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations awards grants in areas of private higher education, secondary education, graduate theological education, health care and public television.