Walls
Sound foundations
Help us complete the Workroom walls to ensure our performance spaces are acoustically separated
A donor group recently approached the Arts Trust with a simple offer: They will match donations up to a total of $50,000 over the course of the next 50 days so that we can create an acoustical barrier between our two primary performance spaces — the Workroom, our recently opened 3,800 square foot black box theater, and the Flex space. As a kicker, if we raise the full $50,000 within that 50-day period, another match of up to $25,000 over an additional 25 days will be triggered. All told, the Arts Trust could raise $150,000 for this critical piece of 33 Hawley Street's infrastructure.
This August witnessed a milestone in the development of 33 Hawley Street when we received a Certificate of Occupancy for the Workroom, the largest — and last to be developed — performance space in the building. Although still decidedly raw, the space can host events that make use of its enormous floor space and soaring height. Now, in addition to the Flex, 33 Hawley has another space to present innovative performances at affordable rates.
We always envisioned multiple, simultaneous events occurring at 33 Hawley. To bring that vision to reality, though, we need to ensure that performance spaces are acoustically separate from one another, such that sound from one space does not ‘bleed’ into another. We need to complete walls in the Workroom that will allow performances and events to occur at the same time in the Workroom and the Flex. We have learned that while we can live with some level of unfinished space (our lobby sub-floor, our plywood box office), we simply cannot adequately serve the arts needs of the community without soundproofing walls.
We continue to actively pursue grants, government funding and individual donations, and we are hopeful that some or perhaps all these pursuits will come to fruition so that we can complete renovations to 33 Hawley in the near future. But those prospects involve a long timeline, and the need for the walls is pressing and immediate. We are thrilled that these donors have stepped up to address this need in such a creative way. Please help us meet this challenge, secure the funds, and build the walls — the clock starts NOW!