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Classrooms, rehearsal spaces, and production shops are the learning laboratories for your training and the practice of your art. 

The venues where we share our art are found primarily in a sort of "arts triangle" between the Squires Student Center, Theatre 101/Henderson, and the Moss Arts Center. They range from intimate and flexible black box rooms to mid-sized 250-seat spaces to a state-of-the-art 1200-seat auditorium.

The Recital Salon, Studio Theatre, and Theatre 101 spaces are all managed by the School of Performing Arts | Music | Theatre | Cinema at Virginia Tech.  All three of these venues are academic spaces and intended for teaching and learning purposes within SOPA.  These spaces are not available for use by groups outside of SOPA.

Space Use Policies

Classrooms and Labs

In Squires and Henderson Hall:

Marching Virginians Complex (band practice facility)

In Henderson Hall:

  • Two design lab classrooms - one for costume design, one for scenic design
  • Dedicated Lighting Design classroom
  • Model building and crafts studio
  • Sound design lab and recording studio
  • Computer lab with CAD and graphic programs
  • Standard classroom fully equiped with computer and projectors
  • Multi-use ensemble rehearsal room
  • Theatre 101 rooms for performance classes and rehearsals

Construction and Support Facilities:
Scene Shop - a 3500 square foot space with 20’ clear height, located immediately adjacent to The Studio Theatre. Access to the loading dock is via a 24’ X 8’ lift. The scene shop is equipped with industrial grade woodworking, machining, and metalworking tools, both electric and pneumatic. The space is certified for “hot work” and is equipped with gas, plasma, MIG and TIG metal working equipment, and frequently produces extensive steel and aluminum construction.

Beyond traditional construction techniques, the shop regularly designs and fabricates motion control systems using fluid, pneumatic and electrical power components. A paint area provides support for scenic art needs. Tool cabinets, hardware bins, and many pieces of power equipment are equipped with casters for portability as the shop space is sometimes included in performance. In addition, the sub-stage at the Haymarket Theatre provides additional storage for hand props, soft goods, and equipment including a 4x8 ShopBot CNC router table.

Costume Shop - a 1200 square foot space in Henderson Hall featuring excellent ambient lighting from many windows. It is well equipped with cutting tables, ironing tables, a fitting room, and Bernina electronic sewing machines.

The shop also utilizes sergers for edge finishing and electronic embroidery capability. There is an adjacent craft area with spray booth, washers and dryers, and a large capacity commercial dye vat. Extensive shelving provides for fabric and notion storage in the shop.

Management Office - located in Henderson Hall, the Management Office provides marketing and publicity support for all major music, theatre, and cinema productions, as well as front-of-house and customer service coordination.

Storage Warehouse - an off-campus 17,000 square foot climate controlled leased space that houses some 25,000 plus costume pieces and a large collection of antique, modern, and handcrafted furniture pieces. Additionally, a large array of platform, steel structural elements, and specialty items are maintained in this facility. The program has a 16-foot diesel box truck and a cargo van for logistic support as the storage facility is located some two miles off campus.

In McBryde Hall:

  • Classroom/screening room with 5.1 sound, Blu-Ray/DVD players, HDMI inputs, and reconfigurable seating.

In Henderson Hall:

  • Eight 27" iMac + 1 Mac Pro editing stations with Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Creative Suite.

In the Newman Library Cinema Space:

  • Classroom, screening/performance space, and equipment checkout room with dual cinema-specific projectors and screens.

In the Moss Arts Center:

  • Four Cinema editing suites with three 27" iMacs (one 4K) and eight Mac Minis, each with Final Cut Pro X.

Equipment and Facilities

Cinema production classes are taught in McBryde Hall, and the Newman Library Cinema Space. McBryde Hall and Newman Library Cinema Space feature high definition, cinema-specific video projectors. McBryde Hall features digital surround sound, Blu-Ray/DVD players and comfortable reconfigurable seating to accommodate diverse teaching styles--from watching films to hands-on activities. Cinema classes are occasionally taught 'on location' across campus and at the Lyric Theatre downtown.

Cinema production equipment is available for check-out from the Newman Library Cinema Space. Editing facilities for introductory classes are in Henderson Hall and the Newman Cinema Space. Advanced production students can use one of the two new SOPA-Cinema editing suites in the Moss Arts Center.

Cinema production equipment is available for students enrolled in Cinema production courses for their use on class projects; or for independent study projects once the student has completed beginning and intermediate course work. 

In the Spring of 2019 the Doris Duke project grant provided funding to purchase some new cinema equipment to support cinema production classes.  

The current inventory includes:

Cameras:

  • 7 x 60D Cameras
  • 2 x 6D Cameras
  • 6 x 80D Cameras
  • 3 x Canon XA30
  • 3 x Canon XA11
  • 5 x Canon C100 Mark II
  • 5 x Blackmagic Design Cinema Cameras 
  • 5 x Atomos Ninja Flame 7" ext. recording monitor
  • 16 x Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 
  • Various Rokinon prime lenses (8mm, 14mm, 24mm, 35mm, 85mm - multiple counts of each)​

Computers:

  • 11 27" iMacs with Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Creative Suite

Audio:

  • 20 x Rode Ntg4+
  • 26 x Zoom H6n recorders
  • 20 x Boom Pole
  • 9 x Sennheiser EW-100 wireless lav kits (advanced level)
  • 12 Sony ECM - 44B lavaliere microphones
  • 2 x Shure SM-58 dynamic microphones

Tripods:

  • 22 x Manfrotto Lightweight tripods system 

Lighting:

  •      4 Arri light kits, each with 4 lights: 150W, 300W, 600W, 1000W (all levels)
  •      8 Lite Panel LED light kits (all levels)
  •      5 Fillex LED light kits (all levels)
  •      2 Bescor LED light kits (all levels)
  •      57 Savage LED light kits (intro level)
  •      3 Lowell kits, omni and tota (all levels)

Additionally, all Virginia Tech students have access to the editing facilities (including 9 Final Cut Pro stations, 2 sound recording booths, and Adobe applications) and equipment (cameras, lights, microphones, etc.) available through InnovationSpace, Virginia Tech's New Media Center.