Production Unit

The Performing Arts Production Unit serves the production needs of the Dance, Opera and Theatre departments at the University of Iowa. We produce all of the production elements for two main stage dance productions, two main stage opera productions and eight main stage theatre productions, as well as overseeing several smaller-scale productions for all units. Our state-of-the-art production facilities are located across campus and are among the finest in the nation. Our facilities include:

E. C. Mabie Theatre, UI Theatre Building
E. C. Mabie Theatre is a 457-seat proscenium theatre built in the early 1930s. It is dedicated to Edward Charles Mabie, the founder of the department, who facilitated the building of the theatre during the Great Depression as part of the W.P.A. and the Federal Theatre Project. One of four theatres in the UI Theatre Building, E. C. Mabie theatre is a traditional proscenium venue (40'x20'x54') with a full fly house and 48 line sets. It contains a new computerized lighting system with 384 dimmers/350 fixtures, a permanent/flexible sound system with digital playback (M7CL/SFX), and a fully computerized projection system (Watchout). The entire sound, lighting, and projection system was updated in 2009. The theatre hosts University Theatres Mainstage and Iowa Summer Rep productions as well as School of Music and Department of Dance events.

David Thayer Theatre, UI Theatre Building
Named after David Thayer, Emeritus Professor of Design and former Chair of the Theatre Arts Department, Thayer Theatre is a director's dream. This expansive flexible theatre accommodates all types of contemporary designs, and catwalks on two levels offer directors the chance to use every inch of height in this beautiful theatre. The 60' x 60' Black Box theatre is wrapped catwalks and includes a tension wire grid at 36'. The venue contains, 144-225 seats using flexible seating banks, a new computerized lighting system with 384 dimmers/250 fixtures, and flexible sound system with digital playback (M7CL/SFX). The entire sound and lighting system was updated in 2009. Thayer Theatre hosts University Theatres Mainstage and Iowa Summer Rep productions as well as featured new works during the Iowa New Play Festival.

Theatre B, UI Theatre Building
Nearly every week Theatre B is home to a production, mostly new plays by students in the Iowa Playwrights Workshop as well as works by undergraduates, faculty and guests. The 144-seat end stage theatre (38' x 20' stage area) with catwalks at 19' includes new computerized lighting systems with 192 dimmers/150 fixtures and a flexible sound system with digital and analog playback (SFX). Theatre B hosts University Theatres Gallery, Mainstage and Iowa Summer Rep productions as well as featured new works during the Iowa New Play Festival.

Cosmo Catalano Acting Studio, UI Theatre Building
Used for acting, movement and voice classes, this beautiful space also serves as an intimate theatre for smaller productions with flexible seating for 60. Named for Cosmo Catalano, Emeritus Professor of Acting and Directing and former Chair of the Department, the studio theatre includes a sprung hardwood floor, mirrors and barres, an overhead grid with permanent lighting instruments and an observers' platform. It hosts University Theatres Workshop productions as well as staged readings throughout the year and during the annual Iowa New Play Festival.

Space Place Theater, North Hall
Historic North Hall on the UI Campus was built in 1925 as University High School, an experimental school that served children from Iowa City and surrounding communities. The school was closed in 1972 and its former gymnasium has been transformed into Space Place Theater, an intimate 220-seat proscenium theatre that currently hosts all performances for the Department of Dance as well as occasional theatre and music productions.

Other venues:
Since the flood of 2008 severely damaged Clapp Recital Hall and Hancher Auditorium, the UI School of Music is currently holding performances in several locations.

Englert Theatre
The Englert Theatre is a historic home for the arts in the heart of downtown Iowa City. This 725-seat non-profit venue provides a beautiful performance facility for national touring artists and community performances and has become home to the UI School of Music Opera Theatre. The 30' x 24' proscenium stage has a full, three-story fly loft above and dressing room space underneath. The venue has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been included as an official project of "Save America's Treasures", a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

University Capitol Centre
Many instrumental music studios and faculty offices are now housed in a newly constructed space on the second floor of University Capitol Centre in downtown Iowa City. This space includes practice rooms, chamber rehearsal rooms, and organ practice rooms. A new student recital hall and classroom also have been constructed on the first floor of the mall.

Additional music events are being held in Riverside Recital Hall (the former St. Thomas More Catholic Church), Old Capitol Senate Chamber, and the Iowa Memorial Union Ballroom.