Issuu

ARTS CAMPUS

SELF-GUIDED TOUR

Welcome to Cleveland State University (CSU). Established in 1964 as a small state university, CSU has grown into a vibrant urban campus in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. With over 175 academic programs — including 12+ arts programs — small classes for personalized learning, internships and student organizations to stay connected, students easily engage on campus and in the field. CSU’s Arts Campus is a dazzling hub of creativity and innovation located amidst Playhouse Square, the second largest performing arts district in the nation. With state-of-the-art facilities, access to professional stages and connections to industry professionals, students find unparalleled opportunities to immerse themselves in the dynamic world of theatre, dance, music and the visual arts. And did we mention faculty from the top arts institutions in town, including the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Museum of Art?

Cleveland State Arts Campus Stops Playhouse Square

• Allen Theatre • Outcalt Theatre • The Helen Theatre

Theatre and Arts Building (TA)

E AV

E 18

• Scene Shop, Room 101 • Fifth Floor: Theatre, Dance, Foundational Studio Art • Black Box Theater (the “Cyc”) • Costume Shop • Second Floor: Studio Art, Graphic Design, Theatre • Printmaking Studio • Photography Dark Room

E UP

E 24

Department of Art and Design Department of Theatre and Dance

ST TH

PROSPE PROS

PROSPE

CT AVE

E PECT AV

CT AVE

E 18

CA RN EG

E1 TH

School of Music

E AV

E 24

AVE

R HU

Music and Communications Building (MU) • Waetjen Auditorium • Drinko Recital Hall • Audio Recording Control Room • Instrument Repair Shop

EUCLID

School of Film & Media Arts

• S ixth Floor: School of Film & Media Arts • Smith Foundation Film Studio • Vocal Booth • Screening Room

E 22

ST E 21 ST

E 13

Idea Center

EUCLID

IE AV E

Playhouse Square • Premier touring partner to Broadway, featuring 1,000 events each year! • Comprised of 11 performance spaces including the original five: Allen Theatre Complex, Hanna Theatre, Mimi Ohio Theatre, KeyBank State Theatre and Connor Palace. CSU students work, produce and perform in the Allen Theatre Complex in partnership with Cleveland Play House, the oldest regional theatre in the nation • View the largest outdoor chandelier in North America at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East 14th Street • A dazzling renovation of the theater marquees debuted in June 2023, rounding out the “Dazzle the District” renovations started in 2014 with the dazzling chandelier, gateway arches and retro digital signage

FUN FACT CSU and Playhouse Square regularly partner to offer discount show tickets. Cleveland Play House designates certain performances to benefit the CSU Theatre and Dance Scholarship Fund.

Allen Theatre

• Offers CSU students the opportunity to perform on a traditional Broadway-style proscenium theatre • Seats 500 guests

Outcalt Theatre

• Seats 150–250 guests • A flexible space with seating and a stage that can be uniquely configured for each show • Where CSU students explore storytelling in an intimate, cutting-edge and contemporary space

The Helen

• An intimate theater with less than 100 seats • A flexible space with seating and a stage that can be uniquely configured for each show • Where students experience a fastpaced laboratory environment to maximize performance and audience engagement

Theatre and Arts building (TA) • Home to the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Department of Art and Design • Formerly the Middough Building, CSU purchased the TA building in 2023 after being a tenant for 13 years • Built in 1912 as the Wigmore Coliseum Building, an exhibition hall, and the Euclid Square Garage, a luxury parking garage with lounges and a service station • The first floor remains a parking garage and lobby, while remaining floors are occupied by CSU, Cleveland Play House and Middough, Inc., an engineering firm

Scene Shop

• 3,000+ square feet of construction workshop and set storage space with loading dock on the first floor of the TA building, tucked inside a corner of the parking garage • Students learn to create and build set pieces and props using an assortment of materials from wood to welding which are used in CSU’s productions • Scenic Studio Practicum (THE 101) is an introductory course open to students within all majors and offers a chance to explore set design and creation.

FUN FACT Alumna, Olivia Mallendick, created the barber chair used in CSU’s production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, where unsuspecting customers meet their fate. The chair has since been rented out for use in productions across Northeast Ohio.

TA Fifth Floor:

Theatre and Dance, Studio Art • A beehive of activity filled with studio art classrooms and workspaces, including drawing, painting, life drawing, screen printing and foundations studios, along with acting and movement spaces, multiple dance studios, costume shop, costume storage and the Black Box Theatre — perfect for student collaboration • Cleveland Play House class spaces are interspersed among CSU classrooms • Three rehearsal spaces mimic the dimensions of the Allen Theatre, Outcalt Theatre and The Helen — so performers can block and move as they would on stage • Peppered throughout the hallways are original student artworks, curated frequently by members of SOFA, CSU’s Student Organization of Fine Arts

Black Box Theater (the “Cyc”)

• Learn about light and sound design, directing and tapdancing in this mini theater space which seats 50 • The back wall features a cyclorama (“the Cyc”), or giant white wall, that allows for experimentation with lighting and advanced projections technology

Costume Shop • Part of CSU’s “costume wing” which also includes a large costume closet and separate makeup studio • Includes 10+ sewing stations, two large cutting stations, file cabinets full of accessories from hats to jewelry, bolts of fabric, thread and more • CSU’s costume shop is larger than most of its kind. Cleveland Play House, founded in 1915, has their professional costume shop in our building and often partners with CSU to share costumes and space!

FUN FACT Smartly dressed puppets line the interior window into the costume shop. These remnants from past assignments allowed students to create costumes to puppet-scale and evaluate how well their garments moved — a smart way to save time and money while experimenting with costume design!

TA Second Floor:

Studio Art and Graphic Design, Theatre and Dance overflow • Offers two student lounge areas: an enclosed lounge with microwave and tables perfect for a snack and catching up with friends and an open lounge great for hanging out between classes • The theatre library, tucked away near the administrative offices, features a wealth of inspiration and a quiet place to study

• Design students can access the design workroom which offers a cutting station, design books and magazines for inspiration and two color printers • Computer labs filled with iMacs and a color printer for student use between classes when not in use for art and design courses • Classroom spaces filled with natural light!

FUN FACT Design faculty hold current and past leadership positions for the Cleveland chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), providing our student chapter of AIGA access to regional and national artists and employers for internships, mentoring and employment opportunities.

Printmaking Studio

• Large space with expansive workspaces and several different large and small printmaking presses • Classes are taught by multiaward-winning studio artists and emphasize concepts in etching, aquatint, linocut and lithography

53 Annual rD

Student Art Show and Haddad Merit Scholar Exhibitions

FUN FACT

April 15–May 16, 2025

Students receive art career mentoring with practicing artists, are connected to 100+ art studios, design firms and art institutions across Greater Cleveland and beyond, and our Art Merit Scholars receive a substantial scholarship and rigorous involvement in community arts.

Photography Suite

• Fully equipped facilities including black-andwhite darkroom, lighting studio, classroom and critique spaces • Currently hosting Cleveland Print Room, a nonprofit photography collective, expanding student access to a vibrant community of practicing photographers • Students develop skills across digital and traditional processes with a focus on lighting, composition, concept and personal style

The

Idea Center • A bustling center of media arts, radio and film • Home to Ideastream Public Media, which produces five of Cleveland’s public television stations (WVIZ, WVIZ OHIO, WVIZ WORLD, WVIZ CREATE and WVIZ KIDS); WCPN, Northeast Ohio’s NPR news and public affairs radio station; and WCLV, Northeast Ohio’s classical music radio station. • Playhouse Square box office occupies the second and third floors, where students often get internship and part-time employment experience • CSU’s School of Film & Media Arts occupies the sixth floor

School of Film & Media Arts • First stand-alone film school in Ohio, established in 2018

• Its equipment cage holds $2+ million worth of film production equipment, with updated equipment added every semester • Features a television control room and three-camera studio styled like a remote truck and motion capture space • FMA offers 120+ partnerships with production companies, businesses and organizations including the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, the Cleveland International Film Festival, Transition Studios and more

FUN FACT In partnership with the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, CSU students and alumni often work on major feature films produced in Cleveland, such as Superman (2025)

Smith Foundation Film Studio • Two specialized sound-proofed, air-locked studio spaces: Studio A, a 2200-square-foot space used for directing and advanced production courses, and Studio B, used for acting, cinematography and intermediate production courses. • Includes connected multi-camera editing suite • The creative heart of the school — where students learn the latest production techniques, collaborate on dozens of short films each year, and engage with industry professionals through hands-on demonstrations and workshops.

Audio Suite

Screening Room

• 300-square-foot audio suite houses a Premium Series 8 x 10-foot VocalBooth branded isolation booth

• Offers 67 tiered seats and functions as a professional movie theater with surround sound and high-definition projection

• Includes top of the line equipment such as a ProTools workstation, AJA I/O Interface, Sony and Tascam mixers, ADAM AUDIO monitor, and various microphones from Shure, ElectroVoice, Audio Technica and Lewitt

• Workshop and event space for guest lecturers, screenings with professional filmmakers, CSU Student Filmmaker’s Club, and our annual student film festival each spring • Classroom for block courses such as Film History and Analysis of Film Language

Music and Communications Building (MU) • Home to the School of Music, where students learn from professional musicians • Music occupies 80% of the building and includes three rehearsal halls, two chamber music rehearsal rooms, three electronic music labs, dozens of practice rooms and a professional recording studio • School of Communications occupies the second floor and portions of the first floor and lower level • The College of Health’s Music Therapy program occupies most of the classroom space on the first floor

Walter B. Waetjen Auditorium • Music’s concert hall, used for main ensembles and large-scale events • Seats an audience of 800 with seating on the main floor, balcony and box seats • Boasts a Holtkamp pipe organ gifted to CSU in 1993. Holtkamp Organ Company is one of America’s oldest and most respected pipe organ builders and is located right here in Cleveland, Ohio

LOWER LEVEL AND FIRST FLOOR • Primary hub for rehearsal space, practice rooms and performances • A dedicated choir room offers rehearsal space with choral chairs, specifically designed for singers to support upright posture and proper breathing • The percussion studio houses all types of percussion instruments from drums to glockenspiels and xylophones

Drinko Recital Hall • Music’s recital hall, used for smaller ensemble and individual performances and events • Seats an audience of 252 including 40 box seats

FUN FACT Students have the option of having their recitals recorded or they can book time in the recording studio, so they have a market-competitive recording of their work available.

THIRD FLOOR • Home to administrative and full-time faculty offices • Music Composition Resource Center, a grant-supported room, houses all composition classes and workshops • Piano Lab offers a network of state-of-the-art Yamaha pianos, with the professor’s piano connected to a camera for easy viewing of hand movement instruction. You can also utilize headphones to listen to your own piano as you play.

Audio Recording Control Room • While not a teaching space, students can apply to become student employees via work-study to get hands-on learning on the recording side of performance • This professionally run recording studio ensures all performances sound their best. Waetjen Auditorium and Drinko Recital Hall are wired to this room to record all performances

FUN FACT In 2007, CSU’s Dr. Angelin Chang, with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) for her piano performance of “Oiseaux exotiques (Exotic Birds)” by Olivier Messiaen. It was recorded by our studio in 2003.

FOURTH FLOOR

• Private practice rooms for performance majors and ensembles • Student lounge for breaks between class and catching up with friends

Instrument repair shop • Our certified keyboard technician and instrument curator tunes and repairs over 400 instruments a year including all keyboards and pianos throughout the building • Students can have their instruments serviced by appointment to ensure peak performance

A VIBRANT

arts scene

CSU is just miles away from the arts in all its forms. We challenge you to find all the hidden gems tucked into our city. Here’s a few to get you started:

› 78th Street Studios

(Blank Canvas Theatre and 60+ art studios)

7.5 miles 1.1 miles 0.3 miles 4.4 miles

(Cleveland Public Theatre, Near West Theatre, Capitol Theatre)

4.8 miles 0.8 miles 1.0 miles 4.4 miles 4.4 miles 1.3 miles 8.5 miles 4.6 miles 2.2 miles 2.3 miles

(Beachland Ballroom, Waterloo Arts Gallery and Waterloo 7 Studio)

8.6 miles 0.8 miles

› The Agora › Bonfoey Gallery › Cleveland Museum of Art › Gordon Square Arts District

› House of Blues › Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory › Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA) › Reinberger Gallery, Cleveland Institute of Art › Rock & Roll Hall of Fame › Screw Factory › Severence Music Center › SPACES › Transformer Station › Waterloo Arts District › Zygote Press

Visit CSU! Schedule your an in-person campus tour and information session today! csuohio.edu/visit