Irvin L. Young Auditorium Big City Entertainment in a Small Town
Ever wished you didn’t have to drive an hour or two to experience big city entertainment? You don’t have to with the Irvin L. Young Auditorium right in the heart of our city. Located on the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater campus on the corner of Prince and Main, you can attend anything from a family movie sing-along to a touring Broadway performance without worrying about a long drive or parking fees. Spearheaded by Theatre Professor, Lorraine Gross, this state-of-theart performing arts center opened in 1993 under her direction. Also instrumental in the building of the theater were Fern and Irvin Young who both supported the arts and humanities. This love and support for arts and humanities continues to this day. If you’ve never been to a show at Young Auditorium, you’re missing out on something truly special. While Whitewater is a small town, this venue offers a big city experience featuring shows that touch all generations through a wide variety of educational and culturally diverse performances. Some of Young Auditorium’s major goals when it comes to programming performances are education, outreach, and a family focus. The Horizon Matinee Series brings in teachers and their students for performances and the Arts 4 All program opens up performances to teachers who work with a population of disadvantaged and at-risk students by allowing them to apply for reduced ticket prices. The Never Too Young Series, held in their smaller event space, the Kachel Center, is for families and offers shows by regional performers who interact with the audience with tickets priced at $5 or less. Along with educational, outreach, and family programming, Young Auditorium
provides a handful of catered dinners before performances for those seeking a date night experience, and they particularly enjoy pairing up with local restaurants and vendors to create community collaboration. “Young Auditorium’s vision,” says Director Shannon Dozoryst, “is that we serve as a catalyst for inspiration. We want to be sure that people are leaving our space with more than they came to us with so that they’re being transformed in some very small way.” If you love a good show or performance, book tickets for all you wish to see at the beginning of each school year. Then, arrive early to peruse the large collection of African art, donated by original founders, Fern and Irvin Young, in the lobby. On a day you aren’t seeing a show, call and ask about renting out one of the many spaces (including the main theater!) for your next event/performance or maybe catch a tour of the Young Auditorium and all of its facilities with Michael Morrissey to learn even more history of this influential performing arts center.
Irvin L. Young Auditorium 930 W. Main St., Whitewater, WI 53190 262-472-4444 youngaud@uww.edu Ticket services: 262-472-2222 uwwtickets@uww.edu
WHITEWATER COMMUNITY GUIDE 2020
17
