We are talking about the "Theater for New Audiences", a troupe founded in 1979, but still did not have its own building. The current project is part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music Cultural Quarter plan, which has been under development for over 10 years. Once implemented, this ensemble should be as key cultural center for Brooklyn as Lincoln Center is for Manhattan. In addition to the Theater for New Audiences, it will include the Morris Dance Center and Opera House, as well as more than 40 cultural institutions already in existence in the nearby Fort Green area.
The first version of the Theater for New Audiences building was presented to the public in 2005 by Hugh Hardy and Frank Gehry. However, in 2008 Gehry left the project, but the concept of a compact rectangular volume with a glass façade remained in the final version of the project, created by Hardy alone.
According to the architect, despite its small size (2,500 m2), the building immediately informs the townspeople of the "presence of a theater", not least thanks to the lobby facing the street, clearly visible through the glazed façade.
The auditorium is modeled after the Cotleslow Theater, one of the halls of the Royal National Theater in London. The number of seats can be varied from 180 to 299, and the stage can be deepened or, on the contrary, space for rehearsals can be allocated behind.
Completion of construction is scheduled for 2013.
N. F.
