Greensboro College Receives Property Gift for Outdoor Theatre on the Downtown Greenway
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Greensboro College will name a planned outdoor theatre on the Downtown Greenway for former president Craven Williams and his wife, Judith.
The announcement was made Thursday at a dedication ceremony at 501 Guilford Ave., a block northeast of the main college campus. Ownership of the property was conveyed to the college earlier this month by The Michael W. Haley Foundation, which for the past nine years has owned and leased the property to the college for its theatre scene shop, stage craft classes and warehouse.
Conversion of the old bonded-warehouse property as an outdoor performance venue was conceived more than 10 years ago by then-president Williams and Haley, who together envisioned significant growth for the college’s theatre program.
Those plans were put on hold during the Great Recession of 2008. However, now that the college’s finances have rebounded and the theatre department has grown in numbers of students and productions, Mike and Lynn Haley have recognized the ripe opportunity to resurrect the concept alongside development of the Downtown Greenway, planned for completion by 2020.
“I am pleased with the progress of Greensboro College and impressed with the caliber of theatre productions they offer,” Haley said. “I am also pleased that we have an appropriate way to honor the college’s leadership of Judith and Craven Williams.”
Craven Williams became Greensboro College’s 17th president in 1993 and retired in 2009.
The eastern edge of Greensboro College’s main campus borders the planned Downtown Greenway along the old A&Y railroad bed. The Greenway will cross Market Street, pass under Friendly Avenue, and reconnect with the college’s new property between Friendly and Guilford avenues.
The college has been working closely with the Greenway planners to design a landscape upgrade to the college’s hillside between McGee and Market streets, and especially to create a park area and outdoor performance stage at the Williams Terrace Theatre at Guilford Avenue.
The college’s leaders will seek funds to convert the Williams Terrace Theatre from an old historic warehouse property into an outdoor theatre, which will be the only of its kind on the Downtown Greenway.
Anyone interested in contributing to the project may contact Anne Hurd, vice president and chief advancement officer, at 336-272-7102, ext. 5743, or anne.hurd@greensboro.edu.
Greensboro College’s Department of Theatre seeks to provide a strong foundation in theatre while allowing the student to emphasize in a particular area such as directing, acting, or arts administration.
The coursework is integrated with the production work to provide a better understanding of the many facets of the theatre. Required participation on stage or backstage on all theatre productions allows the techniques and theories that are examined in the classroom and the laboratory to be tested in a performance setting.
For more information on the program, contact David Schram, dean of the School of the Arts and Jefferson Pilot Professor of Theatre, at 336-272-7102, ext. 5243, or email schramd@greensboro.edu.
Greensboro College provides a liberal arts education grounded in the traditions of the United Methodist Church and fosters the intellectual, social, and, spiritual development of all students while supporting their individual needs.
Founded in 1838 and located in downtown Greensboro, the college enrolls about 1,000 students from 29 states and territories, the District of Columbia, and seven foreign countries in its undergraduate liberal-arts program and four master’s degree programs. In addition to rigorous academics and a well-supported Honors program, the school features an 18-sport NCAA Division III athletic program and dozens of service and recreational opportunities.
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