foundations for our future:
Restore the
REC
campaign to create a vibrant state-ofthe-art performing arts space & community venue
The Rec: A True Original When thinking of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy’s
generations of alumni, resonating with the memories of
historic buildings, the first thing that comes to mind
theatrical heartbreaks, triumphs, and the ghostly echos of
is the Wissahickon Inn, current home to SCH’s Upper
applause.
School and central administration. But there’s another 19th century building on campus that has had even more incarnations than the inn, serving first as a stable, then a recreational facility, and finally a theater. This building is the “Rec.” For nearly 50 years, the Rec’s spacious, flexible interior has been host to a wide range of productions put on by the school’s Upper School theater troupe, the Players. It has been a home away from home for hundreds of students rehearsing late into the night, its main room at various times serving as hang-out spot, homework cubicle, fast-food restaurant, painting studio, and preproduction construction site. Within Players, the Rec is known as the place where the “magic happens.” It holds a special place among
One of the Rec’s prior incarnations was as an athletic facility for CHA students.
But after nearly half a century, this beloved space is showing its age, unable to accommodate the latest in theater technology and offering only the most minimal accommodations for the actors and theater goers. The Restore the Rec campaign will transform this treasured facility into a multipurpose, state-of-the-art performance venue appropriate for a wide range of musical, theatrical, and community events. This campaign will ensure that our award-winning theater program, which continues to grow in stature and regional recognition, will have a performance space that appropriately showcases the talent, passion, and dedication of our students and the impressive quality of their productions while investing one of our campus’s oldest buildings with renewed life and purpose.
The original stable for the Inn showing the towered groom dormitory wing at the far end.
Project Scope The Rec renovation will substantially enhance both the performer and audience experience with •
expanded audience seating to accommodate the entire Upper School
•
a modular stage system
•
upgraded sound and lighting systems
•
expanded dressing rooms
•
increased storage space
•
additional bathrooms
•
a dramatic glass-walled, wraparound lobby
Giving Categories The following sponsorships will be listed in the SCH Annual Report and will receive donor signage in the renovated Rec. MY FAIR LADY
$500,000
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
$5,000
$50,000 MAMMA MIA!
THE MIKADO
WIND IN THE WILLOWS
$250,000
$25,000
$2,500
OUR TOWN
HARVEY
$100,000
$10,000
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
$1,000
Naming Opportunities For more information regarding a naming opportunity, please contact Jenny McHugh ’84, P’15, P’19, Director of Development, 215.247-7161 / jmchugh@sch.org or Kristin Norton P’20, P’22, Associate Director of Development, 215-261-6881 / knorton@sch.org.
sch.org/ourfuture
“Players and the Rec fundamentally shaped me as a young person.” ~
Meghan curry Rogers ’03, Director, The Players