Geva Theatre Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Naval Armory-Convention Hall
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Rear-angle view of the theatre building
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 Location in New York
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| Location | Rochester, NY |
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| Built | 1868 |
| Architect | Warner, Andrew J.; Gorsline & Aldridge |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival, Late Victorian |
| MPS | Inner Loop MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 85002852 |
| Added to NRHP | October 4, 1985 |
The Geva Theatre Center is a special theater company in Rochester, New York. It's a professional group that puts on plays and shows. The theater is located in a very old building from 1868. This building is so important that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Geva Theatre Center offers a full season of plays, plus talks about the shows and ways to connect with the community.
Contents
About Geva Theatre Center
How Geva Started
In 1972, a couple named William Markham Selden and Cynthia Mason Selden started the Genesee Valley Arts Foundation. They called their theater company "GeVa," which was short for "Genesee Valley Arts." Their first shows were short plays performed during lunchtime in 1973 at the Rochester Business Institute.
Over time, Geva grew and started putting on full-length plays. It became a well-known regional theater company, just like others in cities such as Buffalo and Syracuse. In 1997, the company changed its name to Geva Theatre Center. In 2011, Geva hosted a big festival for community theaters. By 2017, it was known as the most-attended theater in New York State, outside of New York City.
Famous Faces at Geva
Many talented actors have performed at Geva Theatre Center. Some of these include Samuel L. Jackson, Scott Bakula, and Georgia Engel. Other well-known actors who have been on the Geva stage are Kathy Bates, Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr., Bill Pullman, Anna Deavere Smith, Robert Vaughn, and Anthony Zerbe.
Many people who have worked with Geva have won or been nominated for major awards. These include Academy Awards, Tony Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and Emmy Awards. Some have even been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Philip Seymour Hoffman, a famous actor from Rochester, often talked about Geva Theatre. He said that his mother took him to plays there, and it made him want to become an actor.
By 2018, Geva Theatre Center had put on more than 400 stage productions and many other events.
New Plays Premiered at Geva
Geva Theatre Center has been the first place to show many new plays to the world. Here are some of them:
- Five Course Love by Gregg Coffin (2004)
- Splitting Infinity by Jamie Pachino (2006)
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, adapted by Mark Cuddy and Marge Betley (2008)
- The House in Hydesville by Dan O'Brien (2009)
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by Mark Cuddy, with music by Gregg Coffin (2010)
- Voices of the Spirits in My Soul by Nora Cole (2012)
- The Book Club Play by Karen Zacarias (2013)
- All Your Questions Answered by Greg Kotis (2013)
- Tinker to Evers to Chance by Mat Smart (2014)
- Informed Consent by Deborah Zoe Laufer (2014)
- Katherine's Colored Lieutenant by Nora Cole (2014)
- The Road to Where by Cass Morgan (2015)
- Women in Jeopardy by Wendy MacLeod (2015)
- Other Than Honorable by Jamie Pachino (2017)
- The Agitators by Mat Smart (2017)
- Heartland by Gabriel Jason Dean (2018)
- Hard Cell by Brent Askari (2019)
Leadership at Geva
The person in charge of the artistic side of Geva is called the Artistic Director. Currently, Elizabeth Williamson holds this role. She started in June 2022. Before her, Mark Cuddy was the Artistic Director for 27 years before he retired.
The Historic Geva Building
From Armory to Theater
Geva Theatre first started in a different building. But by 1982, the company had grown so much that it needed a bigger and better place. So, Geva bought an old building that used to be an armory and a convention hall. This building is located at 75 Woodbury Boulevard.
The building was designed in 1868 by an architect named Andrew J. Warner. It was first used by a group called the 54th Regiment of the New York State Militia. In 1907, the building was updated and became known as the Convention Hall. Many important people visited the Convention Hall, including presidents like William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Famous artists like Anna Pavlova and Enrico Caruso also performed there. The building hosted many different events, from wrestling matches to flower shows. It even served as a hospital during the 1918 flu outbreak and a clinic in 1930. Later, it became a Naval Reserve Center and then housed city offices.
Renovations and New Stages
After Geva bought the building in 1982, they spent three years fixing it up. The building officially reopened as a theater on March 29, 1985. The very first play performed there was Planet Fires. On November 26, 1985, the new theater was named the Richard Pine Theatre. This was to honor a local developer who helped Geva get the money to buy and renovate the building.
In 1997, Geva started a big project to add a second stage. The new stage, which seats 180 people, opened in 2000. It's now called the Ron & Donna Fielding Stage. This smaller stage is used for more personal plays, shows for young audiences, and developing new plays. The original, larger theater space is called the Elaine P. Wilson Stage. It has 522 seats and is used for many different types of performances, including classic plays, new plays, and musicals.
In 2016, Geva finished a seven-year project to improve the building even more. They fixed the outside of the building and updated many inside areas. This included rehearsal rooms, offices, dressing rooms, the lobby, and the café. They also added new seats and carpet to the Wilson Stage and new flooring to the Fielding Stage.
The Geva Theatre Center building was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 4, 1985. It was listed under the name "Naval Armory-Convention Hall."
