Krannert Center for the Performing Arts facts for kids
The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is a super cool place where you can see all sorts of shows! It's located in Urbana, Illinois, right on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A generous man named Herman C. Krannert and his wife, Ellnora Krannert, gave $16 million to build it. The architect, Max Abramovitz, also went to the University of Illinois.
This amazing center, often called "KCPA," has four main stages where performances happen. Together, they can hold about 4,000 people! The main lobby is really special, with a floor made of expensive teak wood from Thailand and walls covered in beautiful marble from Italy. The Krannert Center first opened its doors in 1969.
Contents
Awesome Performance Stages
The Krannert Center has several unique spaces designed for different kinds of shows. Each one offers a special experience for both performers and the audience.
Foellinger Great Hall: Big Shows, Amazing Sound
The Foellinger Great Hall is the biggest stage at the Krannert Center, with seats for 2,078 people. It's famous for its incredible sound quality, which means music and voices sound perfect without needing extra speakers. Many world-famous artists and groups perform here every year. Even famous orchestras like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra have recorded their music in this hall!
Students and teachers from the University of Illinois School of Music also perform here often. A special sound expert named Cyril M. Harris designed the inside of the Great Hall. He made sure there are no flat, parallel walls, so sound bounces around perfectly to every seat. This is why no extra sound system is needed for instrumental music!
Tryon Festival Theatre: Perfect for Opera and Dance
The Tryon Festival Theatre has 974 seats on two levels. It was specially designed for operas, so voices sound fantastic here. It's also a great spot for ballet, dance shows, musicals, and plays. This theater has modern lighting and sound systems. Every December, it's a tradition for the local ballet company to perform The Nutcracker here. A cool feature of this stage is that parts of the floor can be removed to create trap doors, which is fun for plays and musicals!
Colwell Playhouse: Ideal for Plays and Dance
The Colwell Playhouse has 674 seats and is mostly used for plays and dance performances. The University's Theatre and Dance departments use it a lot, and touring shows also come here. Like the Festival Theatre, it has advanced lighting and sound. The walls are shaped to send voices from the stage right to the audience, and the back walls are designed so there are no echoes.
Studio Theatre: Try Something New!
The Studio Theatre is a smaller, more experimental space with 200 seats. It's a "black box theatre," which means it's a simple, flexible room that can be set up in many different ways. It's a great place for students and performers to try out new and exciting ideas. It also has modern lighting and sound equipment.
Outdoor Amphitheatre: Fun in the Sun
The Amphitheatre is an outdoor stage right outside the Krannert Center. It's a popular spot for students to hang out, study, and relax when the weather is nice. It's also where students put on their own short plays called On The Rocks in the spring.
Other Cool Places to Visit
Besides the performance halls, the Krannert Center has other public areas for visitors to enjoy.
Stage 5 Bar: Music and Snacks
The Stage 5 Bar is in the main lobby of the Krannert Center. It's a place where people can relax, meet friends, and even catch small performances. They have "Afterglow" concerts and "Traffic Jam" events here. It's also home to "Krannert Uncorked," a special event for adults. You can grab drinks and snacks here before most shows.
Intermezzo Cafe: Food and Refreshments
The Intermezzo Cafe is located at the north end of the lobby. It serves full meals, snacks, and drinks throughout the day and before/after performances. This cafe is special because it's certified by the Illinois Green Business Association, meaning it's eco-friendly! They use many local products and offer organic and vegetarian options. All the money earned at the cafe goes back to support Krannert Center events.
Behind the Scenes: How it Works
The Krannert Center is designed to be super efficient behind the scenes too! It has special shops for building scenery and making costumes. There are also dedicated rooms for practicing music, dance, and drama. They have over 40,000 costume pieces and thousands of props! Each large stage has its own dressing rooms for performers right next to the stage.
Smart Design for Sound
The main performance halls (Festival, Playhouse, and Great Hall) are actually separate buildings inside the larger center. They have special rubber "gaskets" between them to stop sound from traveling through the floors and walls. This means a loud rock concert in one hall won't disturb a quiet classical performance next door!
Moving Scenery Easily
The main hallway on the production level is extra wide and tall. This allows large pieces of scenery to be moved directly from the building shop to the stages without having to take them apart and put them back together.
Flexible Stages
All three large stages have special lifts that can change the stage's height. They can create a pit for an orchestra, add more seats, or make the stage bigger depending on what the performance needs. The Great Hall even has walls in the balcony that can move to add more seating!
Awesome Artists and Groups Who Have Performed Here
Many famous performers and groups have graced the stages of the Krannert Center.
Solo Artists
- Joshua Bell, a Grammy-winning violinist
- Lang Lang, a famous pianist
- Joshua Redman, a jazz saxophonist
- Zakir Hussain, an amazing tabla player
- Savion Glover, a noted tap dancer
- Chick Corea, a jazz pianist who won many Grammys
- Sonny Rollins, a jazz saxophone legend
- Yo-Yo Ma, a world-renowned cellist
- Luciano Pavarotti, a legendary tenor
- Kiri Te Kanawa, a celebrated soprano
Music Groups
- St. Olaf Choir
- China National Symphony Orchestra
- National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba
- Russian National Ballet Theatre
- Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra
- London Symphony Orchestra
Exciting Festivals
The Krannert Center also hosts cool festivals:
- The Ellnora Guitar Festival happens every two years in September. It features amazing guitar players from all over the world, like Pat Metheny and Buddy Guy.
- The Pygmalion Music Festival has been held every September since 2006. It brings popular indie rock artists to the center, which is usually known for jazz and classical music.
See also
- List of concert halls
