Press Releases
UNL JOHNNY CARSON SCHOOL OF THEATRE AND FILM DEDICATION WILL BE OCTOBER 12, 2007
Lincoln, Neb. - The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film will be dedicated on Friday, October 12, 2007, during UNL's Homecoming Weekend. The public's first chance to see the renovated Temple Building will be available at the Nebraska Repertory Theatre's "Sneak-a-Peek" event on Friday, June 22, 2007, as well as during the 40th anniversary season of the Nebraska Repertory Theatre (NRT), which begins July 5.
Entertainment and television icon and University of Nebraska alumnus Johnny Carson announced in November 2004 a gift of $5.3 million to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support the renovation and expansion of the Temple Building, home to the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, and to create an endowment to keep performance spaces equipped with the latest advances in lighting and sound technologies.
Following Carson's death in January 2005, the University of Nebraska Foundation received an additional gift of $5 million from the estate of Carson for endowed support of programs in theatre, film and broadcasting. Annual income from the endowment provides support to the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts and the broadcast program in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
In August 2005, the University of Nebraska renamed the Department of Theatre Arts the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film.
"The Dedication gives homage not only to the 100 years of history this building has had and all the creative people who have come through here," said Paul Steger, Director of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. "but it also pays homage to its most prolific son, Johnny Carson. And just like this building was a starting point for him, his generosity will make it possible for another 100 years of people to come through here and be able to have opportunities that they couldn't have anywhere else."
The renovation project, which began in June 2006 and will be completed this month, is the first work done on the building in 25 years. The renovation included a new combination black box theatre and film sound stage for students to use in their productions, a newly remodeled and expanded scene shop and updated lighting facilities, new computer-aided design and theatre class lab space, enhanced storage facilities, and an updated lobby for Howell Theatre.
The new black box theatre has a state-of-the-art lighting grid custom designed by The Shalleck Collaborative in San Francisco and built and installed by StageCraft Industries in Portland, Oregon. The grid features 9 independently motorized studio lighting box trusses with integral lighting circuits and control that will provide professional level lighting capabilities for theatre performances, education, TV and film production, and is the only one of its kind in the Midwest.
The renovation work is scheduled to be completed in stages between the end of May and June 15, with some additional work continuing throughout the summer, such as touch-up painting in other areas of the building and moving in equipment.
The Dedication of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film is scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 12, 2007. The weekend kicks off on Oct. 12 with the formal dedication ceremony (time to be announced), which will take place on the south lawn of the College of Business Administration Building at 12th and R sts. directly across the street from the Temple Building. The UNL Homecoming parade, which celebrates the Homecoming theme "Big Red Studios: A Tribute to Johnny Carson," begins at 6 p.m. The parade route ends at 12th and R sts. Both of these events will be free and open to the public.
On Saturday, a special Chancellor's Pre-Game Celebration for invited guests will take place in the Nebraska Union ahead of the Cornhuskers Homecoming football game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. An open house will also be held at the Temple Building so the public can tour the building during the dedication weekend.
The weekend ends on Sunday, Oct. 14 with special alumni events. A brunch will be held (location to be announced) at 11:30 a.m., followed by a special event at the Temple Building to have selected alumni who are returning for the weekend share their stories about the Temple Building and their careers.
"We have a lot of things to be happy for and a lot of things to celebrate," Steger said.
Steger said the weekend will be a fitting tribute to Carson, who represents the epitome of excellence.
"This is an individual who was a regular five nights a week in everybody's home in the United States for 30 years. That's 4,000 shows, and each one was just as good as the last one. It always had to be fresh, and it always had to be on the mark. He was just tenacious in his pursuit of comedy," Steger said. "Hopefully some of our students will inherit that tenacity and persistence and realize that it's important and vital to being a creative artist."
The Nebraska Repertory Theatre's "Sneak-a-Peek" event on Friday, June 22 includes a champagne buffet and a tour of all of the new spaces. Tickets are $100 per person and proceeds benefit the NRT.
The NRT's season runs July 5 through Aug. 5 and includes "The Last Five Years" by Jason Robert Brown, "Moonlight and Magnolias" by Ron Hutchinson and "Metamorphoses" by Lincoln native Mary Zimmerman.
For more information on the "Sneak-a-Peek" fund-raiser or the Nebraska Repertory Theatre season, call (402) 472-1619.
