After 25 years, Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College is revitalized.
Both front-of-house and back-of-house spaces in Johnson County Community College’s Carlsen Center received a facelift in 2016. The $1.9 million project was approved by the JCCC Board of Trustees to bring the performance sites into the new millennium.
“People walk into Yardley Hall, and you can see it in their faces,” explained Emily Behrmann, general manager of the Performing Arts Series that utilizes the Carlsen Center for its shows. “They know something’s different, and they’re just loving it.”
Before and After, Subtle but Sleek: Yardley Hall, the 1,399-seat theatre in the Carlsen Center of Johnson County Community College, received needed updates, including new paint, new carpet and more sustainable lighting. Shades of plum highlight the box seating, and the upper tier was outfitted with railings.
Updating Yardley Hall
Though subtle, the changes truly are floor to ceiling. The new carpet has a bolder, wavelike design to replace the darker, dated carpet. The newly covered seats are still red, a classic theatre red, but they cast a slightly purple tint. Or maybe that’s just the reflection from the freshly painted walls, which went from institutional white to taupe, and the three levels of box seating, which are painted in darkening shades from violet to deep port.
Powder-coated black handrails were installed in the theatre’s upper section. The $20,000 cost was subsidized by an anonymous donor.
“Our Vol-Stars (volunteers for the Performing Arts Series) are thrilled. Having those railings there makes the climb so much easier for everyone,” Behrmann said.
Railings weren’t required by law when Yardley Hall opened to the public in 1990. The initial remodeling plan did not include them, but it took an astute observer to notice the need and offer the funding. “We’ll forever be thankful for that,” she said.
The project also received $75,000 from the JCCC Student Sustainability Committee for help in recovering the 1,399 existing theatre seats. Instead of throwing away seats that were still in relatively good structural shape, the JCCC Center for Sustainability helped coordinate the recovering. New seats would have cost around $465,000, Behrmann estimated. Recovering cost $250,000, and the old upholstery was upcycled.
Before and After, Modern yet Intimate: Changing the carpet color and repainting the walls gives Polsky Theatre a more modern, industrial feel while retaining its cozy rapport between audience and performer. Polsky Theatre is located in the Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College.
Sights and Sounds of Polsky Theatre
In the next-door Polsky Theatre, which holds 400, seats were untouched, but you wouldn’t know that to see them.
“Everyone that comes in Polsky Theatre says, ‘Oh, you recovered the seats in gray.’ But the seats were always gray,” she said.
This optical trickery is due in part to the changed color palette. The seats are gray, patterned with burgundy and blue. When the carpet was burgundy, the burgundy popped. Now that the carpet is blue, the burgundy recedes. “It shows you the power of color,” Behrmann said.
Another big change, not part of the most recent remodel, was the installation of a Lares E-Coustic Enhancement System, installed in Polsky Theatre in 2015. This state-of-the-art sound system, donated by longtime benefactor Mark S. Gilman, eliminates the need for an acoustical shell for musical performances.
As Behrmann explains, Polsky Theatre was built for the spoken word, but it’s hosted scores of musical shows. The new system allows for customization of the space’s sound.
Before and After, Prepped and Ready: The Green Room that serves the performance spaces in Carlsen Center now has a better traffic flow. The refrigerator that was once on the other side of the room is now part of a sleek but compact food prep area. The fridge and the dishwasher were replaced with stainless steel versions.
Pleasing Palette
Performers will no doubt appreciate the new green room, with new appliances and a handier room design for craft services. The dressing rooms, too, ditched the mauves and burgundies for a more contemporary feel.
The lobby reflects the college’s branded colors of blue, teal, green and yellow in its new paint job, but the designers wanted to stay away from making the space feel too collegiate, leaning instead to classics and neutrals.
“We’re very happy with our new space,” Behrmann said. “Patrons and performers will find us an even more engaging destination.”
TAKE A SEAT
If you’d like to support the ongoing programming of the Performing Arts Series at Johnson County Community College, consider participating in the Take a Seat campaign.
For $650, your name, your business’s name or the name of someone special can be engraved on a plaque on the back of a theatre seat in Yardley Hall. Donations may be a one-time payment or split into recurring payments.
“It’s a very personal way to support the theatres,” said Emily Behrmann, general manager of the Performing Arts Series at Johnson County Community College.
To donate or for more information, call 913-469-3835 or visit www.jccc.edu/takeaseat.
–By Anne Christiansen-Bullers, Writer/Editor, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS
