Spoleto Festival is Here!
Festival directors commit to improving Charleston’s performing arts facilities
May 31, 2005 – With the 29th Spoleto Festival USA upon us, Rotarians were treated to a talk by General Director Nigel Redden. Redden gave us the “inside scoop” on some of the performances, but mainly he was here to convey that although Spoleto has had its ups and downs financially, it has been running 9 years in the black and is ready to give back to the community.
To paraphrase Barbara Williams of the Post & Courier, Spoleto has reached a level of “maturity” that comes with its share of responsibilities. Redden feels these responsibilities include investing in Charleston’s performing arts infrastructure. Charleston has long been associated with the arts, with theatres (past and present) dating back to the 18th century and rivaling some of the best in Europe (according to many). While some of these have long since been demolished, many have survived in “unfortunate” shape. One example of this is Memminger Auditorium on Beaufain Street downtown.
Memminger Auditorium is physically part of Memminger Elementary, but is too large to be used for the school as it stands today. The Theatre was basically ignored and used for storage until 2000, when Spoleto officials decided to clean it up for performances, including the Peony Pavilion, the 18 hour Chinese opera that took place in 2004. Memminger continues to serve as a Spoleto venue despite its bare bones condition and uncomfortable seating (which Redden claims was replaced thanks to seats purchased from eBay). Redden and Spoleto officials have commissioned the architect Hugh Hardy who plans to renovate the auditorium into a useful performance venue for Spoleto. The community is behind Redden and his efforts. In fact, Mayor Riley and the City of Charleston have appropriated $1 million to the renovation of Memminger. The space is especially important to restore given its location as a gathering place: the Auditorium is centrally located between many residences, businesses, and of course, Memminger Elementary.
Redden spoke of the changes we hope to see to the Auditorium, including a minor change to the facade and turning the parking lot into outdoor lobby space to make up for the lack of lobby space inside. Redden hopes the renovation will be complete by Spoleto 2007.
Renovating Memminger also provides opportunities for restoring some of Charleston’s other fine performing arts venues, including the Dock Street Theatre and eventually, the Galliard Auditorium. After successfully completing a $25 million fundraising campaign (that was not even geared toward the Festival but to “bricks and mortar”,) Redden believes that Spoleto can muster the funds to tackle these ambitious projects. He stated that a public-private partnership had been established to facilitate the process, since Memminger is currently owned by the Charleston County School Board.
Renovating our performing arts facilities strengthens the arts community and solidifies the ties we have to the Festival itself. Asked if he envisions the Festival to grow in the coming years, Redden stated that we are pretty much at capacity based on the facilities we have. Supporting the Festival, no matter how big or small, preserves this legacy for our children and ensures our heritage as an art community for years to come.
By Amy Riley, Keyway Editor