The Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center at Hudson Valley Shakespeare is officially open

The Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center at Hudson Valley Shakespeare (HVS) is officially open: designed by Studio Gang and featuring a curved, timber-framed grid shell, it is the first permanent open-air theater for the nonprofit theater company HVS, led by Davis McCallum as creative director and Kendra Ekelund as managing director.

The inauguration of the Scripps Theater Center – held on Thursday, May 14, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Garrison, New York – marks the completion of a six-year project bringing together cultural production, educational programming, community engagement, and environmental sustainability within a single site overlooking the Hudson River. Nearly forty years after the company’s founding, the project finally provides HVS with a permanent home for its outdoor productions.

During the opening event, an excerpt from Shakespeare’s As You Like It was staged as the first performance in the new theater.

A permanent theater for Hudson Valley Shakespeare

Rooted in the Hudson Valley landscape and with the works of William Shakespeare as its founding reference, HVS was founded in 1987 by Terry O’Brien and Melissa Stern with a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream staged at Manitoga, the property that once housed the home and studio of industrial designer Russel Wright and his wife Mary, now home to The Russel Wright Design Center and the Russel & Mary Wright Design Gallery.

Beginning the following year, the company’s main season was hosted under an open-air tent structure at Boscobel House and Gardens, until — a few years ago — HVS moved to its current campus in Garrison, donated by philanthropist Christopher Davis. Today, the new theater provides improved spaces for rehearsals, performances, educational activities and services, together with new technical facilities that expand the company’s production possibilities.

In recognition of the support received from Wendy Scripps, the new theater has been named in memory of her father Samuel H. Scripps, a visionary philanthropist whose passion for theater and dance profoundly influenced American culture. Thanks to its indoor-outdoor configuration, the Scripps Theater Center expands the year-round functionality of the facility, allowing for a wider range of programming. In addition, it improves circulation throughout the campus and ensures greater accessibility for more diverse audiences.

The Hudson Valley at the center of the project

Wrapped in a curved, timber-framed grid shell, and characterized by a palette of natural colors and materials, the Scripps Theater Center integrates harmoniously into the surrounding landscape, placing nature at the center of the theater’s creative work, with the proscenium arch framing panoramic views of the Hudson Highlands.

In addition to the 451-seat theater, the project program includes a further area containing dressing rooms, green room, wardrobe and offices, as well as separate spaces for refreshments and public services.

Starting from an overall masterplan developed in 2020, landscape architects Nelson Byrd Woltz worked towards two main objectives: the restoration of natural habitats and the creation of an arrival experience with strong evocative value, in which accessible pathways wind through native grass meadows, while views of the Hudson River and the imposing Wind Gate cliffs anticipate the theatrical experience.

Towards LEED Platinum certification

In addition to the restoration of meadows and wetlands, together with new plantings that strengthen the site’s biodiversity, the project includes numerous integrated sustainability strategies that have set the theater on the path toward LEED Platinum certification. These include the use of low-carbon mass timber, rooftop photovoltaic panels and a rainwater collection and reuse system.

HVS also aims to achieve carbon neutrality for the campus by 2040.

“It’s been so rewarding to help shape this next exciting chapter for Hudson Valley Shakespeare. My Studio shares with HVS a deeply held commitment to creating spaces that bring people together and connect them to nature. This new theater not only preserves and enhances the unique qualities of HVS’s open-air performances, but also provides state-of-the-art facilities that support actors, staff, and audiences alike. The building’s curved mass timber structure harmonizes with the natural beauty of the site while modeling a more sustainable future for cultural and performing arts spaces”.

Jeanne Gang, founding partner of Studio Gang

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