Saturday evening, the Freed Center for the Performing Arts celebrated its 25th anniversary. We had the performing group, Broadway Boys, in house to sing arrangements of several well-known Broadway tunes. As an arts administration student, I volunteered as a hospitality manager, meaning that I spent five hours handing out free cake and water bottles to patrons.
Most of the people that came to the show had no idea what the cake was for, so I had the pleasure of sharing with them the happy occasion. Throughout the night I talked to people who had been coming to Freed since it opened and they told me some of their favourite memories throughout the years. It always shocks me to remember that the Freed Center has been operating for a quarter of a century because of how well it is kept- we have a beautiful art gallery in the front, a working scene shop and electrics shop, a dance studio, a costume shop, and a broadcasting center, as well as the two performing centers.
Freed is truly my home away from home. I have eaten, slept, cried, laughed, and bled in the building. I have been in the tunnels under it and looked over campus from the roof. When Jessica died, the entire theatre department met in 114 (the dance room) to mourn together, without any sort of message sent out- we all understood that Freed is our safe place and where our family could gather. Freed was the first place I ever visited on campus; I walked in and somehow knew I was home. The building itself is older than I am and I am sure it will still stand long after I am gone, but for these four years, it feels like mine.
To those of you that have not spent much time in Freed, I encourage you to. There are work opportunities as an usher, meaning you get paid to watch shows and hand out programs, you can be a voice of WONB, the costume shop gives you the opportunity to learn how to fix your own clothes and give you a competitive edge for Halloween, and the scene shop is a great place to work with your hands, especially if you are studying engineering or manufacturing. It is one of the most beautiful buildings on campus and has so much more to offer than meets the eye.
Do you have a favorite building on campus? What is it and why?
Until next time!
Kathryn
I'd have to say that Dickie is my favorite building on campus. Especially the video conference room on the second floor to study. The room has plenty of space and makes me feel like a CEO when I sit at the long table. It also has big glass windows so I have a room with a view!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to the Freed Center! As someone who writes many promotional articles about Freed Center events for the newspaper, I feel like the Freed Center and I have a special bond through journalism. It's definitely a wonderful entertainment center. It's a true treasure on ONU's campus.
ReplyDeleteAs for your question, Dukes is my favorite building on campus. The main floor hallway is the lounge for English majors. We talk, sleep, cry and study in this hallway. We have designated chairs, and it's really a pain when a non-English major takes our seats. Those are our seats!
Dukes has become my home away from home. I'm free to express myself freely in this space. I'm not shy in this building, like I am in many other places on campus. The workshop conference room is the room where I discovered my love for poetry. It's home. I think it's really important for college students to have a special place to call "home" while they study and grow.
Freed is an amazing building and I can personally say it is one of my favorite buildings on this campus. Through my four years, I have spent about 90% of my time in Taft and it is probably my least favorite building. Freed, Dicke, and Snyder Hall in Presser are by far the most put together of buildings on campus.
ReplyDeleteWow, I cannot believe Freed has been around that long already! After only taking one class in Freed; I can tell the people who spend most of their time in the building love what they do. I still have yet to see an ONU theater performance in Freed, but that is definitely on my bucket list!
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