Christina Lee, Head Photography Editor

A long-awaited dramatic arts center is finally set to take shape on the corner of Crown and York streets. Plans for the new Dramatic Arts Building have been in motion for the past decades; the project is set to begin this summer and finish in the summer of 2029. 

In December 2024, New Haven’s City Plan Commission approved Yale’s proposal for a seven-story dramatic arts building meant to accommodate the Yale Repertory Theater, the David Geffen School of Drama and the undergraduate Theater, Dance and Performance Studies department under one roof. The project was envisioned by the architecture firm KPMB Architects, which was co-founded by Marianne McKenna ARC ’76.

“The new rehearsal space will be really nice for all the Dramat shows,” said Elizabeth Stanish ’26, the president of the Yale University Dramatic Association. “And hopefully just for Yale theater in general.”

The proposal included new rehearsal spaces, in addition to classrooms, offices and production workshops. It is also set to include two new theaters — one with 100 seats for smaller performances and a larger, 400-seater venue for the Rep.

With a carbon-free renewable geothermal system, it will meet Yale’s standards for its “Zero Carbon Ready” initiative. 

Stanish said that the Dramat, which puts on six shows each year, had the opportunity to participate in the planning process for the design concepts. The executive leadership shared their needs and provided input about how those needs could be translated into the new building.

Carson White ’25, the Dramat’s production officer, echoed this sentiment, stating that the space is going to provide “a lot of opportunities” for theater students at Yale.

White highlighted that the planning process for the Dramatic Arts Building has spanned several decades and expressed excitement about the technological advancements of the new space. 

She said that, once completed, students will really benefit from its improved rehearsal spaces, technical resources and other facilities. 

“I desperately wish I’d still be here in five years,” she joked. “Because the technology in that building is going to be amazing.”

But not everyone is as excited about the new space and the yields of its extended planning timeline.

Joseph Roach, a Sterling Professor emeritus who previously taught in the Theater, Dance and Performance Studies department, said that he has had long-standing concerns about the construction of new theater space. 

In previous draftings of the building, Roach and a committee of TDPS Department faculty suggested important reforms and proposals for the building. In particular, Roach mentioned that the new building lacked a black box theater which undergraduate students could use for their senior project productions. 

Others have raised concerns about the demolition of preexisting buildings required for the completion of the new space. Five historic buildings will be destroyed for the new Dramatic Arts Building.

In a letter to the City Commission, Sarah Tisdale, the New Haven Preservation Trust’s director of historic preservation, expressed concerns about the loss of architecturally and historically significant structures in the historic district of Chapel Street.

“The Trust understands that Yale does need to adapt and expand to their needs. However, we always applaud more intense uses on existing University property in lieu of demolition of neighboring buildings in order to expand outward,” wrote Tisdale in the letter. 

Tisdale mentioned that representatives of the trust, along with staff from Preservation Connecticut and the State Historic Preservation Office, had made suggestions to incorporate facades from the historic buildings into the new construction and relocate one of the townhouses to a vacant location on the same block. 

Yale did not incorporate these ideas into their final proposal. Instead, the University included plans for a mural made of brick recovered from the demolished buildings.

White spoke to the News about preservational objections to the project and said that Yale must always work to better its relationship with New Haven. She said that the School of Drama and the Provost’s Office are making “good-faith” efforts to weigh that relationship in their plans. 

She also emphasized that the Dramat itself makes an effort to engage with the New Haven community, pointing to their initiatives with New Haven high school students. According to White, 40 percent of the tickets for their shows are sold to non-Yale attendees. 

The City Plan Commission’s five members voted unanimously in favor of approving the development. 

Stanish expressed her enthusiasm for seeing the project come to fruition. 

“I’m excited to see how future generations combine the spaces we already have on campus with this building,” she said. 

The building uses property at 321, 333, 337, 341 and 353 Crown Street; 142, 146, 148 and 150 York Street; and 1156 Chapel St.

KAMINI PURUSHOTHAMAN
Kamini Purushothaman covers Arts and New Haven. A sophomore in Trumbull College, she is double-majoring in History and Archaeology.