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Mitchell Performing Arts Center |
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March 2001 |
September 2002 |
Construction for the Mitchell Performing Arts Center has been completed. The Academy of the New Church ("ANC") in Bryn Athyn, PA, has converted the old Assembly Hall to a Performing Arts Center, which will serve the ANC Secondary Schools, the Bryn Athyn College of the New Church, the Bryn Athyn Orchestra, and other performing organizations, as well as Bryn Athyn Community Theater. BAct's first production, Arsenic and Old Lace, was produced on the Assembly Hall stage in 1981, but from 1982 to 2001 our home was Heilman Hall, in the Bryn Athyn Society Building. Now we have returned to our first home. The first major theatrical production on the main stage of the new facility was The King and I, a joint production of all the organizations mentioned above.
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Mimi Mitchell |
Over the years, BAct and BAct members, most of whom are Academy alumni, have assisted with many Academy productions, both in the College and in the Secondary Schools. In addition, former BAct President Mimi Mitchell, for whom the new Center is named, has taught theater-related courses in the College for many years. With first-hand knowledge of the pressing need for a performing arts space in the Academy, BAct members like Mimi, former President Brenda Lindrooth, and others, have been deeply involved in the search for practical solutions to the Academy’s needs in this area.
From an early date, plans included BAct as a user of the new stage, and starting in 1992 BAct put aside one dollar for every ticket sold for the explicit purpose of supporting the new facilities. The total donation amounted to over $10,000.
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Naomi Haus-Roth |
On October 13, 2001, the Mitchell Performing Arts Center was dedicated, in a ceremony conducted by the Reverend Daniel Goodenough, President of the Academy of the New Church. After the dedication, Naomi Haus-Roth, the manager of the Center, offered some remarks. This was followed by guided tours of the building, which was still under construction.
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