Project Index

The Forney ISD Opportunity Central (OC) is a $150 million facility designed to enhance learning, performance, and community engagement. Featuring a 6,000-seat arena, a 600-seat black box theatre, and a lecture hall, the venue is built for versatility. Schuler Shook collaborated with the architect and school district to provide theatre planning and design services, including sightline studies, seating configurations, production lighting, rigging, and performer support areas. Their work ensured seamless integration of production-ready systems, bringing this innovative space to life for students, artists, and the community.

New 1900-seat proscenium auditorium with fly house, black box theatre and fine arts wing including lighting, rigging, shell, and planning.

In 2018 the new Student Life Center opened at St. Agnes Academy, a Catholic high school for young women in Houston, TX. The project included both new construction and adaptive reuse of an existing stage to a black box theatre. The new centre houses Sr. Jane Meyer, O.P. Assembly and Performance Hall; Arthur W. Buckley Theatre; 125-seat studio theatre; Jamieson Family Dance Studio; student commons; and additional classrooms. 

To help the school maximize use of the 1,300-seat theatre, the balcony can be closed off from the remainder of the audience chamber to create a 240-seat lecture room.

Schuler Shook provided full theatre consulting services for the proscenium theatre and studio theatre including planning, designing and specifying audience seating and sightlines, stage rigging and curtains, variable acoustic curtains, stage lighting power and control systems, stage lighting fixtures, concert enclosure, portable platforms, and pit filler platforms. We also specified portable platform systems for future purchase for the 125-seat studio theatre.

The Austin Independent School District desired a new performing arts facility that would be available for use by all schools in the district. The centralized facility houses a multi-purpose proscenium theatre seating 1,200, a 250 seat black box theatre, dance studio, multi-purpose room, kiln room, and an individual recording studio.

Schuler Shook worked closely with Cuningham Group and the Alexandria School District to design a state of the art performing arts centre for their new high school. The 1,000-seat auditorium has a generously sized stage to support a wide variety of performances including vocal and instrumental music, drama, musical theatre, dance, lectures and assemblies 

Originally constructed in 1937, this Art Deco visual and performing arts building was renovated and enhanced, with the addition of a new 100-seat black box theater, make-up and dressing rooms, arts studios and music rehearsal rooms. The historic decorative details of the 800-seat auditorium were restored, including the ornate seat standards. The audience experience was improved with air-conditioning and an electro-acoustic system.

This new 1,000 seat theatre serves the larger community with a wide variety of performance activities, and it also supports Bendigo Senior Secondary College. The project made possible the sustainable re-use of the former Sandhurst Gaol, which was re-purposed and renovated to serve as the front of house public space to the new adjoining theatre, providing historic character to the venue.

Schuler Shook collaborated closely with Y2 Architecture and Acoustic Studio in the planning and equipping of the new theatre. Ulumbarra Theatre is the largest regional venue in Victoria and is capable of presenting theatre, musical theatre, music, dance, cinema, community ceremonies, and a variety of audio-visual productions, for local and regional artists as well as touring productions. 

This new facility serves the entire Plano Independent School District community, allowing students to perform and attend events with access to fine arts activities not available on individual campuses. It includes a 1,545-seat proscenium theatre, black box theatre, multi-purpose room, art gallery, and support spaces.

The theatre features a full-height fly loft, concert shell, variable acoustic banners and curtains, state-of-the-art theatrical lighting, and a motorised orchestra pit lift. The black box includes a retractable seating system and catwalks for flexible lighting and rigging.

Schuler Shook provided theatre planning, seating, stage lighting, rigging and curtains, orchestra shell, pit lift, and variable acoustic system. Their architectural lighting design covered the lobbies, audience chambers, art gallery and display areas, and restrooms.

The K‑12 school’s performing arts centre involved planning, design, and coordination for a 730-seat proscenium theatre with orchestra pit and full working stage, a 200-seat black box theatre, a dance studio, music rehearsal and practice rooms, scenery and costume shops, and performer support spaces including dressing rooms and a green room.

Schuler Shook designed the performance systems and equipment, provided room shaping and architectural integration services, as well as dimming and rigging system design for both theatres. Schuler Shook also helped with overall building coordination, particularly as building arrangement and systems design affected performance function.

The Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts is a multi-purpose facility that was designed to service students, staff and the entire community. The building features a 5,000-seat performing arts theatre with balcony, meeting spaces, lecture halls and banquet areas. The performance hall can be divided into three separate spaces allowing for two smaller halls with 640-seats each and the main hall seating 4,200. 

Schuler Shook provided full theatre design services for the auditorium. The auditorium features a cross-over aisle that increases accessibility, improves circulation and provides camera positions. Other features of the project include a fly loft with motorised rigging; orchestra pit; pit lift; catwalks; acoustical concert enclosure; control booths; performance lounge and dressing rooms. 

Expansion project of the high school that included a new 750-seat proscenium theatre, black box/drama classroom and related production support spaces.

Schuler Shook provided full theatre design services for the proscenium theatre with balcony, a black box classroom theatre, a television studio classroom and related support spaces.

Theatre Planning and lighting and rigging systems design for new $23 million dollar Performing Arts Center Complex for the Upper School campus.

Renovation of the existing 1,100-seat auditorium, stage and related support spaces.

Schuler Shook provided theatre design for new 650-seat high school proscenium theatre with full fly house and orchestra shell.

Just west of downtown Nashville, James Lawson High School is a three-story, 310,000 SF campus designed around sustainability, academic opportunity, and community. Supporting its robust arts education program, the school features a state-of-the-art 500-seat proscenium theatre with a full fly loft.

Schuler Shook provided an advisory seating layout for the auditorium, incorporated into the architectural drawings by HASTINGS, along with advisory and lighting layouts for dressing rooms, the prop shop, and scenery storage. The school also includes a dance studio with rigging for a mirror masking curtain system.