The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

Photo by: Diamond Fisher

By Diamond Fisher
4:00 p.m. April 8, 2017

College Park, M.d.- There is only one building that is the largest single building ever

constructed by the state of Maryland. That building is dedicated to art, diversity, unity,

expression and collaboration.

Despite being a university well known for its programs in business, journalism, politics,

and engineering, the University of Maryland in College Park has great programs and buildings

dedicated to students pursuing careers in the arts.

The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is a building on the campus of UMD that has

received numerous spots in reviews and articles praising the building, staff and talented students

for a variety of positive reasons. The building is also used as a venue for a number of outside

performers and local schools; well known traveling performers and troupes have used spaces at

The Clarice.

The Clarice is also a major part of the university's yearly Maryland Day event in which

families, alumni and prospective students visit campus to learn more about life at UMD. During
Maryland Day visitors can attend shows at The Clarice ranging from operas, The Symphony,

and final presentations of songs and scenes from students in performing arts classes.

It is through Maryland Day that The Clarice receives many students who express their

interest in attending UMD and pursuing a degree in one of the performing arts majors. While it is

a performance venue it also an academic building where students have classes.

Senior theatre and journalism double major Sara Moore is one student who decided to

add the theatre major after seeing what took place in The Clarice.

I saw a performance from one of the musical theatre classes during Maryland Day and I

knew right then and there that I wanted to be in that building more. The building itself is

beautiful and I love that I get to attend classes in it, its so cool that we get our own performance

spaces seeing that not a lot of schools can say that, she explained after being asked about the

building where she spends the majority of her time.

The official website for the University of Maryland has a basic overview of art at the

university and the various resources available to students. A link to the main website for The

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center can be found by navigating through the Arts tab.

The website is accessible to anyone who wishes to see what shows will be put on in the

building and purchase tickets. People can also view what projects The Clarice is a part of and

various videos showing what events have taken place in the past.

On the homepage of The Clarices official website there is a About Us tab that drops

down to reveal various things to know about The Clarice, users can also find brief information

about the history of the building and the woman it was named in honor of.
 Clarice Smith is a visual artist whose husband, Robert H. Smith, was as an alumnus of

the

University of Maryland and made large contributions to The Clarice Smith Performing Arts

Center and to the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Mrs. Smith attended the university and

continues to donate money to the building under her name.

The building cost about $130 million to build and was supported by the State of

Maryland, the University of Maryland, and Prince Georges County.

The Clarice is in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland and

originally opened in 2001 . It was designed by Moore Ruble Yudell, international architects

that have designed and built buildings for many secondary school campus in America, Ireland

and China. The building is directly across the street from Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium and

the Stadium Drive parking garage.

The building has 6 venues used for a variety of events and the largest venue seats up to

922 guests. Many of the venues are theatres and recital halls in which those in the community of

Prince Georges County can rent spaces and the university's theatre department often performs

their main season shows.

Assistant Professor Lisa Nathans is one faculty member and employee at The Clarice

who gets the opportunity to work with students in the theatre major and direct shows like many

other members of the staff.

I moved all the way from California to Maryland just so I could work here and the

students and staff have definitely made it worthwhile, Im excited for my future here and the

building is more than accommodating, she explained.

 Previous shows done at The Clarice consist of a variety of contemporary, classical and

musical

productions. Many of the shows are known for testing limits and breaking down barriers. The

Spring 2017 production of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is one example of a

show that was approached in a modern way and had many of the characters portrayed by

members of the opposite sex.

The connection of the buildings name and the activities that take place in it are

prominent. The building is used for various performances and expressions of art. The building

houses The School of Music and The School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies.

This center for the arts also has its own library full of multimedia sources students can

use; scores of music, videos of dances, recordings of past performances and a variety of plays are

available for students to check out.

The Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library is the the Mid-Atlantic's largest library

dedicated to the performing arts. The library also currently holds the International Piano

Archives, which is the world's most sizeable assemblage of piano recordings, books, scores and

the archival papers of great keyboard artists.

Along with class rooms, a library and performance venues, The Clarice has rehearsal

rooms, a courtyard and lounge areas where many students can be found studying or sleeping.

Some small private liberal arts and performance schools dont even have access to such

an amazing building that has so many resources and performances in it. It feels like a comfy

mansion sometimes and it has great napping spots, stated freshman theater major Samara

Brown.
 Students who are interested in performance and chose to attend UMD will have access to

their own beautiful and modern styled building dedicated to teaching them useful skills for their

future careers.