The 500-seat Garland Auditorium is the center of the building.
25 YEARS OF THE ARTS
The Fine Arts Building Anniversary
Inside the Fine Arts Building there is a brick column. And sealed inside that column are 30 clay effigies created by students 25 years ago.
“ We marched one night into the construction which was pretty rough. There was still dirt and no roof yet. I remember because it rained and it was dripping wet,” said Visual & Performing Arts teacher David Hanright.“ They came in in a line and they were chanting and playing drums. They all put their clay pieces in that column. There’ s about 30 of those student clay pieces in that column and they got sealed in. They’ re still in there.”
FROM THE ARTS
A Strong History of Supporting the Arts
In 1996, Thornton Academy became one of the first high schools in Maine to open a center for the arts. The center was designed to bring the different arts together into a creative community, providing a home for dance, visual arts, music and theater, with classroom space alongside rehearsal and performance spaces.
After performing on a stage shared with the gym, a center dedicated to visual and performing arts was a real luxury.
“ We couldn’ t use the gym until after basketball practice. Rehearsals didn’ t start until evening every night. We couldn’ t leave the set up, it had to fit in the corner. Lighting was basically on and off, and there was nowhere to build sets,” said Hanright.
The new stage opened with the romping comedy“ You Can’ t Take it With You” in the fall of’ 96, a One Act production in the winter, and the first full-scale musical in spring of’ 97,“ Grease.”
Thanks to the Fine Arts building, TA students can take part in full-scale musical productions, like 2019’ s spring show“ Mamma Mia.”
Performing Arts teacher Catherine Murray joined TA the year the building was constructed and calls it“ home” for many TA students, including her own two children.“ The space has allowed us to do performances on a much larger scale,” she said.“ The music program has exploded since this space was created and the program runs deep.”
At the same time as the first theater productions were loading in, the TA chorus moved from what is now Thornton Hall to fill the auditorium with music, and student artists claimed space to publicly display their creations in the gallery.
“ The beautiful and spacious O’ Neill Gallery was a new and essential need for the arts program,” said Visual Arts teacher Jennifer Merry, who served on the team that designed the spaces.“ Every artist in the visual arts, from our foundations classes to AP, has pieces on display in this professional setting. Our students take great pride in seeing their work showcased for the entire school to view.”
12 Story by Joyce Doyle · Photos courtesy TA Archive and Arts Faculty