Dr. Kyra Smith likes to bring visitors to a particular spot on the lobby floor of the stunning Roger Glass Center for the Arts. From there, you can glimpse the University of Dayton’s iconic chapel through one window and the downtown Dayton skyline through another.
I love the symbolism of that view. It reflects UD’s deep roots in the city and captures the role that the Glass Center plays in bringing the campus and community together through performances, exhibitions, and shared artistic experiences.
Now that the center is approaching the second anniversary of its opening in April, you might wonder what’s a typical day like?
“There are no days during the academic year that we’re completely dark, and we’re booked every weekend in May and June,” says Kyra, managing director of the Glass Center and coordinator of Arts Live.
“I’m lucky to watch performances, see great art, and teach a theatre history and theory course that reaches many students in this building.”
On any given day, students might be taking a stage makeup class in a brightly lit dressing room or an advanced video production course in a sophisticated TV control room. Professor Sam Dorf’s class, Music in Concert, is so popular that it fills the Concert Hall with 300 students, as musicians from across Dayton — from opera to punk — stop by to perform and talk about how they create their music.
“It’s wonderful to be able to teach in what is a state-of-the-art facility. It allows us to expose students to some of the latest technology and production techniques,” says Roy Flynn, principal lecturer in communication who teaches courses in video production, scriptwriting, and on-camera performance.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the building hums with activity. Students rehearse for musicals, plays and recitals; write edit, and design the Flyer News; produce segments for Flyer TV and Flyer Radio; and edit documentaries, such as Czechnical Difficulties, filmed last summer in Prague and premiering in the Concert Hall this week. In the senior exhibit, it’s not done yet, magnificent student-created work — from oil paintings and sculpture to photography and graphic design — fills the art gallery.
Other students help prepare the center for major events. Here, we have welcomed world leaders during the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, hosted Alumni Awards ceremonies, and treated donors at UD’s annual Christmas Gala to a Dayton Jazz Ensemble concert. The Food and Culture Festival kicks off in February.
For me, the hands-on experience students receive truly sets the Glass Center apart. Take Caleb Molseed, who works on the student crew, which is involved in every element of production including lights, sound, stage management, rigging, box office, and house management.
“Having the ability to work on equipment I will experience out in the world is beyond beneficial,” says Caleb, a senior from Cleveland who’s double majoring in history and English and wants to pursue a job in the museum world.
On campus, he’s gained production experience working with the world-renowned Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, served as one of the lighting designers on the fall production of Much Ado About Nothing, and is designing the set for the spring musical comedy, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
“Whether lighting, audio or rigging equipment, I’m working with top equipment being used in Broadway houses or for lifting stages at the Super Bowl,” he says.
That’s not hyperbole. As a vibrant laboratory for experiential learning, the Roger Glass Center for the Arts is second to none.
The Glass Center, with its ceiling-to-floor windows, reflects who we are. We’re a place where collaboration and creativity are prized. We’re a place where the arts bring people together.