The Staller Center for the Arts is the main arts building at Stony Brook University, in New York State, USA. It opened in 1978 as the Stony Brook University Fine Arts Center before being renamed in October 1988 after a $1.8 million donation from the Staller family.
- Venue
- Staller Center for the Arts
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- New York, US
The Staller Center for the Arts is the main arts building at Stony Brook University, in New York State, USA. It opened in 1978 as the Stony Brook University Fine Arts Center before being renamed in October 1988 after a $1.8 million donation from the Staller family. Located on the main campus of Stony Brook University, it consists of two main divisions. One section houses the music and art departments, while the other consists of the theatre, media, and dance departments. The Staller Center contains three black-box theaters, a recital hall, the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery and a professional 1,000-seat performance stage that features a 40-foot movie screen and is the site of the Stony Brook Film Festival. The Staller Center has hosted several nationwide events such as the New York Science Fiction Forum in 1998 and more recently the Live Action Role Playing League's production of A Link to the Past. The black-box theaters are used by the theater arts department and Pocket Theater Club for stage performances of plays. The Staller Center has hosted speakers and performances from people including Bob Woodward, Bob Saget, Yo-Yo Ma, Tom Segura, Stephanie Kelton, Leslie Odom, Jr. and Spike Lee. In 1972, New York state legislature approved nearly $10 million for the construction of Phase 1 of the Stony Brook University Fine Arts Center, which was estimated to cost $15 million. Phase 1 of the Fine Arts Center opened in 1975, consisting of classrooms, offices, rehearsal halls, a foundry, studios, and an art gallery. On November 11, 1977, the Bridge to Nowhere officially opened following ten years of construction; the bridge connected Phase 1 of the Fine Arts Center with the Student Union and the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library. Phase II of the Fine Arts Center opened in 1979. The Phase II complex consisted of the Theatre Arts and Art Gallery, experimental theatre, two black-box theaters, a recital hall, and a 1,200-seat concert hall. The Fine Arts Center was damaged by winter