If You Build It, They Will Come

Since the day Father Peter returned to his alma mater as chair of the Theatre Department in 1992, he dreamed of enhanced resources. With approximately 700 undergraduate and graduate students involved in more than 20 performance-based student groups, he was determined to give the University what it did not yet have: a cutting-edge performing ats facility.

Throughout the years, Father Peter cultivated that dream and began touring other performing arts centers across the country and speaking with their staff to determine how the ideal Villanova performing arts space would take shape.

His vision was to create a place that would be, in his words, “more than just a theatre; it needed to be a space where all of various and varied Villanova’s performing arts groups could flourish—a place where they can rehearse and perform and showcase their talents.” He also wanted an academic building reflective of Villanova’s pedagogy, with performance spaces, studios and classrooms to advance education and artistic expression.

It was a bold plan built on hard work and dedication—and funded entirely through philanthropic support. The Villanova community responded. Funding for the $60 million Mullen Center project came from more than 750 individual donors. The building is named in recognition of a $20 million leadership gift from John and Joan Mullen ’95 CPS. The Topper Theatre—a 400-seat proscenium-style theatre—recognizes a leadership gift from Maureen ’77 CLAS and Joseph Topper ’77 VSB, a former chair of Villanova’s Board of Trustees.

The vision and work came to fruition as the 85,000-square-foot center opened. It features world-class spaces to advance education and artistic innovation at Villanova. It contains three theatres, a dance studio, scene shop, costume shop, rehearsal room, dressing rooms and green rooms. There are five classrooms in all—three that are designed for acting, dancing and singing, along with two multifunctional classrooms, which can be used for courses in subjects ranging from English Literature to Public Administration. In addition, there are practice rooms, a box office, three lobbies and a roof terrace that’s perfect for receptions and offers a fantastic skyline view of Villanova’s campus.

“We designed this building to be professionally outfitted to make the imagination limitless,” says Bradley. “The Mullen Center provides all of the technical expertise, so there’s a lighting and sound designer, ushers and box office staff, and whatever additional support is needed to help bring our users’ concepts and dreams to reality.”

Academics Take Center Stage

“Phenomenal” is the word Dr. Joyce uses to describe the new home of the Theatre Department. As the department chair since 2017, she oversees both its production arm and academic arm, which were divided across campus prior to the Mullen Center’s opening. “Being under one roof gives us so many opportunities,” she says. “And, from an academic perspective, the classrooms are fully outfitted with everything we could have wanted, making a world-class educational experience available to our students.”

Teaching classes in the new Mullen Center dance studio has been a game-changer (and mood lifter) for Barby Hobyak-Roche ’88 CLAS, adjunct professor of Dance, who describes the space as hitting the mark in myriad ways. “The large studio allows dancers to move with abandon and expand with intention, the mirrors allow for self-correction, and the Marley flooring is wonderful for a variety of styles,” she says. “Dancing in there, with the sunlight streaming in through the windows during the day and the sunsets at dusk, it's like heaven.”

Michael Hollinger ’89 MA, artistic director of Villanova Theatre and a professor who teaches courses both in Music and Theatre, agrees with the positive assessment. “The Mullen Center is such a wonderful environment for teaching,” he says, noting that engaging with his students who take Songwriting: Words & Music and The Beatles: Song by Song in the Dwyer Family Foundation Choral Room has improved merely by the nature of the design of the classroom.

“The risers and curved seating arrangement allow for a great visual connection with students,” says Professor Hollinger. “And the full white board gives me plenty of real estate to notate musical passages and write detailed lecture notes.”

The Villanova Theatre Department offers a variety of courses in the arts and three minors to Villanova's undergraduate students. All of these, with the exception of studio art, are now located in the Mullen Center. Villanova’s Master of Arts program is one of only a handful of MA theatre programs in the US. Dr. Joyce, who describes herself as “homegrown” as a proud graduate of that program, has been directing, designing and performing on stage at Villanova Theatre for nearly 30 years.

Asked what makes Villanova’s Graduate Theatre program stand out from the others, she points to the equal emphasis placed on both academic work and practical experience. “The words that we use are scholar-practitioner, so the theatre scholar and the theatre practitioner are melded at all times in everything we do,” explains Dr. Joyce.

This model is reflected in the faculty as well, who are both academic scholars and working artists. “These teachers are some of the best,” says Sheldon Shaw ’23 MA, who came to Villanova’s Graduate Theatre program after working as an actor and playwright in New York City. “My acting teacher, (Associate Professor) Edward Sobel, was nominated for a Tony. I’m studying under (Associate Professor) James Ijames, who just won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. They know what they are talking about.”

Theatre students gain valuable insight into their fields and experience to help them succeed after graduating. “It gives our students an edge because they actually know how to produce theatre,” says Dr. Joyce. “They come out of the program with all of these applicable skills that can get them jobs, whether it’s hanging lights or as a stage manager or dramaturg.”

While plans for an in-person 2020–21 theatre season had to change because of COVID, the Theatre Department went into overdrive to stage performances that they filmed with the utmost care and caution. “It was fascinating watching the department pivot,” says Alison Scaramella Baker ’22 MA. “They took this challenge and turned it into a new opportunity.”

The Show Goes On

Thanks to a loyal subscriber base and new visitors eager to see the Mullen Center and immerse themselves in live productions again, there was no problem filling Villanova Theatre’s comfortable seats throughout its 2021–22 season. The season ended on a real high note when Curtains generated standing ovations from sold-out crowds. It was the first show ever to be staged in the 400-seat Topper Theatre, the largest of the Mullen Center’s three theaters. “It was thrilling,” says Father Peter of his experience directing the musical whodunit in the building he painstakingly brought from concept to reality.

This marked the Barrymore Award-winner’s return to the director’s chair for the first time since 2012. And he didn’t disappoint—delivering a high-energy show that made the most of the bells and whistles now at Villanova Theatre’s disposal, including a fly system and 30-member orchestra pit. The cast and crew drew from the talents of Villanova’s staff, faculty, alumni, and graduate and undergraduate students. In the starring role originated by David Hyde Pierce on Broadway was the Rev. David Cregan, OSA, PhD, ’89 CLAS, former Theatre Department chair and current associate dean of Academic Affairs and Strategic Initiatives for the College of Professional Studies.

Father Cregan, who also served on the Mullen Center design committee, partially attributes the success of Curtains to everyone rising to the occasion of the building itself. “It’s a space that actually inspires you to keep reaching and going farther,” he says. “Whether we were in the dance studio with all the mirrors, or in the choral room with the grand piano, or on stage with the orchestra pit and theatrical lighting, it brought everything up to a new level.” He also credits Father Peter for the planning, talent and leadership it took to elevate arts and arts education at Villanova. “As a director, he’s got the vision,” says Father Cregan. “He’s unwavering in his energetic investment in making the show, and Villanova, the best that it can be.”

For his next act, Father Peter is already thinking of staging a reunion of Theatre alums in a big musical production on the Topper stage, but that would be further down the line. For now, he’s looking forward to the creative collaborations that are newly possible because Villanova’s academic programs and student groups in the performing arts are finally together in one place. “In time, our graduate students and undergraduate theatre groups will start doing more things collaboratively and utilize each other’s talents in different ways,” says Father Peter. “It’s fun to see the whole thing blossom.” ■