“When I first joined Pioneer Theatre Company as Artistic Director 2012, the Board of Trustees asked me what my ‘dream items’ were for PTC. At the top of the list was  a more intimate space to better produce contemporary works with smaller casts. Other dream items were easier to accomplish—like a new play reading series and a staged concert series. But, with the University of Utah generously making the decommissioned Einar Nielsen Field House available to us—not to mention a major financial commitment from the Meldrum Foundation really setting things into motion—we were able to break ground in 2019. 

These last five years have been a journey of epic proportions—much more dramatic than anything you could ever imagine in a play. We faced a global pandemic, multiple delayed openings, and huge supply chain issues. But the persistence and determination shown by everyone who worked on the project ultimately brought us to this point. And, now we have a beautiful, intimate theatre space to be enjoyed by future generations of artists and audiences. The physical space between actor and audience is breathtakingly close, which is going to create groundbreaking theatre moments for not only Pioneer Theater Company and the U’s Theatre Department, but for University and Salt Lake City-at-large. I couldn’t be more thrilled.”

— Karen Azenberg, PTC Artistic Director