Nathan Howard ’25

News Editor

On October 26, 2022, Kyle Frisina, Interim Director of the Prior Performing Arts Center announced multiple new opportunities for members of the Holy Cross community to become involved at the center. The Prior Center recently opened this semester to promote “inclusive learning and research,” which are supported by “state-of-the-art performance, multimedia, and exhibition technology, as well as by architectural elements promoting flexibility, collectivity, and process.” The Prior Center is also the new home for Holy Cross’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery.

Interim Director Frisina announced that the Prior Center is currently looking for one student to join the ad hoc Prior Performing Arts Center committee. The committee currently is composed of members of the faculty, staff, and the SGA Arts and Culture Representative. The ad hoc committee will assist the interim director in planning and coordinating events for the semester. Additionally, the committee will meet regularly once or twice a month throughout the year until December, 2023. According to a set of guidelines for the ad hoc committee, each member will be expected to ensure that the Prior Center “operates as a model of inclusive excellence, making the arts available to all students and serving as a hub of interdisciplinary learning; that it meets the curricular needs of arts departments whose students will rely on the PAC as a primary classroom, rehearsal, and/or performance space; that it attracts world-class artists and other creative thinkers to the Holy Cross campus; and that it deepens our connections with other communities, both local and global.”

Frisina announced that they are looking to hire students to oversee after-hours use of the building, to staff the front of house as ushers, and to serve as AV apprentices. Additionally, Interim Director Frisina announced that four practice rooms are available to reserve by individual students and small groups of up to four students. The four practice rooms are located on the third floor of the building and each contain four chairs, four music stands, and a Steinway and Sonspiano. The rooms should be strictly used for musical practicing purposes only and can soon be reserved through the College’s EMS website. Interim Director Frisina stated that the practice rooms are “currently open on a first-come, first-serve basis from M-F, 9am-5pm, up to 2 hours max.”

Throughout the semester, the Prior Center will also allow RSO student groups to host a series of “after-hours evenings” in the Beehive Cafe. Interim Director Frisina explained that RSO leaders will be able “to throw on a study-friendly Spotify playlist and sell snacks to support your programming” at the event. Additionally, the Prior Center is also planning on hosting a variety of student-run performances in the Beehive as well. Interim Director Frisina also announced that future events will be held and group study spaces will be available once “we learn more about the rhythms of programming” of the Prior Center.