Welcome to our new home.

After almost exactly one year of construction beginning with a groundbreaking ceremony on October 3, 2014, Northern Stage welcomed the public into our new home, the Barrette Center for the Arts, with a ribbon cutting and open house on October 10, 2015. With 17,000 gross square feet, our new home features:

• An intimate, modern, and beautiful 240-seat theater with unobstructed sight-lines and no seat farther than 38 feet from the stage.
• Bright and visible frontage will make our new home welcoming to patrons and bring new aesthetic vitality to White River Junction.
• Ground floor access with a drop-off area and an easily accessible box office.
• A spacious lobby with welcome amenities, including concessions, coat rooms, art from area galleries on the walls, and attractive and ample restroom facilities.
• A thrust stage very much like our old stage at the Brigg’s Opera House.
• A comfortable seating arrangement with wide seats, more than 3 feet between rows, and unobstructed views of the stage.
• Modern facilities throughout the building including a hearing assistance system, an elevator to the second-floor lobby, and accessible seating in both the first row and the last row.
• A flexible new rehearsal/classroom for actors and students to explore the craft of theater.
• Increased ceiling heights will provide greater flexibility for dramatic use of lighting.
• More backstage space and larger doors will allow designers full range of creativity and scope for imagination.
• State-of-the-art acoustics and sound systems will ensure every word is heard.

   

Groundbreaking 10-3-14: Community members, staff and supporters write good wishes on the wall of the soon-to-be demolished Miller Auto Garage.

Demolition begins: 10-4-14

Construction Progress, 1-16- 15

Hard Hat Tour 5-15-15: Northern Stage volunteers take a Hard Hat Tour of the Barrette Center for the Arts.

Construction Progress 7-7-15. The Byrne Theater takes shape.

September 2015: Barrette Center for the Arts at Night. Copyright 2015 Carla Kimball.

Videos & Links about the Barrette Center for the Arts

Click here to watch a video of construction progress as of January, 2015.
Click here to watch a narrated animated tour of the Barrette Center for the Arts.