Since its official opening in fall 2003, Baruch Performing Arts Center (BPAC) has been a driving force at the College and in the local community. With its highly eclectic offerings of music, dance, and theater and its prominent position in student life, BPAC plays an important role at a school that isn’t particularly arts focused.
BPAC’s facilities include the Bernie West Theatre and Mason Hall auditorium in the Field Building at 17 Lex as well as the much newer Engelman Recital Hall and the Rose Nagelberg Theater in the Newman Vertical Campus. The latter space includes a rehearsal studio, costume shop, and a striking lobby rivaling that of many theater complexes in the city.
In addition to producing its own shows—mostly jazz and classical music concerts—BPAC, under the leadership of Managing Director John Malatesta, rents out its auditoriums to theater and dance companies. Productions have run the gamut from the nation’s leading classical theater company, The Acting Company (Shakespeare plays as well as literary adaptations), to Wakka Wakka Productions’ spectacular puppetry, most recently Baby Universe, which was nominated for three Drama Desk Awards last year. (BPAC productions have received six nominations since 2010.) Two plays—a workshop production of Spring Awakening and Irina’s Vow with Tovah Feldshuh—that originated at BPAC have gone on to Broadway acclaim. Most shows are free or discounted to the Baruch community. (Alumni discounts are available by calling the box office.)
BPAC’s most important function, says Malatesta, is its service to students, many of whom experience their first professional productions at Baruch. Certain programs are incorporated into the curriculum. The required Freshman Seminar specifies that first-year students see two productions at BPAC. The Alexander String Quartet, in residency at Baruch, offers lecture demonstrations during classroom time. The Joel Segall Great Works Lecture Series features professional actors reading plays, which are then studied in class. Additionally, BPAC’s involvement with Theatre Development Fund (TDF), which offers discounted tickets to productions around the city, enables Baruch students to obtain a reduced annual subscription of $10.
Says Malatesta of BPAC’s role in student life, “Whether you’re becoming an accountant or you want to work in public policy or finance, art is for you. It’s the study of humanity, of what we love, what inspires us. It’s an educational tool for everybody that lasts a lifetime.”
He’s pleased that students take advantage of the center’s facilities. “Many students in dance competitions rehearse in the studio. Last winter the Graduate Arts Association put on a showcase of songs; it was a really nice production,” says Malatesta. He cites specific benefits of being involved in student productions: “Learning team work, leadership skills, building confidence, getting on a stage and speaking in front of a group of people, learning how to communicate—all of this is really important for students’ careers.”
There have always been alumni supporting the arts at Baruch, and several were instrumental in the growth of BPAC. Early benefactors include Eli Mason (’40, LHD [Hon.] ’78) and Bernie West (’39, DFA [Hon.] ’98), for whom the college’s oldest theaters were named. The endowment of Arline Nagelberg (’71, MBA ’82), in honor of her mother Rose, resulted in the NVC theater in the latter’s name; and Irwin (’55) and Roslyn Engelman made possible the eponymous recital hall. Aaron Shapiro (’49, LHD [Hon.] ’89) initiated the Joel Segall Great Works Reading Series (named after the former Baruch president), and Aaron Silberman (’46) created the concert series that bears his name. Finally there is Marvin Antonowsky (’49), of whom Malatesta says, “If it weren’t for him, we probably wouldn’t have a Baruch Performing Arts Center.” His early generosity supported general operations.
Under the stewardship of Malatesta, BPAC has gone from a revenue-losing operation to one boasting a healthy reserve. Nevertheless, there are financial challenges ahead, such as a solo series planned for spring featuring bigger names. So far, Tovah Feldshuh, Sandra Bernhard, and bassist Jay Leonhart have agreed to participate in what promises to be a high-profile run.
Malatesta sums up the significance of BPAC: “It’s a real service to students, and at the same time, it’s preserving the arts.”
—Marina Zogbi