The new wing of the Town Hall Theater (THT) in Middlebury is the result of an over $8 million fundraising project including a $1 million gift from Middlebury College, a $500,000 grant from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, a $60,000 Better Places grant and several additional smaller grants.
“We’re growing from ‘just’ the community theater and arts center to something regional,” said Lisa Mitchell, executive and artistic director of the THT.
With the growth, the theater is also considering changing its name to reflect its variety of offerings, which range from traditional professional productions by their resident companies, to speakeasy-style House of Jazz events, to an annual comedy series. The theater also hopes to further convey its expanding role in the regional arts community, according to Mitchell.
The building’s 9,000-square-foot expansion will allow the theater to expand both their programming and teaching offerings.
For Lindsay Pontius, director of the Center for Learning and Engagement (CLE), which partners with the Town Hall Theater, the expansion marks a turning point. Over the past decade at THT, she has worked out of a small rehearsal space in what is now the old wing of the building. The previous lack of space limited the center to hosting only 12–15 camps and classes a year.
After the construction of the new wing, the theater will triple their CLE offerings, primarily expanding their selection of events for adults. They will offer classes for more in-depth programs, such as dance and sketch comedy, that run once a week for a span of nine weeks, along with experimental classes for new opportunities like culinary arts that will run for four weeks or less. Scholarships available for productions showing at THT apply to these classes, as well.
The brand-new scene shop — a dedicated space for set-building — in the basement of the new wing is essential to expanding the theater’s capacity for hosting a greater quantity and variety of events. Additionally, the THT aims to establish the space as a hub for technical education with the intent of bringing in high school students for hands-on experience through the Hannaford Career Center.
“We were looking at the calendar and realized we were closed for 30% of the year because we had to use the stage for everything — building, rehearsing, performing. This opens up so many possibilities for us,” Mitchell said, referring to the new wing’s added spaces.
In the years since the Town Hall Theater acquired the neighboring Diner Lot in 2018, the expansion has been a collaborative process between the theater and the local community. The Town Hall Theater established its plans for the new wing by taking into account what the residents of Middlebury and Addison County hoped to gain from the expansion of the theater.
“We spent a good two years just going over plans, and we started fundraising by just going to some of our old friends and rolling out our blueprints on their kitchen table, and saying ‘This is what we’re thinking — what do you think?’” Mitchell said.
Town residents prioritized community gathering spaces and flexibility. In a Middlebury downtown master plan from 2020, one of the highlighted themes under the Arts & Culture section was a desire for “a place to hang out in the evenings that is not a bar” and that “music and fun events make people’s differences disappear.”
THT aims to do just that by including such spaces of their new wing, such as the Maloney Plaza, named after the first administrative assistant at the theater once it reopened in 2008. The paved plaza will feature gardens and an elliptical stage that can be moved for events like a block party and a dedicated space for food trucks. For more intimate events such as their free arts programming, the plaza is situated between the old and new wing.
“I can imagine with the plaza, the new wing… in terms of art, it’s going to be a gem in the heart of downtown,” said Walter Deverell, a long-time THT volunteer and Addison County resident. “Combine it with what’s going on at the college, and it’s quite the vibrant community we’ve got!”
Spaces such as the Anderson Center, an open flex space with overhead light fixtures spanning the ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Otter Creek, are an example of the multitude of flexible areas that the Town Hall Theater now offers. With a catering kitchen attached, THT envisions room for events such as graduation parties, reunion get-togethers, rehearsals, talks — the lot. The rest of the new wing contains several additional options for flexible use, such as the upstairs lounge area that will be used for events like an upcoming literary magazine launch party, allowing for a combined open-mic and mixer-style event.
THT doesn’t plan to stop making their community space a community project. Their upcoming Center for Learning and Engagement’s programming, which features a larger selection of dance and adult classes, is the product of conversations about the best function for their new spaces.
“We’re going to have to do a lot of surveys and polls to see what’s working, see what isn’t as necessary, and filter [THT] into something that works really well for the community,” Wilde said.
Cultural centers like THT contribute to the local economy by attracting visitors who may dine at nearby restaurants or visit local shops before or after events. Community members also benefit from the theater’s programming fostering a stronger cultural scene.
“It’s a win for the absolute joy of living in a small town that can make you happy,” Deverell said. “It’s a real upper — people coming in are in a good mood, they’re happy to be there, and I truly enjoy feeding off of all that.”
Coming up next on the Town Hall Theater’s agenda is the National Public Radio’s [presentation of The Moth on Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m. and the Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra with Diane Fanning on Saturday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Noor Khan '28 (she/her) is a Layout Editor and Contributing Writer.
Noor is majoring in history with a minor in French. Outside of The Campus, she works as a tour guide for Middlebury College Admissions. She is originally from London, England, and now lives in the Bay Area in California. Noor enjoys reading, hiking, and boba.
