Art, Music and Theatre

F.W. Olin Hall for Arts and Humanities, home of the Fine Arts department, offers students a unique opportunity to experience the energy and excitement of the arts. Considered one of the best arts facilities in the state, Olin Hall provides students with the opportunity for scholarly and creative involvement in art, music, and theatre programs.

Olin Hall serves as a major cultural arts center for the Roanoke Valley. Some of the outstanding facilities available in Olin Hall include a 404-seat mainstage theatre with the latest in computerized lighting and sound systems; a 125-seat recital hall; a 500-seat outdoor amphitheater; versatile classrooms; studios; a fine arts library; practice rooms; a special media room equipped with slide, film, and TV projection; comfortable student lounges; a 100-seat studio theatre; a dance and rehearsal hall; faculty offices; a sculpture platform garden; and a Concert Grand Steinway “D” piano.

In the visual arts, students in Olin Hall can develop their creativity in modern and fully-equipped painting, drawing, design, graphic art, computer, photography, printmaking, ceramic, and sculpture studios and laboratories. Running parallel to an active studio program for students is the Olin Hall gallery program, which presents many art exhibitions and events complementing the art studies, as well as national touring exhibitions from such institutions as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Smithsonian. In addition, student works are exhibited annually in Olin Hall, culminating in the senior art student exhibition held each year in the Olin and Smoyer Galleries.

In music, a student may audition for the Roanoke College Choir or Women’s Chorus, which perform at special events and on-campus and off-campus programs throughout the year. A Spring tour is often a part of each choir’s schedule. In addition to voice training and performance, instrumental groups include the Wind, Chamber and Jazz Ensembles. Olin Hall also provides opportunities to hear the College’s resident chamber ensemble, the Kandinsky Trio.

In theatre, students audition for parts in several theatrical productions each year. Shows have included Twelfth Night, Crimes of the Heart, Fool for Love, Dracula, Extremities, The Glass Menagerie, The Skin of Our Teeth, Hedda Gabler, Bus Stop, The Heidi Chronicles, and Godspell. Participation in theatre at Roanoke College gives students experience in acting, makeup, set design, lighting, publicity, and other phases of production. This experience is available to students from all majors at the College.