--- title: A Silver Anniversary for the Gold Standard in Performing Arts date: 2025-09-15T10:00:00-04:00 author: University of Maryland canonical_url: "https://terp.umd.edu/a-silver-anniversary-for-the-gold-standard-in-performing-arts" section: Articles --- # A Silver Anniversary for the Gold Standard in Performing Arts *September 15, 2025* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/authors/sala-levin-10) - *Photo by John T. Consoli* > For nearly 25 seasons, The Clarice has celebrated theater, music and dance. Terp takes a photographic tour of the landmark center’s first act. *stage in Jack Kay Theatre — The Ina and Jack Kay Theatre is a classic, Broadway-style venue that seats 626 guests and is used for a variety of performances from opera and jazz to theater and comedy.* **SCOT REESE CRANED HIS NECK** up at the soaring atrium of the new [Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center](https://theclarice.umd.edu/) for the first time in 2001 and knew immediately that a moment of dramatic transformation was unfolding at the University of Maryland. A professor of performance who’d joined the faculty in 1995, Reese was used to the outdated lighting grids, paint-splattered walls and creaking floorboards in the old Tawes Fine Arts Building. Here, though, Reese became emotional as he took in the scale of this sprawling new venue, with its six performance halls, library, classrooms, offices, rehearsal spaces and café. He marveled at the natural light pouring through glass walls and the blend of modern design and functionality. “There was a sense of validation—like all the late nights, the scrappy shows, the rehearsals in too-small rooms had led to this,” says Reese, now a professor emeritus. “I felt proud, not just for myself, but for everyone in the arts community at Maryland. We were finally being seen.” *Clarice Smith paints two vases of flowers — Center namesake Clarice Smith was known for her portraits, still lifes, florals, landscapes and equestrian scenes. Smith showed her work at galleries in the U.S. and abroad. (Photo by John T. Consoli)* - **Carousel Slide: Inset Spring Awakening Stan Barouh** — In the 2014 production of the subversive musical “Spring Awakening,” teenage characters grapple with sexuality, mental health and generational conflict. This version was co-directed by Associate Professor Emeritus Brian MacDevitt, who’s won six Tony Awards for lighting design. (Photo by Stan Barouh) - **Carousel Slide: 231020 Dylan Singleton Experimental Performance Series 9** — Dance students perform “Here’s to Us,” choreographed by Alondra Torres Negron ’25, in October 2023. The work is “a celebration of all we’ve felt, said, done and how we’ve made it through” she says. (Photo by Dylan Singleton) - **Carousel Slide: AS3 Kirsten Poulsen House** — In the 2014 reimagination of Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring,” members of the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra danced while playing their instruments in this daring restaging. The performance was a collaboration between James Ross, then-director of orchestral activities, and famed choreographer and UMD alumna Liz Lerman ’70. (Photo by Kirsten Poulsen House) - **Carousel Slide: 190214 David Andrews APP Silencio Blanco Workshop DSC 1276** — Members of the Chilean puppetry ensemble Silencio Blanco, visiting artists at The Clarice in 2019, work with children and families at Family Art Day at the Langley Park Community Center. (Photo by David Andrews) - **Carousel Slide: 20230701 David Andrews NOI Marin Alsop Closing Night DLA03179 2000** — Trailblazing conductor Marin Alsop was appointed the first music director of the National Orchestral Institute + Festival (NOI+F), a program of Clarice Presents for exceptional young musicians from around the country in 2020. Each June, she leads the NOI+F Conducting Academy and conducts concerts at The Clarice. (Photo by David Andrews) - **Carousel Slide: Backstage** — A student (left) works in the costume shop in 2024. The Clarice is home to a talented production staff that works collaboratively with student designers. Doni Rotunno MFA ’26 (right) applies makeup for Nuria Shin M.M. ’25 before dress rehearsals for “The Merry Wives of Windsor” in Spring 2025. Each spring, the Maryland Opera Studio presents a full-scale production that brings together singers, musicians, designers and technicians in a uniquely collaborative process between the School of Music; the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies; and The Clarice’s production staff. (Photos by Dylan Singleton and Taneen Momeni) ## STARS WHO SHINED AT THE CLARICE A who’s who of A-list entertainers, world leaders, writers and thinkers have graced the stages of The Clarice’s venues. Here are just a few of those luminaries: *DENYCE GRAVES headshot* *MAVIS STAPLES headshot* *JOHN LITHGOW headshot* *DALAI LAMA wearing Maryland hat* *DIONNE WARWICK headshot* - **Carousel Slide: Silent Disc Glo 27** — DJs spin tunes directly into the earbuds of the dancers at the popular Silent Disc-Glo in the Grand Pavilion at NextNOW Fest in 2023. Since 2014, the multiday celebration of the arts has featured performances, workshops and exhibitions by campus-based and national artists. (Photo by Dylan Singleton) - **Carousel Slide: 230429 Dylan Singleton Maryland Day 262** — The “Broadway Today” showcase, featuring students from the “Musical Theatre Workshop” course, is a favorite at Maryland Day, drawing hundreds of guests to The Clarice’s main atrium. UMD’s annual open house is just one of the ways The Clarice engages with new audiences who may not be directly connected to the university. (Photo by Dylan Singleton) - **Carousel Slide: Mitski 4** — Indie-rock luminary Mitski performs in the intimate Kogod Theatre during the 2016 NextNOW Fest. Other NextNOW Fest artists have included comedian and musician Reggie Watts, R&B singer-songwriter Ari Lennox, and actress and singer Elizabeth Gillies. (Photo by Dylan Singleton) - **Carousel Slide: TCMS Music Class 04072024 JD 9648** — Area high schoolers study rhythm in a class at The Clarice offered by the Terrapin Community Music School, supported by the School of Music and Arts for All to provide affordable music education. (Photo by Jess Daninhirsch) - **Carousel Slide: 1 370 118 0015** — The Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, home to the Special Collections in Performing Arts and the International Piano Archives at Maryland, houses 56,000 books and 130,000 audio and video recordings. “The Clarice at 25: A Retrospective Exhibit,” open there through June 2026, explores the people, vision and design that made The Clarice a reality. (Photo by John T. Consoli) ## BY THE NUMBERS - **318K** — Square feet - **17** — -Acre site - **970** — Seats in the Dekelboum Concert Hall, the largest of 6 performance spaces - **156K** — Musical scores in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library - **1,068** — Events during the 2024-25 season - **2M+** — Audience members since September 2001 **Issue:** [Fall 2025](https://terp.umd.edu/editions/fall-2025) **Types:** [Features](https://terp.umd.edu/category/features)