Swine Palace is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

professional

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

company associated with the

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

Department of Theatre in Baton Rouge,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. The theatre companies home is located in the Reilly Theatre on the campus of

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

History

In 1992, an historic livestock judging

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

called the Swine Palace was slated for demolition. It was the first building constructed on the current campus of LSU and was identified as the future home of the Swine Palace theater company. The theater company founded in 1992 by Barry Kyle (former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre) in association with LSU Department of Theatre was named after the original name of the building in which it would be located. The theater company was established with the goal to become Louisiana's premier professional theatre. A capital campaign to raise $3.5 million for the renovation of the structure was undertaken. The offspring of a public/private partnership, the 500-seat flexible

opened during the 1999–2000 season and was funded by the State of Louisiana and a generous

grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

from the Reilly Family of Baton Rouge. The Swine Palace building was renamed the Reilly Theatre and was designed to maintain the architectural integrity of its original origins. The first play presented in the Swine Palace building was not a Swine Palace theater company production, but an LSU Theatre student production of Shakespeare's ''Twelfth Night,'' during the spring of 1973. Under the leadership of LSU Theatre Chair and Executive associate Dean Kristin Sosnowsky and Managing Artistic Director Vastine Stabler, the Swine Palace theater company continues to be a leading voice in Louisiana

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

and an important center for theatre

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

. Artistically the company made immediate impact with important world premiere adaptations written by Lucy Maycock of ''

A Confederacy of Dunces ''A Confederacy of Dunces'' is a picaresque novel by American novelist John Kennedy Toole which reached publication in 1980, eleven years after Toole's death. Published through the efforts of writer Walker Percy (who also contributed a foreword) ...

'' and ''

All the King's Men ''All the King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It was inspired by the real-life story of U ...

''. In recent years, Swine Palace has become recognized for community outreach as well as its artistic excellence and was awarded the Baton Rouge

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

's 2006 Racial Justice Award for its many programs. These program initiatives have been produced in conjunction with socially relevant works like ''

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

'', ''

The Laramie Project ''The Laramie Project'' is a 2000 play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project (specifically, Leigh Fondakowski, writer-director; Stephen Belber, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts, Stephen Wangh, Amanda Gronich, Sara Lambert, ...

'', ''

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'' is a 1982 play – one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson, and the only one not set in Pittsburgh – that chronicles the 20th-century African-American experience. The play is set in a recording stu ...

'', and ''

The Exonerated ''The Exonerated'' is a made-for-cable television film that dramatizes the stories of six people, some of whom, were wrongfully convicted of murder and other offenses, placed on death row, and later exonerated and freed after serving varying ye ...

''. During the spring of 2007, Swine Palace (in conjunction with the LSU Performing Arts Series and Ping Chong and Company) produced the world premiere of renowned theatre director Ping Chong's ''Cocktail'' written by Vince LiCata and Ping Chong. Based on the true struggles of Thai

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

Krisana Kraisintu, this

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

follows the struggle to create an affordable version of the anti-

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

drug

AZT Zidovudine (ZDV), also known as azidothymidine (AZT), is an antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use in combination with other antiretrovirals. It may be used to prevent mother-to-child ...

for the thousands of Thai AIDS patients. In June 2007, LSU Theatre and Swine Palace embarked on the first-ever international tour performing Wendy Wasserstein's "The Heidi Chronicles" directed by Michael Tick at the

Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre () is a professional theatrical company based in Shanghai, China, founded on January 23, 1995 after the merger of Shanghai's two largest theatres, the Shanghai People's Art Theatre () and the Shanghai Youth Drama Troup ...

and the Beijing Central Academy of Drama. As such, they were the first theatre company to perform Ms. Wassersteins's work in China, and one of only a handful of U.S. companies to perform at either of these prestigious institutions. The China tour was conceived as part of LSU's University-wide China initiative and included five performances at the

, the largest performing arts institution in Shanghai, and three performances at the Beijing Central Academy of Drama, one of the finest academies in Asia. The play was originally performed as part of Swine Palace's 2006–2007 season. In total, 31 people made the month-long trip, including 15 undergraduates and graduate students; six faculty members and a number of friends and family. In recognition of Swine Palace's many accomplishments, it was awarded the 2006 Governor's Arts Award for Large Arts Organizations.

Production history

References

External links

Official site
{{authority control Louisiana State University buildings and structures Theatres in Louisiana Theatre companies in Louisiana Tourist attractions in Baton Rouge, Louisiana 1992 establishments in Louisiana

History

Production history

See also

References

External links