The Runnals building was built in 1939 as a women’s union that housed female students, and was a new addition to the College’s student population. For about 35 years, the building operated in this way, containing sorority meeting rooms and a women’s gymnasium. In 1976, it underwent a remodeling project, and Strider Theater took the place of the gym. Soon after, the Performing Arts Program was founded, and Runnals Union took on a new name: Runnals Performing Arts Center.
Until the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts was constructed in 2022, Runnals was home to the Performance, Theater, and Dance department. However, the construction of the Gordon Center, which contains a number of multipurpose performance areas and studios designed to be used for dance, theater, and music, shifted the attention of the department from Strider’s classic proscenium stage to the novel and flexible offerings of the new building.
Though Strider Theater has been put out of commission, students continued to explore the space. Exploration of the abandoned theater began with a few birthday parties, then various groups of people began drawing in chalk on the stage, and then larger-scale events began to take place. For a while, the space was considered an official event space, so student musicians were able to book the theater and collaborate with one another to put on performances.
Eventually, Strider was removed from the events management system, and students were unable to book the space. However, the College’s community of student musicians put on one final, unauthorized show, in celebration and appreciation of the theater before it was closed permanently. Sophomore Clara Gayed `28, who attended this closing concert, describes it as “one of the most amazing things on earth.”
At the State of the College meeting on October 6, College President David Greene alluded to the student activity that occurred in Strider last year, stating “[t]hat was never the intent of the space, for it to just kind of lie fallow as an old, beat-up theater where people could be in there doing whatever they wanted.” The College is taking the building in a new direction. Greene continued, “[i]t really needs to be a place that is actually connected to the academic mission and to what we’re doing here.”
Plans are in motion to transform the space once again. According to Greene, who gave a brief overview of the rethinking of Runnals at the State of the College meeting, the project entails replacing the theater with a “center for innovation, entrepreneurship, Colby Labs…the idea is to really create a number of great convening spaces, workspaces, collaborative spaces for making things.” Greene hopes the new space will foster student creativity and encourage the conversion of ideas into tangible action.
Tensions have cropped up in the planning stages of renovation, as administrative goals and student interests do not always align. For example, Gayed, who is part of the Colby College Student Government Association (SGA), explained that the SGA “wrote a motion about a teaching and learning kitchen” which they imagined could have been used to teach classes, host club meetings, and be available as a bookable space because most of the dorms do not have kitchens. However, when they met with the architects in charge of the remodeling, they felt that their ideas were disregarded without consideration, which was disappointing for them when “it’s something that the students are asking for, that student government voted for.”
Despite these tensions, work is being done to account for student needs while maintaining the new vision for Runnals. According to Gayed, who is also Chief of Operations for the Colby Music Incubator (CMI), “administration is getting involved so students can book Gordon more, so it is accessible for students.” She states that “I really appreciate the administration for taking the time, honestly, talking to us, and trying to find something that makes the students happy.”
However, the loss of Strider Theater will still be painful for some. Gayed muses “all of that history…especially with theaters, there is something very, very special about places of performance.” The complete repurposing of the building will entirely change its place in the College’s community.
Renovation will begin in December. According to Greene, the transformation will create a space for creation and action. In his final remarks on the renovation at the State of the College meeting, he emphasized this purpose, asking “[h]ow do you take these ideas, how do you take the things that are important to you and the learning that you’re getting here and then put them into action in the world? … That’s what the whole new entrepreneurship and innovation and everything that we’re trying to do with Runnals is about.” The College will soon see how Runnals adapts to its third lease on life.
~ Anna Izquierdo `29
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