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Williams Arts Resources

Resources

From state-of-the-art performance venues and maker spaces to the latest in digital production technology with training opportunities, Arts at Williams provides the space and tools to let creativity flourish.
Students gather around a professor in a large art studio as he measures a slab of stone in a stone masonry class. A dance instructor kneels down to adjust the leg of a student dancer as they look into a large studio mirror. A student works at a laptop at a table in the costume shop while the shop director looks on; the table is covered with spools of thread and bobbins. A female student wears large headphones as she adjusts levels on the sound board in the Williams College radio studio. Three art studios stand at a counter in the printing studio and discuss their work. Two female students each hold an end of a piece of paper as they lower it onto a printing press in the printing studio. Students in a studio art class sit at easels and sketch a skeleton using charcoal. Closeup shot of a sound board in the music technology lab.

Art Studios

Art-makers in all mediums have access to individualized studio spaces at the Spencer Art Building, ranging from a monotype print studio and film photography darkroom to the architectural design and sculpture studios. Free live model sessions are also available in the drawing studio twice a week. Across campus at the Greylock Ceramics and Pottery Studio, students can practice throwing and fine-tune their skills at weekly Ceramics Club meetings.
A male and female student work in an art studio. The male student is wearing a blue apron while he examines a freshly painted glass plate; the female student rolls red ink over a stencil onto a glass slide. Two students look at prints laid out on a table in an art studio. Two students adjust a large canvas on a printing press in an art studio. A female students kneels on the floor of an art gallery as she works on installing pieces of a paper artwork to the wall. Students sit in an art studio at drawing desks with sketch pads at the ready as they listen to their professor. An art student uses her hands to paint on a canvas in the painting studio. An art professor stands next to a skeleton model as she gives instruction in a studio art drawing class.

Performance Spaces

The ‘62 Center for Theatre and Dance presents a myriad of production at its three state-of-the-art venues: the MainStage, a “courtyard” proscenium theater ideal for dance ensembles; the CenterStage, whose flexible flat floor layout and moveable balconies bring theater productions to life; and the multipurpose, thrust-type Adams Memorial Theater. Concerts and recitals are enjoyed at the music department’s two main venues: Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall, with its onstage Steinway grand piano; and Chapin Hall, a historic venue known for its fine acoustics.
A female hip-hop dancer performs on the stage in the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance, backed by a brick wall. The Iota Ensemble, featuring a piano, cello, clarinet, keyboard, and xylophone, performs onstage of the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance while colorful graphics are projected on a screen above them. A music ensemble is seen from above rehearsing in an empty theater space with a conductor, piano, keyboard, drum set, saxophone, flute, violin, and singer. Two student actresses perform on stage; one lies in a bed while the other sits in a rocking chair on a platform. A wide shot of Chapin Hall at Williams College shows the Berkshire Symphony onstage and a full house during its reopening celebration in 2015. A choral director stands in the middle of the house and directs during a rehearsal, with the stage behind him. An interior view of the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance shows a vast empty house, with floor level and two balcony levels.

Practice Spaces

Abundant rehearsal space allows performers to hone their craft and prepare for opening night. The Bernhard Music Center houses 23 practice rooms equipped with Steinway pianos, available for all students by reservation. The ’62 Center Dance Studio’s incredible environment features an exceptional sprung floor and panoramic view of the Berkshire mountains. The neighboring Shared Studio is used for rehearsals, classes, and workshops in movement and acting, and includes a sprung hardboard, masonite-surfaced floor suited for tap and step activities.
Students stand in a circle on a theater stage during a warm-up exercise during an acting workshop. A student looks out from a trap door in the floor of a stage. A dance instructor leads two students during rehearsal in a large studio with windows behind them. Theatre students sit in a circle and read lines in the acting studio. A dance instructor kneels down to adjust the leg of a student dancer as they look into a large studio mirror. A male student in a black shirt plays the violin while looking at his music stand.

Digital Production

Sawyer Library serves as a hub for digital art-making, boasting a design thinking lab with 3D printing technology, virtual reality room, and professional recording studio. It also houses Studio 275, a production studio stocked with live editing, an Audio Workstation, green screen, and light controls. All computers also have the Adobe Creative Suite and can sync with rentable Wacom Illustration tablets. Nearby, the Bernhard Music Center features a state-of-the-art music technology lab for advanced tutorials and compositional thesis work.
Student facing computer screens in the recording studio. Male student singing into microphone in the recording studio A music professor works in a sound editing program as students watch her work projected onto a screen. detail of a 3D Printer A view into the Center for Educational Technology shows students filling workstations while working in state of the art programs. A closeup of the back of a soundboard shows criss-crossing wires and plugs.

Radio Station

Williams’ student-run radio station, WCFM 91.9 FM, has been broadcasting since 1941. Its business offices and extensive music library are filled with CD and vinyl archives which are updated monthly. WCFM 91.9 broadcasts to the Berkshire area and students can be trained as DJs as early as their first semester at the College.
A female student wears large headphones and speaks into a microphone as her two interview subjects listen in the radio studio.
Learn More Visit WCFM's website

Costume Shop

The Costume Shop at the ‘62 Center for Theatre and Dance is located centrally to facilitate movement between rehearsal and performance venues, dressing rooms, and storage facilities. Its sophisticated equipment, including JUKI industrial sewing machines, and specialty rooms for dying, laundering and fitting allow its staff, visiting designers and students to produce gorgeous costumes for all types of performances.
A student works at a laptop at a table in the costume shop while the shop director looks on; the table is covered with spools of thread and bobbins. A closeup of bobbins and thread on an industrial sewing machine in the costume shop.
Learn More Visit WCFM's website