BY DIANA BIFFL

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TD Arena, sitting comfortably on the corner of George and Meeting streets, is often filled with the sounds of screaming fans and screeching basketball shoes, but this spring, its acoustics will be used in an entirely new way. “This year, for the first time ever, we are using the College of Charleston’s TD Arena as a performance space,” states Jessie Bagley, the public relations manager of Spoleto Festival USA.
     Typically, Spoleto uses Gaillard Auditorium to house fine-art performances, but since it’s in the midst of a major renovation, Spoleto will be using the space normally dedicated to basketball games. The Gaillard, with its 2,000 seats, was a pretty big loss for Spoleto; Spoleto executives weren’t about to give up all those ticket sales. It turns out TD Arena serves as a perfect substitute. Spoleto’s sterling reputation won’t suffer a bit. In fact, Bagley says, “We actually brought in an acoustician, and he said the acoustics in the arena are going to be even better than the old Gaillard, so if anything, you’re going to get an improved experience.” Spoleto will bring in an acoustic shell when necessary, but it looks like the arena is a natural when it comes to the art of performance.

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Here’s another quick insider about Spoleto 2013. This one even shocked Bagley. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is in this year’s schedule. Big whoop, right? Actually, yeah. This is the first Shakespeare piece Spoleto has done in its 37-year history. This isn’t any old Midsummer Night’s Dream, either. Bristol Old Vic and Handspring Puppet Company, the masterminds of the theatrical phenomenon of War Horse, are behind this one.

     The transformation from squeaking shoes on the hardwood floor to stages, beautiful singing voices and thespians will bring a world of imagination to Charleston.

 

          "The lunatic, the lover, and the poet, are of imagination all compact.”

          — A Midsummer Night’s Dream​