Studio Gang Breaks Ground on The Samuel H. Scripps Theatre Center at Hudson Valley Shakespeare

Located in Garrison, NY, the 14,850 square foot venue design will serve as a permanent home for Hudson Valley Shakespeare, the beloved Hudson Valley theater company known for its sweeping open-air productions of classics and new works set against the backdrop of the Hudson River and the surrounding landscape of the 98-acre campus. Designed by architecture and urban design practice Studio Gang, the structure will be the first public purpose-built LEED Platinum theater in the United States, and is the centerpiece of a comprehensive design with extensive green space and rewilding across the campus, led by Nelson Byrd Woltz, embodying Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s commitment to sustainability and responsible stewardship of the land conveyed to the company by philanthropist and longtime conservationist and advocate for the Hudson Valley, Christopher Davis. Consigli Construction Co., Inc. will serve as the Construction Manager for this project.

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Artistic Director Davis McCallum, Managing Director Kendra Ekelund, Members of the Board of Directors, and staff were joined today by New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, State Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg, Putnam County Legislator Nancy Montgomery, Philipstown Supervisor John Van Tassel, Cold Spring Mayor Kathleen Foley, architect Jeanne Gang, members of the theater’s extended community of artists, and donor Christopher Davis to celebrate this milestone, which featured a performance from HVS artists, speeches, and a ceremonial shoveling of the dirt on the ridge where the theater will be built, overlooking the Hudson River.

“Arts and cultural organizations like Hudson Valley Shakespeare are central to communities across New York State — boosting local economies and driving our vibrant tourism industry,” Governor Hochul said. “As we celebrate the groundbreaking for Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s expansion, we’re also making $80 million available to help even more organizations across the state have the opportunity to grow, thrive and inspire the next generation of New Yorkers.”

“Today represents a watershed moment in our evolution from a seasonal festival to a cultural anchor for the Hudson Valley, as well as a destination for arts lovers from far and wide. This transformational moment is only possible because of an historic $10 million grant from NYSCA and a generous leadership gift from the Scripps family and the Samuel H. Scripps Foundation,” said Davis McCallum, Artistic Director. “We’re honored by their belief in the power of the arts to build community and are deeply thankful for all of the supporters who have helped to realize this exciting new chapter for Hudson Valley Shakespeare, especially Chris Davis, whose vision and generosity afforded us the opportunity to put down permanent roots here in the Hudson Valley.”

Designed by architecture and urban design practice Studio Gang, Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s new home will create a singular theatrical destination for New York and the wider performing arts community and a cultural anchor for the Hudson Valley, while providing the company with greater versatility for its actors, audiences, and back-of-house operations and will extend the viable performance season into the fall. Bringing nature and art closer together, the theater’s curved, timber-framed grid shell and timber columns emerge from the landscape to create a dialogue with the Hudson Highlands. The stage’s proscenium arch is carefully oriented to frame picturesque views of the Wey-Gat (Dutch for “Wind Gate”) of Storm King Mountain, the Hudson River, and Breakneck Ridge, and allows the actors to utilize the existing topography to emerge from the landscape. Anchored by an open-air theater, the program is spread across several pavilions that include a back-of-house facility, a concession building, and public restrooms. Each pavilion is clad in natural materials that evoke the minerality of the region. Landscape elements are also integrated into the theater’s architecture: outdoor gathering spaces adjacent to the theater encourage visitors to connect with each other in an extraordinary natural setting, while a nearby overlook offers an intimate space for pre- and post-performance programming.

“Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s new theater is designed to immerse audiences and actors in the rich landscape of the Hudson Valley,” said Studio Gang Founding Partner Jeanne Gang. “The architecture weaves in elements of the natural environment to create a unique indoor-outdoor setting for the company’s open-air productions and to offer an unparalleled theater experience.”

Nelson Byrd Woltz’s landscape design rehabilitates the site of a former golf course to restore native grasses and wetlands that support biodiversity and decrease resource use. Nearly 14 acres of new plantings include 250 native or adaptive trees, native grasses, forbs, and perennials, and bioretention areas that collect and filter stormwater runoff. The landscape is designed as an experiential sequence: upon arrival to a new, gravel parking area, visitors encounter a mix of unpaved and accessible paths that guide them up and through native meadows, immersing them in nature and providing views out to the Wind Gate, and ultimately leading to the hilltop theater and gathering areas. A large portion of the site was left open for future walking trails or other community uses, while 25,000 square feet of picnic lawns, shaded by new native trees, offer an abundance of vantage points from which to take in the view and enjoy pre-show programming. The design employs several features to enhance environmental performance, including natural ventilation and brise soleil systems, low embodied carbon structure and cladding, and rooftop solar panels, among others. Through its care for the environment, and the planet more broadly, the design aims to ensure that the company’s productions, and the diversity of the natural world, remain center stage for many seasons to come.

“Having worked with Hudson Valley Shakespeare for many years – first on the site master plan, and now on the landscape design – we are thrilled to see this project coming to fruition, and to help shape Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s first permanent home,” said Thomas Woltz, Senior Principal of NBW. “Our design celebrates the natural beauty of this extraordinary site and creates connections between theater and landscape to enhance the magic of storytelling for generations to come.”

The Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center is scheduled to open in time for the 2026 summer season.