The Rec ribbon cutting marks the beginning of the end of an almost decade-long campus master plan project of planning, fundraising, and construction. It is also the beginning of a new, flourishing era for SCH’s performing arts program. On Friday, May 8, over two-hundred students, alumni, faculty, donors, and community members gathered to celebrate the opening of the renovated performing arts center. Everyone applauded as major donors reflected on the importance of this project. Players’ presidents Jo Leon-Palfrey and Colin Salas concluded the afternoon with the ribbon cutting, officially welcoming guests into the newly transformed space.

William Stroud, Class of 1976, remembers The Rec long before its recent renovation, when it was still being converted from an old, run-down recreation building into a performing arts center. He described joining other students in 1973 to help with the early demolition work, tearing out old bathrooms and interior walls to make space for dressing rooms, restrooms, and the original Green Room. Stroud went on to spend most of his time at The Rec in the lighting booth, running spotlights from the balcony and eventually serving as technical director for productions such as The Diary of Anne Frank and My Fair Lady. At the ribbon cutting, he noted how much wider and more flexible the theater is now, pointing out the expanded stage options, improved backstage areas, and a much larger lobby, while still recognizing the same adaptable performance space he helped build more than 50 years ago.

Building on that legacy, John Soroko P’18, a donor to the project, shared why he wanted to support the Rec’s renovation. He explained that “our support was really through the William B. Dietrich Foundation, of which I’m one of the directors,” and that its contribution helped fund the Rec’s distinctive “Wissahickon Schist facade.” As a former SCH parent whose daughter graduated in 2018, Soroko sees his participation in the project as a way to give back to a place that meant a lot to his family. Looking at the finished building, he called it “a very attractive building” and said he hopes the project will “tie it in better and integrate it better into the overall campus landscape, which would be a big plus” for the school.

At the ceremony, speakers, including lead donors Bruce Whelihan ’60  and Vicki McNeil Le Vine ’75, emphasized how the Rec’s transformation was part of a much larger, long-term vision for SCH’s campus. Dick Hayne P’08, P’11, a long-time member of the Board of Trustees, former board chair, and Rec donor, was described by Arts Department Chair Meghan Monaghan as “a guiding force behind the campus master plan,” and his “innovation, creativity, and opportunity” helped turn the school into the vibrant place it is today. Speaking at the ceremony, Hayne connected the Rec’s ribbon cutting to the long process behind it, looking back “almost 15 years ago” to when the trustees of “this new organization called Springside Chestnut Hill Academy” were first debating the campus master plan. He recalled that “there were as many ideas as there were people on the board,” and that many worried the master plan was “too aggressive.” After many discussions, he said the board ultimately decided “we had no alternative. We had to get it done.” Now, with the Rec as one of the last project of that initial plan, Hayne called the outcome “miraculous” and described the new building as “a symbol of the dedication of this community” and proof that “we can get things done when we put our mind to it and work together.”

Although the SCH community celebrated the completion of the Rec with the ribbon cutting, the building is still a few weeks away from being fully operational due to delays in acquiring the necessary occupancy codes permits. The Players, however, are extremely excited to have access to the space for their productions starting next school year. Current 8th grader Grace Talbot, dressed as Cinderella, in honor of the Players’ weekend performances of Cinderella, added a theatrical touch to the celebration when she waved her wand and proclaimed, “Bibbidi, bobbidi, boo, the Rec is open.”

For current SCH students, however, the Rec represents more than a renovated building. It will serve as a creative home for performances, rehearsals, and community events, offering expanded opportunities not just for the students in the performing arts programs, but for the entire student body. As audiences move through the new lobby and into the updated theater, the space stands as both a tribute to the Rec’s long history and a foundation for the future. With its reopening, the Rec not only preserves decades of memories but also sets the stage for the next generation of SCH performers to create their own.