EMU Theatre: The History of Sponberg Theatre

Ken Stevens, Director of "The 39 Steps" , was the head of the 1980's campaign to build the Sponberg Theatre from the ground up and has produced countless performances within the space since. All it took was a little bit of hard-work, some celebrity power, and one helicopter...

1970's

Dr. Harold E. Sponberg is President of EMU and heads the initiative to create scholarships for the arts.
EMU Forensics Team wins National Championship ('73, '75, '76, '77, '78, '79).
Ken Stevens and his pal, Bob McElya, joked about putting a bubble over the outdoor performance space to create a Garden Theatre.

1980-1983

John Porter becomes President of EMU and sends out a call for proposals for capital campaigns at EMU.
Ken writes proposal for Sponberg Theatre - a 200 seat facility that could be used to extend EMU Theatre programming, hold national Forensics competitions, and other campus events.
A firm in Chicago deems Sponberg Theatre as the campaign that is most likely to succeed.
The Department Head of the Communication and Theatre Arts Department, Dennis Beagen, backs the project along with Porter.
Ken is asked to head the campaign.
Ken seeks to secure the project with large donors before taking the project public.
Enough funds are secured to make the campaign public.
Carol Channing agrees to announce the campaign to the public ONLY if she can be flown to EMU by helicopter.
Ken meets Carol on COBO Roof, takes a helicopter to EMU, and lands where our current Student Center is located.
Carol announces the campaign and buys the first two chairs of Sponberg Theatre.

1984

Enough funds are raised to break ground.
Ground is broken.

2012

On June 1st, Ken Stevens will present The 39 Steps in the Sponberg Theatre.
Ken talks about his love for the space, "It's open, the size is right, and there is a sense of intimacy. You can do a range of productions. As a director, it is always a challenge to find a way to do a show in an unorthodox setting