Leave your legacy in the music performance theater

Anyone who would like to make their mark on the music performance theater being erected on the Rochester Institute of Technology campus is invited to sign a steel beam that will be part of the building.

For the next two weeks, a 12-foot beam, painted orange, will be on the southeast side outside of the construction zone, under a blue tent. Anyone who wishes may sign their name on it, or even leave a message to future students.

It is accessible 24 hours for approximately the next two weeks. Markers for signing are at the site.

“It’s almost like a time capsule,” said Michael Dellafave, associate director for construction management and grounds. “The beam will be installed in the steel structure of the building and will live there for the duration of the building’s life.”

Dellafave said beams were also signed for the SHED, the Saunders College of Business expansion, and the Gene Polisseni Center. Each had hundreds of signatures.

Groundbreaking on the three-story, 40,000-square-foot building was held in September and is the first major theater project in the Rochester area in decades. It will consist of a 750-seat theater primarily used for musical theater productions. The theater will have two balconies and a historic pipe organ as its centerpiece. The estimated completion date is December 2025, and like other venues on campus, it will be available for public use.

In 2019, RIT established a vision to become the leading performing arts program in the nation for non-majors. More than 1,800 students have received partial performing arts scholarships since then.