Schwartz/Silver’s renovation of Worcester Academy’s Walker Hall displaced a basement space - “the Pit” - used as a small theater. The Pit had obstructed views, no shop, and relied upon borrowed offices for changing rooms and storage.

The new Performance Center is housed in an industrial building that formerly contained emergency generators, located next to the schools’ playing fields. The 150 seat performance space and back of the house areas for student actors are located in the original concrete block structure. A new wing, built of industrial materials to match the original building, contains the lobby, public toilets, the shop on the main level, and a mezzanine above with a control room and storage. Large louvered openings in the original structure have been filled with glazed hanger-style doors that can be curtained closed, or opened towards the adjoining fields.