STUDIO ACTING CONSERVATORY

Completed 2020

First Floor Plan

Second Floor and Site Plan

Spearheaded by founder Joy Zinoman and designed in collaboration with Debra Booth, Robert Sponseller, and Ron Henderson, this new permanent home for the Studio Acting Conservatory transformed a former church into an inspiring training atelier for the theater arts. Spaces include four studio classrooms, teacher and administrative offices, and a student lounge.

Prominent in one of the studios is a magnificent frieze of the Last Supper by artist Akili Ron Anderson, sculpted in place as an altar piece when the building was home to the New Home Baptist Church. Featuring Jesus and apostles modeled after Black residents of the Columbia Heights neighborhood, the relief had been covered in subsequent years after New Hope was unable to move it to their new location. After being revealed during demolition, the stunning work was restored by curators from the National Museum of African American History & Culture.

Design Collaborators: Debra Booth, Robert Sponseller, Ron Henderson
Contractor: Infinity Building Services
Photographers: Cassi Hayden & J. Graf