Be it opera or orchestra, diva or dancer, the Augusta area has a stage suited to the needs of most performers.
Ranging in size from intimate to relatively expansive, each venue fills a specific performance niche.
The Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center, an I.M. Pei-designed multipurpose arena, is home to the Augusta Lynx hockey team and features performances by national touring acts and large-scale events. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Harlem Globetrotters, Bob Dylan and Bill Cosby have all appeared at the civic center in recent years. The facility has a maximum capacity of about 8,000.
Next door to the civic center, Bell Auditorium, when set for plays or concerts, has a maximum capacity of about 2,700. The facility has a level floor and raked balcony seating and can be configured in a number of ways, from table seating to a convention-center layout. Recent Bell tenants have included Olivia Newton-John appearing with the Augusta Symphony, touring theatrical productions such as Rent and Fame, the Musical, and the Guitar Pull country concert.
Many local arts groups make the historic Imperial Theatre, a vaudeville house opened in 1918, their home. The 841-seat theater is in the midst of a renovation project and has recently featured performances by the Augusta Ballet, the Augusta Opera and the Augusta Players, in addition to touring acts such as Robert Earl Keen and Seven Mary Three.
Augusta State University maintains the Grover C. Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre on its campus. The 756-seat theater is primarily used for ASU productions but also serves as the home for the Augusta Symphony's MasterWorks concerts and the Harry Jacobs Chamber Music Society series.
The Etherredge Center also is an academic venue, situated on the campus of the University of South Carolina Aiken. The 687-seat facility recently has featured performances by the Augusta Symphony, the Aspen Ensemble chamber quartet and USC Aiken's theater department.
The Washington Center for the Performing Arts is in Aiken. The theater, which opened in 2002, is home to the Aiken Community Playhouse and has a maximum capacity of approximately 315. The venue has been used for a variety of dance and music performances.
Although not strictly a venue, the Sacred Heart Cultural Center does utilize the former church sanctuary as a performance space. The Augusta Choral Society presents its concerts at Sacred Heart.
Steven Uhles, Staff
ENTERTAINMENT VENUES
Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center, 605 Seventh St.; 722-3521
The Etherredge Center, University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Parkway; (803) 641-3305
Grover C. Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre, Augusta State University, 2500 Walton Way; 667-4099.
Imperial Theatre, 745 Broad St.; 722-8341.
Sacred Heart Cultural Center, 1301 Greene St.; 826-4700.
The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 124 Newberry St., Aiken; (803) 642-7654 for rental, Aiken Community Playhouse, (803) 648-1438
William B. Bell Auditorium, 712 Telfair St.; 722-3521
