If you’ve ever walked past the little brick house on Romoda Drive during a warm autumn day, you might have heard the sounds of guitar, ukulele, singing, or music floating on the breeze. If you looked over, you would have seen an eclectic group of rambunctious students sitting on the front stoop, lying in the front yard on blankets, making jokes, laughing, dancing, and playing an array of instruments. That is just a glimpse of the Arts Annex theme house.
The Arts Annex is located on the edge of campus, right across the street from the Griffiths Art Center. It might not look like much on the outside, but when you walk in, the personality of the house and alive. From the sizable common room, to the kitchen (which has the only working garbage disposal of any theme house), to the second and third floors of dorm rooms, it becomes clear that the Arts Annex is a place of hard work, creativity, and talent. Inside of it lives twenty-three students that have plenty of differences, but all share one thing in common: a love for the arts. Whether it’s rocking out with your favorite instrument, running lines for the school play, or creating dance choreography for this semester’s concert, everyone here loves to perform.
The people in the Arts Annex are supportive and encouraging of their housemates, but on top of that, the house itself offers an array of amenities that everyone can use to help grow their performing talents. One of these spaces is the music library, an offshoot of ODY that holds everything music related, from sheet music to soundtracks. It is a quiet place to study and is one of the more underrated aspects of our house. Another great place in the Arts Annex is the jam room, located off the common room. What used to be a quad-dorm room has been transformed into a practice room for anyone to rehearse as loud as they want without disturbing roommates or neighbors. Thanks to an innovation grant from the university, this room is newly refurbished with a drum kit, amps, and even more soundproofing! Both rooms are open to the public, so don’t be afraid to stop by and take advantage of them.
The Arts Annex is a place for all performing artists on campus. We help bring attention to the performing arts through our sister club, the St. Lawrence University Performing Arts Collective (or SLU PAC for short). SLU PAC showcases the talent of students on campus and encourages them to try new things and gain an interest in the performing arts. We do this through an array of events. There are smaller, more low-key events like weekly listening parties where music is paired (usually alliteratively) with food, open jams, and workshops. We help bring local artists and student-run bands onto campus to perform at Pub 56. We also put on larger events, such as the upcoming Lady Jam Open Mic in collaboration with the DUB, and our second annual Battle of the Bands. Most importantly, SLU PAC loves to showcase the talent of our student body. For instance, our first major event the 4th Annual Stoop Show, which we put on every year during Parents Weekend has a lineup not just of house members, but of other singers, musicians, and student bands from around campus. Come support your friends and the arts, and experience this harmonic, artistic, dramatic, and eccentric house we call a home!