Labs and Studios

Emerson College owns more performance space than any other institution in Boston. The performance and production spaces utilized by the Department of Performing Arts include the recently renovated Paramount Center, the Cutler Majestic Theatre, and the Tufte Performance and Production Center.

Nine rehearsal studios are located in the Paramount Center. The studios are used as class and rehearsal space. An additional five practice rooms equipped with pianos are located near the rehearsal studios.

The Emerson Costume Shop is a space fully equipped for the training of costume designers and craftspeople and boasts an inventory of more than 10,000 costume pieces. It features three cutting tables, eight domestic and four industrial sewing machines, an industrial leather machine, two industrial sergers, and an ironing station. There is a separate fitting room for actors, a dye and craft room, and a large room for costume storage.

The Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Design Technology and Makeup Suite features instructional spaces for makeup courses and also two large dressing rooms.

The Scene Shop includes instructional and working spaces for scenic construction, prop construction and stagecraft, and scenic painting.

The Theatre Design/Technology room serves as both a classroom and a laboratory. The main studio includes a drafting and rendering area, CAD lab, sound station, and craft space. Additionally, a 400-square foot light lab sits adjacent to the main studio for lighting design instruction and the testing of designs.

The EML currently hosts curriculum in multiple areas of new media, including but not limited to: 3D modeling & animation; analytical drawing, artistic anatomy & 2D animation; character design, and more.

The Paramount Sound Stage is a production facility available to all students and staff. The stage features a full range of equipment and support gear essential to the creation of professional-level cinematic imagery.

The Tufte Performance and Production Center comprises of two television studios; one facility is a fully-equipped, custom-designed teaching studio. The other (The DiBona Studio) is a larger, professional-standard studio used for larger-scale productions by classes, student groups, capstone experiences and other types of production. It provides space for lectures, demonstrations, viewings and critiques, as well as use of the standard control room video equipment and production systems.

The Darkroom is a film-processing laboratory featuring 12 individual workstations. Each one is equipped with a Beseler MXT 4x5 enlarger, which accommodates negatives sized from 35mm to 4” x 5”. Outside the darkroom is a finishing area, where prints are washed and dried, and a film developing sink and exchange rooms, where film is transferred from cassettes to developing tanks.

These multi-monitor desks allow for production relating to graphics or animation.

The Audio Post-Production Center provides a wealth of world-class audio facilities, equipment and support for VMA and Journalism students.

The Digital Production Labs offer professional, up-to-date hardware and software, with a professionally-trained staff and student assistants to help with any workflow or technical issues.

Film Post Production suites facilitate the continuation of the analog film curriculum, beginning with analog editing on flatbed Steenbecks and progressing to nonlinear digital editing on advanced Avid workstations.