The Theatre

Risley Theatre is an 81 seat black box located in Risley Residential College on Cornell's North Campus. The theatre is open during Cornell's Spring and Fall semesters, and has shows ranging from Shakespeare to musical theatre to improvisational comedy playing in its space almost every weekend. Risley Theatre's productions are open to anyone in the Ithaca area - so drop by and see what's going on this weekend!

Theatre Sub

Risley Theatre is Cornell's only fully student operated theatre. All of the money, technical work, and season planning are conducted by a group of volunteer students. The decisions about the operation of Risley theatre are made at Theatre Subcommittee, which meets in Risley's Central Living Room every Sunday at 6 PM. Any member of the Ithaca area interested is welcome to attend the meetings and contribute to the running of Risley Theatre!

How We Work

The shows in Risley theatre are chosen each semester at Production Selection meetings. These meetings are advertised well in advance, and any group wishing to stage a production in Risley Theatre must submit a proposal prior to the meeting. At the meeting, Risley Subcommittee and Risley's student staff work together to choose which plays will be a part of the upcoming season and when they will be. Once a production has been assigned its week(s) in the space, they can then seek funding (either from outside sources or from Risley Theatre in exchange for their box office take) and work on casting their show, designing the technical elements, and preparing for their time in the space!