John Spitznagel (center) and family pose under The Spitz marquee.

The Spitz, the name for Rider University’s newly renovated studio theater in the Fine Arts Center, has a distinctive ring to it.

The unveiling of “The Spitz” overhead marquee during the ribbon cutting ceremony before the Fine Arts Department’s production of “The Servant of Two Masters” in the theater Friday night underscored the growing quality and distinctiveness of Rider’s theater and musical performance programming on both the Lawrenceville campus and Westminster campus in Princeton.

The Spitz represents a total renovation and internal reconfiguration of the 40-year-old studio theater and is named after John Spitznagel, a Rider Trustee and 1963 Rider journalism graduate, who was lead donor of several contributors to the $300,000 renovation project.

As a result of the renovation, the facility is now a fully professional mini theater complete with a control booth, lighting grid, state of the art technology, dressing rooms and comfortable seating for an audience up to 100. The new Spitz will serve as a laboratory for Rider students to explore their own art and grow as artists and as a second venue for formal public performances. The new facility will also serve as classroom space for acting, design, directing, and band practice.

“John and his family have been a significant part of developing our theater program and renovating our studio theater,” said Dr. Patrick Chmel, chair of the fine arts department. “This facility is state-of-the art and cutting edge. It is for students and for our classes – a step up for all of us.”

At the start of Friday night’s ribbon cutting ceremony, Tharyle Prather, director of theater facilities, presented Spitznagel with a framed plaque “for being the fabric of our lives.” In the glass-enclosed plaque was a square piece of fabric from “The Servant of Two Masters” production.

Through their generosity, Spitznagel and his children have played a significant role in the enhancement of theater facilities and programming. He and his children also gave the lead gift in memory of his wife and their mother, Yvonne Alexander Spitznagel, a 1964 journalism graduate, to renovate the Fine Arts Theater. In November 2000, this 450-seat, state of the art venue was renamed The Yvonne Theater

Now the larger Yvonne Theater and adjacent Spitz stand as testimony to the growing status of the performing arts on both campuses.

President Rozanski and John Spitznagel prepare to cut the ribbon to The Spitz theater and unveil The Spitz marquee.

On the Princeton campus, Westminster Choir College is world renowned for its choral music and superb quality of performances. Rider has entered into a 20-year partnership with Princeton High to provide up to 40 days per year of enhanced performance space for Westminster’s choirs, opera, theater and conservatory programs in the new, 850-seat auditorium being built across the street from the campus.

“The talent of our students and faculty and the quality of our programs in theater and musical performance in Lawrenceville and on our Westminster campus in Princeton enhance Rider’s reputational distinction,” Rider President Mordechai Rozanski said. “The upgrading of our performing arts facilities is consistent with the renewal we are witnessing throughout the University.”