PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION.
LOWELL HALL USE
Lowell Lecture Hall is a FAS classroom Monday through Friday, 8am to 3pm, scheduled by the FAS Registrar’s Office.
At other times, Lowell Lecture Hall is managed by the Office for the Arts at Harvard. Standing rehearsals, both faculty-conducted and student-led, are scheduled Monday though Thursday afternoons and evenings, Saturday mornings and all day Sunday. Rehearsals are occasionally scheduled for Friday afternoons. Standing rehearsals are generally not moved.
Events are scheduled Fridays and Saturdays during term time. In most cases, space access for Friday events will begin at 6pm, Saturday events at noon. On selected dates, access may be another time indicated on the application form.
Food and drink are not allowed in Lowell Lecture Hall. The space is not suitable for banquets or receptions. Bottled water is allowed in the five basement classrooms. These rooms will be scheduled along with the hall reservation in order to support the event as dressing rooms or warm up space.
EVENT CRITERIA
As part of its mission, the Office for the Arts strives to elevate diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as core values across all art disciplines and endeavors. Applications will be reviewed with this core value in mind. This may mean a shift in the scheduling of events that student groups have grown accustomed to over the years.
Only officially recognized FAS student organizations may request event dates in Lowell Lecture Hall. Harvard College groups will be given priority over GSAS groups. We are not currently accepting applications from non-FAS schools.
The event must be appropriate for the venue and the production scope must be feasible. Events requiring numerous rehearsals, major technical support and/or complex set up may not be appropriate. “Tech weeks” are not available. Contact Memorial Hall’s Administrative Office if you have questions about these issues before applying for an event date.
SCHEDULING CONSIDERATIONS
- Faculty-conducted groups presenting student group performances may be given scheduling priority. (see note below)
- Performance groups have scheduling priority over non-performance groups.
- Performance events involving Harvard student performers have scheduling priority over performance events involving non-Harvard or non-student performers.
- Applications for non-performance events will be reviewed after all others.
- GSAS student group applications will be considered after all undergraduate student group applications are reviewed.
Note: In an effort to support a broad scope of student activities, a student organization’s traditional access to other campus venues (i.e. Sanders Theatre, Paine Hall) may be a consideration during terms when the number of Lowell Hall event requests exceeds the available performance dates. In other words, a group with a performance scheduled in Sanders Theatre during a particular semester may not receive priority scheduling for Lowell Hall.
Applications will be reviewed after the deadline posted. A particular date scheduled one year does not insure the same date will be available or granted to the same group the following year. The aim is to support as many student groups as possible.
Recognized student organizations may request a Lowell Hall event date for one Friday or Saturday per semester.
Rehearsal and technical time is extremely limited. In addition to the usual 3pm or 6pm access on the day of the event, we will schedule one two-hour block per event, usually 10pm to 12am on Wednesday or Thursday, for technical preparation or rehearsal. All activity in Lowell Hall must end promptly so that the space can be clear at midnight.
If other time becomes available in a given week, it will be scheduled for upcoming events accordingly. Again, “tech weeks” are not possible; standing rehearsals are not moved. Events requiring more tech or rehearsal time than described here may not be suitable for Lowell Hall.
***Lowell Hall dates granted to student groups are for one performance only. Proposals for additional performances on single day will be reviewed by the Memorial Hall Production Office on a case by case basis (prior history does not guarantee future approval). If access time is limited, multiple performances may not be approved.***
APPLICATION PROCESS TIME-LINE
| SPRING SEMESTER 2024 | FALL SEMESTER 2024 | |
| Application period | November 6-30, 2023 | April 11-30, 2024 |
| Dates will be offered to groups by | Dec 13, 2023 | May 10, 2024 |
| Groups confirm dates by | Dec 20, 2023 | May 17, 2024 |
Late applications will considered after the confirmation deadline if any available date events remain open.
- If we have not received confirmation by the deadline listed, the event date will be given to another group.
- If a date is confirmed, then cancelled before the second Friday of the semester, your group cannot reapply for the current semester.
- If a date is confirmed, then cancelled after the second Friday of the semester, your group cannot reapply for current semester and forfeits the opportunity to apply for event dates during the initial application period and early weeks of a subsequent semester.
Once confirmed, group representatives are responsible for the following:
- Meeting with Harvard Box Office staff regarding ticketing
- Meeting with Memorial Hall/Lowell Hall Production staff to review production and house management policies and procedures
- Reimbursing Memorial Hall/Lowell Hall for HUPD detail*
- Arranging for sound/light training as needed
- Arranging pick up of equipment, accessories and keys at a specified time
- Returning equipment, accessories and keys, and a short post-event report, at a specified time
- A House Manager is required for each show.
- The required house management position is a non-performing member who will be responsible for the audience throughout the event. They typically are in charge of ticket collection, venue capacity, as well as audience safety and policy enforcement: no standing in aisles, everyone in a seat, making sure people exit safely if there’s an emergency, no food/drink in the lecture hall, etc.
- Ushers: 4 to 12 Ushers may be needed depending on the scope of the event. Speak with the production team for more information.
- Sound and Lighting Training must be scheduled within two weeks of your event. Failure to schedule training means you or your group will not have access to lighting and sound systems.
*HUPD detail must be reimbursed before sound/light training is scheduled, and before keys are distributed to access these systems.
APPLICATION FORMS
Submitting an application form implies you have read and agree to the above policies and procedures.
Application form Fall 2024
Contact memhall@fas.harvard.edu with questions.