City Manager Paul Brake and the College of Creative Arts Dean, Paul Kreider, came to a new arrangement that will no longer include the management of the theater to be under the College of Creative Arts. The City Manager believes this will provide a better leverage of resources from creative sectors of the community. 

Faculty and Administrators of the College of Creative Arts will be providing consulting services, as requested, on technical operations and operations management on an as needed basis. 

"We are grateful that last year our students were afforded an opportunity for involvement in the operations of the Metropolitan Theatre," stated Dean Paul Kreider. “We are also happy to have helped serve the arts community of Monongalia County. We look forward to continued consulting with the City of Morgantown to the benefit of the Metropolitan Theatre and the entire arts community." 

The requests for such consulting services will be requested by the City Manager, or his designee. The value of the services, to be provided by the University, will be $15,000. These services will not be charged to the Met Theater or to the City, but provided in exchange for free dates at the Theatre. The College of Creative Arts will be allowed twenty (20) days per year to utilize the Theatre without cost. The value of the consultant services is roughly equivalent to the Met’s rental costs. 

“I truly believe this is a ‘win-win’ for both the City and WVU toward a long-term sustainable arrangement for the betterment of the Met Theatre,” said Brake. 

The College of Creative Arts previously scheduled performances that will occur this summer and fall summer will run as originally planned. The college will retain all revenues from these performances. 

Get more information on the Metropolitan Theatre and see upcoming performance dates at morgantownmet.com.