Sally Katz Donation Funds Naming of New Penn Live Arts Theatre

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The 125-seat studio theatre will serve Penn's student performers with flexible capabilities for theatre, comedy, dance, and spoken word.

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Penn Live Arts at the University of Pennsylvania has received a leadership gift from Sally Katz, Penn Class of 1982, to support and name the Sally Katz & Class of 1982 Theatre in the new Platt Student Performing Arts Center, designed by Steven Holl Architects and currently under construction at the corner of S. 33rd Street and Woodland Walk.

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The 125-seat studio theatre will offer flexible performance and rehearsal capabilities, providing Penn's student performers with a dedicated venue for theatre, comedy, dance, spoken word, and other creative work. The theatre will complement the 326-seat Edward W. Kane Theatre, five rehearsal studios, student gathering spaces, and performance support areas, helping meet the longstanding need for more rehearsal and performance space on campus.

Inspired by the leadership of Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt, both 1979 graduates of Penn, Katz saw an opportunity to help create a permanent home for future generations of student performers while honoring the classmates who have supported Penn alongside her for more than four decades. For their 45th Reunion, members of the Class of 1982 will have the opportunity to leave their own legacy by supporting programming in the new space through their class gift.

“This gift represents everything I love about Penn—the performing arts, building community, and helping students discover their passions,” Katz says. “I hope this theatre gives future generations of students the same sense of belonging and possibility that Penn gave me.”

“Sally understands that the value of the arts extends far beyond the stage,” says Christopher Gruits, Executive & Artistic Director of Penn Live Arts. “The performing arts help students become more creative thinkers, stronger collaborators, and more effective leaders. This theatre will give generations of Penn students a place to develop their talents, build meaningful connections, and cultivate the skills they will carry into their professions and communities.”

For Katz, the gift represents the culmination of a lifetime of engagement with Penn. A founding member of Bloomers—the nation's first all-female collegiate comedy troupe—she discovered her love of performance as a student. Since graduation, she has remained deeply involved with the University, mentoring generations of Bloomers as president of Girdles, the group's alumni organization; serving as class president; and helping the Class of 1982 establish Penn's standing reunion participation record of more than 1,000 donors. Katz is currently a member of the Trustees Council of Penn Women and sits on the Board of Directors of Penn Hillel. She has also served on the Penn Alumni Board and as past Chair of the Alumni Class Leadership Council—among many other volunteer roles. Read more: More Than a Stage: After four decades of bringing people together at Penn, Sally Katz is helping create a home for the next generation of student performers.

Penn Live Arts (PLA), headquartered at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, is the leading presenter of innovative and transformative performing arts experiences in Philadelphia. A vital resource for the performing arts at the University of Pennsylvania, PLA is an artistic crossroads joining Penn and the greater Philadelphia region through world-class music, dance and theatre on campus and at venues throughout the city, serving an annual audience of over 80,000. With the opening of the Platt Student Performing Arts Center and addition of the Stuart Weitzman Theatre, PLA expands its footprint to eight performance spaces, providing an increasingly wider array of creative opportunities. Penn Live Arts emphasizes artistic and intellectual excellence and extensive variety in its offerings; prioritizes broad inclusiveness in the artists, audiences and groups it serves; and expands arts access by actively engaging a wide range of audiences and inclusive communities from campus, the West Philadelphia neighborhood and the surrounding region. To learn more about Penn Live Arts, visit PennLiveArts.org .

The University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1740, is an Ivy League institution with a distinctive past. Its 12 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools are located in Philadelphia on an attractive urban campus that serves a diverse community of more than 20,000 students from throughout the nation and around the world. Ranked consistently among the top universities in the nation, Penn has a longstanding reputation for excellence in graduate and professional education.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/philadelphia/article/Penn-Live-Arts-Names-Theatre-After-Sally-Katz-Leadership-Gift-20260916)._