The 180-seat theater and multipurpose venue is named in recognition of a legacy endowment contribution to the Shepherd University Foundation by Dr. Stanley C. Marinoff, of Shepherdstown and Chevy Chase, Maryland, and in memory of his late wife Shirley.
The endowment fund is established to support the educational initiatives and artistic programming of the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF), hosted at Shepherd University since 1991. There has been a Marinoff on the CATF Board for the past 22 years: Shirley Marinoff was an original trustee of the Theater Festival and Dr. Marinoff currently serves on its board; their daughter, Allison Marinoff Carle, finished her mother’s board term after Shirley’s passing in 1996 and is currently on the Festival’s Honorary Board.
“The Stanley C. and Shirley A. Marinoff Theater is the centerpiece of Shepherd’s newest academic and creative arts venue,” said former Shepherd President Dr. Suzanne Shipley, “Endowment gifts to the Shepherd Foundation serve as the backbone to the long-term growth and future of the University. We are grateful to Dr. Marinoff for his ongoing support of our campus community.”
The $13.5 million facility includes a theater, scenery shops, graphic design studios, a rehearsal and small performance room, as well as a small art gallery. It is joined with the first phase of the Center for Contemporary Arts via outdoor patios. The copper plated Marinoff Theater, designed to reflect the Appalachian horizon behind it, plays host to annual Shepherd University Theater Productions as well as two professional productions that work in rotating rep each summer as part of the Contemporary American Theater Festival.