Inside the new theatre at Jacob’s Pillow and its ‘magic box’, part of a pioneering complex designed for dance

There is nothing much like Jacob's Pillow, the renowned cultural hub that is home to America's longest-running international dance festival, and whose campus in the leafy Berkshires is a designated National Historic Landmark. The complex, which hosts performances, residences and a school, in a year-round programme, has been growing organically – figuratively and literally – since its inception in 1933. Today, it is widely acknowledged for its pioneering history in its art form and represents an important centre for dance in the country, as well as globally.

Jacob's Pillow and the Doris Duke Theatre: a history

Jacob's Pillow’s revolutionary founder, modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn, was in search of a home for his all-male company (a rarity at the time), Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers, when he came across a farm on top of a wooded hill in Becket, Massachusetts. Accessed via a zigzagging road, the site was locally referred to as 'Jacob's Ladder' (from the Biblical story) and had existed since the 1700s. A round rock on the site resembling a pillow soon gave the venue its name. There, the company's dancers slowly built – often with their own hands and while living off-grid on-site – a family of structures using the area's traditional timber frames, which eventually became the vibrant campus you find there today.

The complex contains buildings that house offices, rehearsal rooms, an archive and exhibition centre, and of course, stages – among them, the Ted Shawn Theatre (which was thoroughly renovated in 2022) and the breathtaking, outdoor Henry J Leir Stage where shows take place against the backdrop of the surrounding rural landscape. A third performance site, the Doris Duke Theatre, completed the set, but in 2020 it was tragically destroyed by fire.

To make up for this loss and responding to the organisation's growing needs, Jacob's Pillow, now headed by director Pamela Tatge, commissioned Dutch architecture studio Mecanoo to create a new home for its third stage. Architect and practice founder Francine Houben unveiled her design for the new Doris Duke Theatre in 2023, working with New York design firm Marvel and artist Jeffrey Gibson, whose Choctaw-Cherokee heritage is often reflected in his art, inspired by the North American Indigenous aesthetic. Jacob's Pillow rests on the ancestral homelands of the Muh-he-con-ne-ok or Mohican people, and acknowledging this and having the North American Indigenous community be an integral part of the new design was pivotal to the dance centre's plans and future.

It was equally critical for the complex to develop holistically and on a larger scale, too, allowing visitors to experience not just a specific performance when they visit, but the wider campus, its nature, and cultural and architectural heritage.

Tour the latest campus addition at Jacob's Pillow

Tatge explains why Mecanoo was the perfect fit for the commission: 'There were a number of reasons why we picked Francine. One is her deep experience in creating theatres, and we had to make sure that this was a theatre that was going to work for us. The second is her amazing work with wood; she engages with it in a very poetic way.

‘She had also recently created a reimagined wood building on her property in the Netherlands, called the Shed – it is a nonprofit that supports performance, meetings, and retreats in dialogue with the landscape. I thought, if someone can make such magnificent work on a large scale, and can also make something like this, she's our candidate. And the final thing, which was really important, was that we asked every design team to [include] an Indigenous artist. She selected Jeffrey Gibson, who has a performance background. For all those reasons, Mecanoo was the right choice.'

All existing buildings at Jacob's Pillow follow the typical local vernacular, conceived to be highly functional and pragmatic. They are beautiful in their gentle, wood architecture and utilitarian looks. The reimagined Doris Duke Theatre sits on the site of the former structure and echoes the same spirit, using, for example, modern timber construction. The new building, however, aims to be more open and more inclusive and accessible, as well as more flexible and larger – the main stage seats 230 people – than its predecessor, while maintaining the old theatre's intimacy and warm feel.

Following these themes, both Tatge and Houben agreed that the building had to be connected to its land. 'We [were] not building a theatre in Brooklyn,' Tatge says. 'It needed to resonate with the surrounding environment, and also be responsible in terms of sustainability. We needed to make environmentally conscious decisions, and also embrace new technologies and make sure the campus is accessible.’

'Jacob's Pillow is a spectacular place,' says Houben. 'It is a collage of buildings. I loved the colour and tactility of the old [Doris Duke] building, and how it opened and connected to nature. That is one of the unique things here; you are always connected to nature. Also, it is on Indigenous land, and all the buildings are of colonial typology. We wanted to go back and celebrate the diversity and the Indigenous history of the site.'

The structure is built in pine, which will age and turn silver over time. Its rounded shape and the garden behind it reflect shapes and layouts that are important in Indigenous culture – as does the number '7', which makes its appearance in various elements, such as the horizontal 'bands' of timber cladding seen on the external skin.

The rounded form is 'thanks to Jeffrey Gibson, who pointed out that Indigenous structures are circular and colonial structures are all right angles,’ continues Houben. ‘We [had] no curves at Jacob's Pillow. What would it mean to introduce a curve? So we introduced this hugely inclusive veranda that represents what we want this place to be. What we want this theatre to be is a welcoming space for all. The final form is not a perfect circle, but there is something really important about imperfection.'

As a result, the building's ground-level flowing veranda leads to a west-side lobby, welcoming guests in a sheltered, pre-show area. Another lobby on the east side can be used flexibly as a rehearsal space and multipurpose event area, spilling out to a lush garden that pushes the boundaries of dance performance. Here, art pieces including contributions from Indigenous artists will be displayed, and there's also a medicinal garden and a fire pit for gatherings. And, of course, there was a reason why this garden sits on the east, Houben explains: 'According to Indigenous philosophy, you need to enter from the east.'

Inside, the main stage and all its seating and technical magic sit within a 'box', placed within the external, rounded volume. 'In theatre, we talk about the “black box”. We mean a rectangle that's hugely flexible. So this is a black box, a wooden box, and Francine takes it to the next level: it's a magic box because of all the ways that you can use the space,' says Tatge.

Houbin explains that the theatre opens in all four directions, combining, visually and physically, art and nature. It feels open and flowing. 'We imagined [dancer] Emily Johnson dancing on the roof – we wanted to make spaces that can be both formal and informal,' the architect says. There are also new support spaces, acoustic panels and ventilation, which not only work well but are also beautiful to look at. It all works perfectly in tune with both its natural and built environment at Jacob's Pillow, a perfect addition to the complex that hosted ‘the first theatre in the USA that was really designed for dance’, Houben says.

The reimagined Doris Duke Theatre opened at Jacob’s Pillow on 6 July 2025 with a week of festivities across the campus, including the Trinity Irish Dance Company, a three-day Pride celebration featuring The Illustrious Blacks, and performances by Indigenous Enterprise, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, and Sydnie L. Mosley Dances.

jacobspillow.org

mecanoo.nl

marveldesigns.com