About VRCFA
Named for the longest serving speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives and New Boston native, Vern Riffe, the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts opened in 1995. Designed by famed architect George Izenour, the central area of the 102,000 square foot facility houses the performance and gallery spaces, the Eloise Covert Smith Theater, the Kahl Studio Theater, Howland Recital Hall and Appleton Gallery.
A classroom wing contains a ceramics and photography lab, visual arts studios and computer labs for the university’s top rated gaming design program. Along with the academic and administrative offices for the center, the Portsmouth Area Arts Council (PAAC) maintains its central offices in the building.
Every year hundreds of performances are presented by a partnership between Shawnee State University and Southern Ohio Performing Arts Association; Portsmouth Area Arts Council Children’s Theater; the university Musical Theatre program; Portsmouth Wind Symphony; and by renters such as Portsmouth West High School and Cirque D’Art.
Each semester, there are multiple visual art exhibitions in the Appleton Gallery by students and regional artists.
And of course, the building is used for dozens of university events from orientations, graduations and meetings of dance and martial arts clubs.
Eloise Covert Smith Theater
The Eloise Covert Smith Theater is the main performance venue at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts. It contains 1137 seats at full capacity. An attractively painted acoustically transparent scrim can be lowered to partition off the front and back seating sections to provide a more intimate experience.
All the performance spaces in the Vern Riffe Center were designed by the famed George Izenour. The Covert Smith Theater is specifically designed to enhance the sound in the space: voices, instruments and audio playback. At the same time, great effort was put into minimizing extraneous noise produced by the heating and cooling system so that audiences could enjoy performances with minimal interruption. Whether you attend a performance of a Broadway tour, play, performance by a single musician or an entire orchestra, you should have a quality experience.
The theater was named for Eloise Covert Smith in November 2013. Mrs. Smith was a graduate of Portsmouth High School and dedicated much of her life to education. She taught elementary school in New Boston and Wheelersburg. After retirement, she remained an advocate of higher education and was a supporter of Shawnee State University. She and her husband Sam Kenyon were close friends of Cyrus and Alma Kahl for whom the Kahl Theater is named.
Upcoming Events
Plan a Visit
Coming from the North:
Take US Rt. 23 South to Portsmouth. This turns into our main street through town. Turn left onto 3rd Street and the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts is immediately on your right. A drop-off area is conveniently located in front of the Center. Parking is located to the west of the Center and across the street with an entrance on Gay Street.
Coming from the South:
Take Rt. 23 North across the US Grant Bridge. Turn right off of the bridge. The Vern Riffe Center for the Arts will be on your right. A drop-off area is conveniently located in front of the Center. Parking is located to the west of the Center and across the street with an entrance on Gay Street.
Coming from the East:
Take Rt. 52 West to Rt. 23 South. Make a left on Rt. 23 and continue to 3rd Street in Portsmouth. Turn left onto 3rd Street and the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts is immediately on your right. A drop-off area is conveniently located in front of the Center. Parking is located to the west of the Center and across the street with an entrance on Gay Street.
Coming from the West:
Take Rt. 52 East to Rt. 23 South/Chillicothe Street. Take Chillicothe Street to 3rd Street in Portsmouth. Turn left onto 3rd Street and the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts is immediately on your right. A drop-off area is conveniently located in front of the Center. Parking is located to the west of the Center and across the street with an entrance on Gay Street.
Parking and Accessibility
Parking is available directly west and north of the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts. The parking lot to the north (across the street from the Center) may be accessed from Gay Street. Additional parking is available in the Portsmouth Municipal lot on 4th Stree and on the east side of campus via Waller St.