Recent grad to helm GA Down Under makeover

When Duke decided to revitalize the Gilbert-Addoms Down Under as entertainment space, it quickly realized it would take an insider to get the job done.

Previous attempts to use the space had seemed out of step with student needs.

Lisa Beth Bergene, assistant dean of residence life on East Campus, says she hoped that a recent graduate would have “a good sense of what Duke students would want in terms of entertainment.” She turned to Ryan Welsh, Trinity ’05, for the newly created position of East Campus event coordinator.

Welsh hopes to transform the GADU into a venue for performances and hanging out, while keeping it a multi-purpose space available for other uses as well. For starters, he has plans for regular late-night programming on weekends, including free entertainment and food on Points. The program, which will be called “Devils After Dark,” is slated to kick off Sept. 8.

Thursday nights, Welsh says, will feature student performing groups, such as a capella, comedy and dance ensembles. Fridays will host more “professional” entertainment, including magicians, ventriloquists and hypnotists. “Basically something unavailable anywhere else on campus,” Welsh says. As for Saturdays, Welsh says he hopes to organize more interactive events, like poker tournaments, movie nights and maybe board games with professors or administrators. “There really is no limit to the possibilities for the Down Under and Devils after Dark,” Welsh says. Scrabble with President Brodhead, anyone?

The goal for GADU’s new makeover is to provide a source of non-committal entertainment: no tickets—just a place to snack and relax. Eventually, Welsh says he wants to create a late-night programming student committee to better serve the needs of a sometimes unpredictable student body.

“I think consistency will be key,” says Bergene. “We’re trying to pattern this current year’s program after successful series last year like Jazz at the Mary Lou—people just knew that this event was happening on Wednesdays and would show up rather than having it be a one shot deal.”

Now equipped with blackout blinds, an A/V system and a temporary stage, Welsh says he has visions of the Down Under as a laid-back, “simple-retro-chic” nightclub.