Charleston is a beautiful coastal southern city, highly walkable and dense in its historic center, with a wealth of interesting architectural features. Truly a unique and rich context for any architectural project. Chapel spires dot the skyline, restaurants and shops abound, and alleys and sidestreets make for an authenticly picaresque environment. This design for a black box theater incorporates several distinctive local features, including the Charleston 'side porch', the trellis shade structure, and the alley circulation pattern. In essence, the building is a literal black box cloaked in an operable shade structure - a lattice shell. Light is controllable, and may enter the theater in a pixelated shadow pattern or the box can be completely shuttered, depending on the needs of the production. An existing alley short cut on the 'L' shaped site becomes a pathway that wraps the exterior of the elevated lobby level, echoing the unique 'side porch' entries seen in Charleston residential structures nearby. Gallery spaces and gardens greet visitors.