Mindy Kaling ’01 is rewriting the script on what a college theater space can be. In June 2025, the award-winning writer, actress and producer donated a gift to fund the Mindy Kaling Theater Lab, which will be located in the newly renovated lower level of the Hopkins Center for the Arts adjacent to the Warner Bentley Theater.
On July 3, she took to Instagram with her signature wit, writing, “I just wanted to create a space where short form improv and zip zap zop can be practiced in peace!”
Set to debut during Arts Weekend in October, the Theater Lab will be a launchpad for experimentation, flops, rewrites and breakthroughs. “You can try things out, fail and then revamp and rework things … a thing can be bad on its journey to becoming good,” Kaling wrote.
“It’s deeply meaningful to see one of our most distinguished alumni invest in the next generation of artists and changemakers,” Hop executive director Mary Lou Aleskie said. “This gift is a powerful reminder of how the arts stay with you and how they continue to shape lives long after graduation.”
For students, that promise is already coming to life. Jay Nathan ’27, a singer and actor involved in an a cappella group on campus, said the new lab is a game changer for the arts on campus. Since 2023, the Hop has been closed for construction as part of an $89 million renovation and expansion.
“I think that this is such an amazing step forward for Dartmouth in the arts,” Nathan said. “I’m a sophomore, so I have not been able to use the Hop at all during my time at Dartmouth. If the Hop were more accessible, I think I would’ve done even more shows as an actor and dabbled in theatre more.”
The lab is outfitted like a mini professional theater featuring a sprung floor, a lighting grid and a professional sound system, according to the CenterHop’s website. Designed to mirror the size of the Moore Theater stage, the space is intentionally being built to support independent student productions from conception to performance. It’s Dartmouth’s Broadway sandbox — just without the pressure to be Broadway-perfect from day one.
For student-led performance groups, that flexibility is everything. Rachel Senn ’27, a member of Dartmouth’s improv troupe Dog Day Players, said she “love[s] how there will be a space that emphasizes the need to be able to react to failure.”
“I think learning how to think on your feet is really important, especially in improv, so it will be amazing to have a space dedicated to that part of theatre.”
Whether it’s an improv sketch, monologue or cultural roast, the Kaling Lab is primed to become a hotbed of creative chaos and joy. It’s Dartmouth theater, but with extra flair: failure-friendly, identity-affirming and defiantly hilarious.
As Kaling noted in her Instagram post, leaving a legacy on campus creates “a signal of success for impressionable people.” Nathan said that this resonates deeply.
“For Mindy Kaling’s legacy to live on in a space that I will be using is very exciting,” he said. “I’m also South Indian like Mindy, and I think the lab is a testament to how her career has shaped Dartmouth in how she constantly represents this undying creative process that started for her here on campus.”
Nathan also reflected on how this representation affects a student’s sense of place.
“I saw her post and I was very excited – especially when she talks about representation because it’s sometimes hard to see if your place at this school is bigger than yourself,” he said. “I think that this lab reaffirms that it can be, and your legacy can be carried forward to leave a lasting impact.”
