Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Erich Friend on January 27, 2014 at 5:10pm

It's a magical time. Fantasizing about what might be, what could be . . . then the reality of what will be comes along. It can be a grand feeling if the dreams are cognizant of the realities of construction and finance, or it can be a nightmare if they are ignored. The development of a theatre space requires a broad exchange of ideas and a lot of vision. Some of the team players should include:

• An Architect can help you to determine if a building can be converted to meet all the building code requirements, and they are also helpful in managing an honest construction budget. They know the myriad of details that are required to make a space habitable.
• A Structural Engineer can tell you the loading capacities of an existing structure, or assist in developing ideas for the Architect to create modifications or new structures.
• A Mechanical Engineer can help determine how much heating and cooling the building will require.
• A Plumbing Engineer can assist in determining water and waste flow requirements for sinks, showers, toilets, washing machines, fire sprinkler, roof drainage, and much more.
• An Electrical Engineer can help with energy management, site lighting, general interior lighting, Fire Detection and Alarm, power distribution, and energy management systems.
• A Theatre Consultant can help with Sightline Studies and Seating Layouts, Space Planning, Catwalk and Control Space layouts, Stage / House / Work Lighting Systems, Stage Rigging & Machinery, Staging, Drapes, and a myriad of other things that the Architect and MEP don't understand as they relate to theatre operations).
• An Acoustician can provide advice as to the treatment and shaping that might be necessary to have a good sounding audience chamber, and can provide insight about noise isolation from exterior elements (planes, trains, and automobiles) and can identify probable issues with room-to-room noise isolation of HVAC, elevator, and other operational noises.
• An A/V Consultant can help to plan appropriate systems for Sound Reinforcement, Intercommunications, Video Capture and Display, Recording, and Editing.
• A IT Network Consultant can advise you on the planning of a data infrastructure that can support Energy Management, Lighting Control, Digital Audio / Video Media, Public Data Delivery (WiFi), Building Security, Fire Detection / Alarm, General Office Data Distribution, Telecommunications while having a robust Firewall to keep out the bad guys. Everything runs on cat cable and fiber today, so this can't be ignored.
• A Program Development Consultant can help you to identify your market base, management and staff configuration, and aid you in defining your long-term revenue streams and cost centers.
• An Artistic Director can provide the vision as to the market segment that is the venue's prime target and to see what types of shows and show resources will be needed to achieve that goal.

Plan it, fund it, build it, and book it.

Finding the specific answers you are looking for will involve the players mentioned above. Time for a casting call.

(Shameless plug: Please contact us if we can be of assistance).

Permalink Reply by Michiel Sipman on February 3, 2014 at 4:25am

I agree with Erich, that it´s a magical time to dream and after that to plan things !!

The only, in my opinion, very important participant in the whole process is the user of the space. They are missing in Erich's writing. Especially the technical department is often consulted when the drawings have already been made, resulting in either extra work (and costs) or a building that lacks things.

So, who-ever you invite to make the blueprint, beware that the people who are going to work in your building are involved from day 1 on. It can prevent you from extra work for improvements after the building is ready.

Permalink Reply by Michael Mell on February 3, 2014 at 7:14am

You may wish to read my book, Building Better Theaters, ET Press 2006, 2008. It was written for folks like you who are about to embark a the grand adventure to create your own theater space. It is available on Amazon.

Permalink Reply by Ted Jones on February 3, 2014 at 8:48am

The other guys are all correct. However, I can tell you the questions I ask people in your position.

1. What kind of shows are you looking to do?

You can build a space that is usable for all types of shows, BUT, some spaces lend themselves to certain types of shows better than others. And you can force some types of shows into any space.

A found space, such as you describe, may influence what your end solution is. Determining what type of shows you will do, will give you criteria for determining how much weight you will want to hang or move. It will determine the type of stage deck you install, what kind and how much lighting you need, what kind of sound, etc.

A good space for Shakespeare and certain dramas may not lend itself well to musicals. Shakespeare plays well in 3/4 thrust and some shows are great in the round. In both cases, the scenery is often minimal and the show/acting/direction is everything.

Musicals play well in proscenium houses as most were written to be played in the picture frame that is a proscenium. Also, singers really need to face the audience. 3/4 thrust and in-the-round make it difficult for singers to be heard or understood.

Small shows play well when played entirely on a 3/4 thrust or a studio space. This can be enhanced when the talent is good enough to play in such an intimate space. I saw a play in a Chicago store front theater last Friday where I had to not extend my legs for fear of tripping one of the actors, they were that close. But, they were that good. I could be looking eye-to-eye with them and still not have them break the 3rd wall.

It a studio setting, you have options. A pipe grid is scene them most. Sometimes studio theaters have electric winch or counterweight rigging. My preference is a tension grid as they take care of the issues of working over scenery. You could also have narrow catwalks with 4 or 5' of space between them to accomplish something similar.

There is a proscenium theater in the suburbs that is being laid out with a tension grid over the stage and the FOH with a full traditional drapery package below the stage portion of the tension grid. It my sound strange, but there is only 6' of fly space above the sight lin

Permalink Reply by Kevin H. C. Moore on February 3, 2014 at 9:48am

One other point I think deserves consideration is 'Will everything be housed in this new theater space or will scenery, costumes, props...etc., be brought in from somewhere else?' The ingress and egress for larger items to and from the stage and backstage become an important consideration. Always remember what I call the first rule of technical theater, 'There is no such thing as enough storage space'.

If you're fortunate enough to be considering new LED based lighting sources for much of your theatrical lighting, that will have great long-term benefits in terms of power consumption, air conditioning needs, and will effect the not just the number of resident dimmers and lighting circuits you need, but this also changes how you lay-out full time AC power sources and DMX networking points at your various lighting positions.

I heartily agree with Mr. Sipman, keep your technical staff (and consultants if you can afford them) closely involved or your architect is liable to do something you will find inconvenient that you'll have to live with for at least the next 30 years.

Also, be sure the money goes where it needs to be and not for the unnecessary and inconsequential. In the last new Arts Center theater I was involved with the backstage had three small but adequate cinder block rooms to house the Paint Room, Tool Room, and active Props Storage. I was more than surprised to find the architect had specified (and builders installed) full finished drywall in those rooms - a serious waste.

Permalink Reply by Michael Mell on February 3, 2014 at 11:21am

I believe Ted has nailed it. Some spaces lend themselves more easily to certain types of shows and presentational forms. If you don't listen to what the space tells you, to the 'dark side' will you go and forever will it cloud your destiny.

As you can see by the variety of responses, there are some general questions to consider, but like politics, "all theater is local" and the space(s) you may be considering will each have different answers to the general questions and will generate their own site specific questions and answers. With admitted bias, I suggest the best person to knock around these questions would be a theater consultant. To find one in your area, go to the American Society of Theatre Consultants (ASTC) website: http://theatreconsultants.org/. All its members are qualified and experienced in addressing the questions and issues that you will face. If you are in the northeastern US, you can contact me via my website: www.theaterdesigninc.com.

Break-a-leg

Permalink Reply by Barry Martin on February 3, 2014 at 4:25pm

Thank you for these resources. My instinct is to create something modular so we can present in a variety of ways and make the space flexible. I plan to order a copy of your book when pay day comes.

Permalink Reply by Scott Nolte on February 3, 2014 at 4:10pm

Barry -

I'm not sure if you're building a facility or renovating an existing structure, but I'll throw in a factor to our solution. We just finished a 12,000 sq ft building (+ basement storage) using prefab modules for the lobby.cafe, offices, green room and restrooms. The "mods" created a 2-story donut, then built a 120 seat theatre in the middle (w/ retractable seating) and a scene shop on the rear. It's LEED Silver and entire the construction period was 9 months to move-in, and another month-ish to wrap-up some interior functions. We had many of the consultants as other had mentioned, and great architects, but we went this alternative construction method to get the structure as rapidly as possible and to minimize the impact on the business and residential neighbors. Good luck.

A link to our project http://methodhomes.net/project/taproot-theatre/

Permalink Reply by Barry Martin on February 3, 2014 at 4:23pm

That looks marvelous! I will be sure to visit next time I'm in your neighborhood. Thank you!