If you could change one thing about your theatre...

lieperjp

Well-Known Member
What would it be?

For me, it would be more backstage area (both vertical space and depth) for scenery and a fly system.
 
I would do the exact same, more depth and height for more fly space than just our electrics and teasers...
 
I'd like a 1st FoH LX that was useful for something. It's 2' down and 5' above the pros.
 
Oh God. Where do I start?
I guess it would be the ability to control the houselights from the light desk.
More storage space would be nice too.
 
First I would want a real shop. Preferably off site. Then we can move on to Loading doors......
 
So hard to choose just one. But if I had to, I'd say to cut our apron down to normal size. A number of years ago, a past director built a 10' extension onto the apron cutting out into the pit space, so now it's nearly impossible to provide back or side light downstage, and the angle from the FOH pipe is extremely high and difficult to hit. Take it back down to a normal 4' off the proscenium and I will be reasonably content.
 
I'd add another 10' of height to my studio space. Getting an nice even wash with a 10' throw (insert slow whistful headshake here) . . .
 
...it would still be a pile.

I'm not sure whether I'd want a fly system or new dimmers or a shop or a new sound system or better FOH lighting positions or more working fixtures or screw drivers or a hammer or working cordless drills or a locking booth window or the 9 mics we've had stolen or more circuits or a real cyc or real house seats or house lights or a proscenium arch that wasn't reflective laminated wood.
 
I'd want a more storage space. To get our 2 stacks of chairs off the stage we have to get our spansets out and lift them out with a chain lift. We have two half cats that we store everything on, they are about 6 to 8 feet off the deck
 
I want a fly system (and of course, more backstage space). We have a bunch of new equipment (choral risers, platform risers and chairs) and it takes up most of the backstage area, even when it's perfectly organized... (Don't get me started how the music department never puts their stuff away properly!)
 
Oh God. Where do I start?
I guess it would be the ability to control the houselights from the light desk.
More storage space would be nice too.

Oh! Me too! I'd take that after more backstage space. I'd even settle for the house lights not to be CFLs and on zoned dimmers!!!
 
I want a real, cased in booth(Cut in 2, with an open end for sound)

Second, lowerable electrics would be nice, especially the FOH bars, they're suicide to get to(literally)
 
It's hot here in the summer, cold n' rainy right now. I want: A ROOF!
 
Second, lowerable electrics would be nice, especially the FOH bars, they're suicide to get to(literally)

Entirely agree. Actually, I think I'll change my answer to this. Our FOH pipe is literally a death trap - it's around 20 feet off the ground, and you can just barely reach the pipe from the top. To get to it, you need to set up a rickety ladder on the backs of seats and climb up. Makes concentrating on a good focus almost impossible.
 
Entirely agree. Actually, I think I'll change my answer to this. Our FOH pipe is literally a death trap - it's around 20 feet off the ground, and you can just barely reach the pipe from the top. To get to it, you need to set up a rickety ladder on the backs of seats and climb up. Makes concentrating on a good focus almost impossible.

Our ladder is like 50 years old, and when raised like 5 degrees off vertical, it's only got a 2 inch tail on the actual FOH bar...
 
We have a bunch of new equipment (choral risers, platform risers and chairs) and it takes up most of the backstage area, even when it's perfectly organized... (Don't get me started how the music department never puts their stuff away properly!)

I hear ya! With the staffing changes and growing size of our music department, it has become unbearable. They have an entire "instrument storage" wing added on just a couple years ago, so why is my stage littered with a baby grand piano, cellos, etc.?

It's not so much the new stuff, but the old junk we don't have the authority to remove (broken instrument cases, etc). I've petitioned the administration of the building several times. I think I might resort to hiding this junk in the trap room for a few months, and making it disappear when its been missing without question. It's stuff that's been untouched for the better part of a decade.

Back in 2002 the fire marshall made us clear out the trap room...with about 30 years of goods in it. Interesting find -- a cast iron copy machine that predated the mimeograph, it might have been a hectograph. Either way, it's almost as if the stage was built over it because it took a grand effort to remove.

So in summary... I would like to see more storage space, with an area to establish a shop (its unfortunate we're not permitted to use the wood shop down the hall).
 
We have three spaces on campus here, two proscenium spaces and one blackbox (we call it the matchbox, it's so small). One of the pros spaces has a 25 foot apron, the other 16 foot. I'd move the proscenium way downstage on both of those. As for the matchbox? Higher ceiling. Right now it's barely at 10 feet.
 
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