No Booth?

Looking for suggestions. We have no dedicated booth or FOH mixing area. We have 3 "air wall" partitions that make up our back wall - typically our consoles sit within the center partition area, but more often than not - we have to open that wall for additional seating or configurations, and I find myself moving our consoles back and forth and back and forth. I just recently moved everything to the house-right partition, but it doesn't all quite fit.

We do have more "wheelchair seating" areas than necessary, perhaps one of those could be a future home. A few issues with relocating is: all inputs are within that HR area. The HL wall NEVER opens, that could be a nice permanent home, but that side has our 'lobby' entrance, so more traffic flows through there.

What have you done to find a more permanent home for your FOH consoles, and what would you recommend?

Attached are pictures for reference.

Modify last row center section - may need to poke into second to last row - with wheelchair spaces left and right if needed, and a part height wall - jury box - in center - probably 12-14. I really need detailed plans and sections to see all the challenges and opportunities, but this seems like one thing to try.

No adjacent second floor space? Carve s lighting booth out and install a window?

What about remote options? You can lower your footprint for show operations if you only need a control surface for audio in the room. Can you move your SM and or lighting backstage in a loft with video monitors or an adjacent room for lighting? Most of the "broadway" houses we set up have a very small jury box platform like @BillConnerFASTC mentions. Everything is remote and networked with a KVM at the mixer for viewing various support systems and a console that's mostly a control surface on a network interface with I/O's, amps and bulkheads tucked away wherever I can find space.

Sounds like there needs to be a realistic discussion with the producer(s) of your venue. A FOH mixing position is a must for shows, and can't be sacrificed to sell a few extra seats. Its unfair to force sound to move back and forth. The producer(s) need to capitulate here and allow sound to build a permanent home

Chances are if just seat count, looks like any displaced form last two rows could be relocated. But its a plan problem.

Where do your inputs come in on HR? That black wall panel in the second photo?
What's on the other side of the airwall on HL? Would running a snake over the large center airwall be feasible and remove the HL airwall so it can be framed out to become a real booth with a wall so you don't have to worry about the foot traffic.

BillConnerFASTC said:

Modify last row center section - may need to poke into second to last row - with wheelchair spaces left and right if needed, and a part height wall - jury box - in center - probably 12-14.

Click to expand...

^^^ This. Make it permanent and now the whole "air wall open yes/no" question is irrelevant. m

I feel like a dolt just agreeing with everyone else, but its pretty much the only thing to do.
If your theatre wants to be viewed as a viable option for tours, a FOH is pretty standard.
I, quite honestly, have nothing but respect for you for continuing to work there more than one show without being provided proper space or being told you have to move. I can't stand when there is no partition between me and the audience (being hushed by an audience member while calling spot cues or troubleshooting is NOT on my happy list) also, I need light to be able to see my notes, my keyboard, etc, and without some sort of wall, that light is distracting. And let's not mention audience members potentially blowing circuits/destroying the show by plugging in every fricking device possible into where the equipment to run the show draws its power from, because, if they cant use them, at least half will try to charge them.
If the venue ops really want to provide their patrons with great shows, they will provide the necessary space, imo at least 30' - enough for audio and LX, but also video or for a projector to be set there, photographer or videographer, or for additional lights, etc.
Explain it like this if you have to... With the current "mobile" setup you're wasting time, and those who are in the surrounding seats are getting a less-than-acceptable show, meaning that if a critic comes without anyone knowing, finds themself in a seat near the "booth" and is constantly distracted by light, noise, whispering, or a chair or table leg scraping...the whole venue will be hurting. Giving your staff the necessary room and privacy to work without the eyes of the audience being able to follow means the theatre magic can stay just that....magic. What magician wants to give away their tricks? Having your boards and ops in the audience does just that.

I am the TD of this space, so working every event / production all year. Have to move FOH back and forth and back and forth. They did recently take out 5 seats in the center of the last row for wheelchair spaces, but there are wheelchair spaces on either side of the auditorium as well. How many wheelchair spaces are required? I feel we have more than are. As much as I would love to move into the HL room, that is used daily as a lounge/concession area.

We only need 6 wheelchair spaces. We currently have 10. So I could use that center section, assuming facilities/administration were not opposed. The only issue would be covering the cables running to the new position.

Replying to an earlier comment: our inputs/outputs are on either side of that wall opening. Audio/coms are on the HR side, lighting and power on the HL side.

Well, you need to look at all the ADA requirements about dispersion.

How does it work in reality when handicapped seats are removed for FOH? Is it just that there's no audit that day or the ticket office knows the actual available accessible seats based on those being removed?
I know places like schools and theatres are different because the expectation of number of people arriving in a wheelchair is somewhat predictable either based on tickets or enrollment, but what happens if you don't have enough?

macsound said:

How does it work in reality when handicapped seats are removed for FOH? Is it just that there's no audit that day or the ticket office knows the actual available accessible seats based on those being removed?
I know places like schools and theatres are different because the expectation of number of people arriving in a wheelchair is somewhat predictable either based on tickets or enrollment, but what happens if you don't have enough?

Click to expand...

You pull more aisle seats wherever the floor is sufficiently level so the wheel chairs remain in place.

See the recent news items about AMTRAK trying to charge a group of wheel chair users $25,000 to pull seats to accommodate the group's reservation. While AMTRAK is is ADA-compliant in terms of space reserved to wheel chair users, they're missing the point of the ADA - that reasonable accommodation must be made, and charging $25k to make room for 6 more wheel chairs would unlikely be found "reasonable" in court for the 2 hour ride that is normally ticketed at $16.00

TimMc said:

charging $25k to make room for 6 more wheel chairs would unlikely be found "reasonable" in court for the 2 hour ride that is normally ticketed at $16.00

Click to expand...

In fairness to Amtrak, the group could fit on to 2 trains with no reconfiguration, and trains depart frequently. Apparently their 3 dedicated spots are adequate for most train trips except this one annual event. I'm not sure why another car couldn't be added to the train but I guess that still wouldn't permit the group to sit together so it would still generate bad press.

sk8rsdad said:

In fairness to Amtrak, the group could fit on to 2 trains with no reconfiguration, and trains depart frequently. Apparently their 3 dedicated spots are adequate for most train trips except this one annual event. I'm not sure why another car couldn't be added to the train but I guess that still wouldn't permit the group to sit together so it would still generate bad press.

Click to expand...

They mentioned having to remove a car from service for the modification, too. I'm pretty sure AMTRAK has a car in a yard that could be modified and added to the train on those dates, and it could remain modified for similar use in the future. What I find mind-blowing about the whole thing is that in this day and age of social media and "gossip at the speed of light", AMTRAK blew the opportunity to have a warm, fuzzy marketing moment that could have gone viral. "AMTRAK - we welcome all our riders, no matter how they board our trains" would sure look better than "hey AMTRAK, you're being jerks".

Well, assuming that modifying the seating for a large group of people who use wheelchairs in a train car should be free, I assume you would all be happy to remove a large number of seats in your theatres to accomodate a group who wants to sit together, right? Forget it could be for a matinee and you wouldn't have time to get them all back in for evening show.

BillConnerFASTC said:

Well, assuming that modifying the seating for a large group of people who use wheelchairs in a train car should be free, I assume you would all be happy to remove a large number of seats in your theatres to accomodate a group who wants to sit together, right? Forget it could be for a matinee and you wouldn't have time to get them all back in for evening show.

Click to expand...

It's an annual event, it's a contracted group service. AMTRAK has previously charged a fee to modify seating, but it wasn't 5 figures and that's the issue.

TimMc said:

It's an annual event, it's a contracted group service. AMTRAK has previously charged a fee to modify seating, but it wasn't 5 figures and that's the issue.

Click to expand...

So theatres should have to do the same, correct? I believe under ADA they are both "public accommodation".

If I sold something to you at a big loss last year, am I obligated to do it again this year?

And the ADA guidelines are intended to define reasonable accommodation, to be a safe haven. Amtrak met those requirements but now is being told its not enough?

Why can't they transfer, like on airplanes? Is that unreasonable?

As far as the spare car in the yard, dream on. Most of their equipment is past its predicted useful life and they struggle to get whole train sets for the current schedule.

Amtrak loses money every year - always has for 50 years now.

Amtrak's delivery sucks, kind of like the guy they pulled of the plane in Chicago a while back. But the position is very reasonable.

Bill, if a group of wheel chair users called the group sales person at a theater, you can damn well bet that theater would find a way to accommodate the *sale*.

In the case of AMTRAK, the good will they *could* have created would have cost a lot more to "buy" in the conventional ways.

Nowhere did I say AMTRAK should do this for free, but at nearly 20x the price tag of their previous accommodation pricing it has terrible "optics".