Even if you can get ahold of blueprints, I find it's easier to just measure yourself. I do a lot of design work in smaller, non-professional theatres such as high schools where I might only get one or two visits to the
venue before
load-in, and there's nothing worse than finding out that the battens are actually 4' shorter than you anticipated. It really doesn't take very long to do a complete measuring job. Find a friend (two would be best - one to help you measure and one to record measurements) and grab a couple 100' measuring tapes. If I plan the measuring in
advance and work efficiently, I can usually get an entire space measured and photographed in less than a half hour. Onstage measurements are most important - the obvious ones such as
proscenium height and width and
stage depth are important, but also don't forget the less obvious numbers such as exact placement (measured US/DS) of each
batten,
batten length, low and high
batten trim,
apron size,
sightline seats (if needed), wall to wall space (SL to SR), and so on. For
FOH measures, I generally just
drop tape from each
FOH position and measure the
throw to DSC while just making a rough guess at the angle, although for more involved productions, you may need to measure the height and width independently to determine the angle of the frontlight. Even if the
venue's plans (assuming you get any) turn out to be correct, by measuring yourself, you've confirmed all the numbers, and you have a much more thorough understanding of the spacial relationships of the space.
I would also recommend bringing along a digital camera and taking numerous snapshots of the
venue. There are some things which just can't be easily discerned by a measurement alone, and photographs provide a visual reference when you can't get in to see the space. They can also help jog your memory about potential issues you may have noticed but forgotten about. They seem to work best when you put a person or other object in the frame, to provide a size reference for the rest of the shot. In this age of digital photograhy, taking photos costs nothing more than the cost of batteries, so shoot as many shots as you have time for - you never know when that accidental photo of your shoes might prove invaluable when you discover that you forgot to write down the color and material of the
stage floor.
