New stage design help!!!

[AcademiaDeEstrellas]

Hello Control Booth people!

I have very little experience in this area... I work for a charter school that is about to build a new building that will include a stage/auditorium. I'm at a loss when it comes to what we will need. Our engineer who has laid out the plan for the building does not actually design the stage himself aside from the skeleton of the room that will house it. Basically, what we have is a large room with a raised platform on one end that also includes a couple side rooms on the left and right side of the platform. What I'm looking for here is advisement on what we will need as far as lighting, curtains, sound, type of flooring, etc. To put this in perspective we are a K-8 charter school that has never before, until now, had it's own building. We have always rented space from various churches to house our student body. Any school productions have been held at other school auditoriums or in worship halls.

Any recommendations for companies that serve the Dallas area and do this kind of work are also welcome.

Thanks.

 

[JLNorthGA]

Try Texas Scenic - they are in San Antonio and will sell you just about anything you need. But you really need a designer. Maybe they can help you in that regard - or point you towards someone. Don't build until you get a designer. Change orders are quite expensive.

 

[JohnD]

Welcome to CB, what an adventure you have in front of you. Spend some time just going through the many posts here, utilize the search function. But here is one of my favorite threads, and TEX is in your area:
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/stage-management-facility-operations/28428-new-school.html
There is so much more to making a space than just a room with a platform and investing in a consultant should be at the top of your list. In the long run a good consultant can save you money, make a safe place to work and help avoid costly mistakes.
There are also a couple of dealers in your area you should visit.
Barbizon Lighting Company
Norcostco - Costume Rental, Theatre Supplies, Stage Makeup, Lighting, Dimming, Rigging Systems
Good luck with your project and as questions arise, post back here and there are many people here ready to help.

 

[TheaterEd]

I would recommend getting in contact with local schools that have performing arts centers and see if you can set up a tour with the manager. This way you can walk through the space and ask them about what they like and what they dislike about the design.

Have Fun!

 

[MPowers]

!. Get a consultant!

2. Get a consultant!

You need to someone to help you determine What You NEED vis-a-vis What you think you want. Some one to help you determine what you can afford vs what you would like.

Contact Control Booth Member Bill Conner ASTC (American Society of Theatre Consultants). He does this for a living and is very good at it. I'm sure he can advise you better than I about retaining the services of a consultant whether his firm or one in your area.

 

[Les]

There's a Barbizon Stage Lighting right here in DFW (near Josey and Beltline - Carrollton) and they do some great design & install work.

We also have a Ft. Worth-based consultant on this board named Erich Friend who goes by the screen name Teqniqal. I'll bet he would love to help. Here's a good way to get a hold of him:

Teqniqal Systems - Introduction

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

Dealers are fine for equipment but generally not much use for things like intimacy, proximity, sight lines, and many basic planning issues that are not necessarily equipment rated. And then for equipment they are not a great advocate for enough and good enough quality. When a dealer is told bysomeone who knows nothing abut theatre equipment what the budget is, they design to that budget. A good consultant will convince the powers that be that they have to buy enough and good quality systems and equipment.

I'd be happy to submit a proposal for professional and independent theatre consulting services.

 

[JohnD]

Here are 2 other consulting companies in your area:
Schuler Shook
WJHW - HOME

 

[museav]

Hello Control Booth people!

I have very little experience in this area... I work for a charter school that is about to build a new building that will include a stage/auditorium. I'm at a loss when it comes to what we will need. Our engineer who has laid out the plan for the building does not actually design the stage himself aside from the skeleton of the room that will house it. Basically, what we have is a large room with a raised platform on one end that also includes a couple side rooms on the left and right side of the platform. What I'm looking for here is advisement on what we will need as far as lighting, curtains, sound, type of flooring, etc. To put this in perspective we are a K-8 charter school that has never before, until now, had it's own building. We have always rented space from various churches to house our student body. Any school productions have been held at other school auditoriums or in worship halls.

Any recommendations for companies that serve the Dallas area and do this kind of work are also welcome.

You Architect should be either including the appropriate design professionals on their team or working with you on putting together a full design team and should have dome that right from the start. If they have not and are proceeding without all of the necessary design input then that may not be a good sign as you typically want to design a performance space from the inside out rather than from the outside in. If you start with an existing space and work in then you may have to develop more costly solutions to work within that space and/or fit what you can do to the space they have defined. Thus for a new space it usually makes more sense to start with identifying what you want and need the space to do, then define is required to support the defined usage and finally, develop the overall space around the needs defined and the related solutions developed. This should be an interactive process for all involved, but waiting until the basic building is well along in design to start looking at the associated performance and tech aspects is rarely an effective approach.

This also extends to budgets as Architects and Contractors not familiar with performance spaces often grossly underestimate the requirements and related budgets for the tech systems and the associated infrastructure. This can lead to problems when what is developed for the rest of the building is being based on an overall cost that assumes insufficient budgets for the appropriate tech systems and related infrastructure.

if you do not have a good idea of what you want then tours of similar facilities can certainly help. A good consultant will also be able to provide input on what other similar facilities have done or tried and how those experiences might be adapted to your situation.

A firm being local can have advantages but for design services it is often no longer necessary to use someone local as much of the communication and coordination can now be handled electronically.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

"This also extends to budgets as Architects and Contractors not familiar with performance spaces often grossly underestimate the requirements and related budgets for the tech systems and the associated infrastructure."

A masterful understatement. Think not of 10-20 percent but by a factor of 3 to 10 times too little.

 

[gafftaper]

Hire a theater consultant! When spending the kind of money you will be spending, the only way to make sure you get what you actually want is to have a theater consultant working on your side. Yeah it'll cost a few thousand extra, but that's money well spent compared to thousands of dollars wasted on things you don't want or replacing things in 5 years because it never worked the way you want. Then there's the danger of doing it yourself and having someone get hurt or having the theater burn down as a result of your lack of knowledge. Hire a consultant! More than anything the consultant will help you figure out what you actually need, depending on the project this can actually end up streamlining your purchasing and result in you saving money over what the dealer recommends.

You should be able to find a consultant locally from the many options suggested above, or you can hire one from outside the area. As Brad just said, distance isn't really a probably in this modern world of electronic communications. Museav (Georgia) and BillConnerASTC (Illinois) are both theater consultants who hang out here on CB all the time and both would be solid choices.

I suggest contacting several consultants and getting bids as well as looking at what they have done previously and asking for references.

 

[Tex]

AcademiaDeEstrellas, send me a PM. I'd be happy to show you around. The consultant on my space was WJHW. They spec'd all the systems and equipment, then the general contractor hired subs to design and install. I've been very happy with the work that WJHW did. Some of the subs, however...
I got very lucky. WJHW presented the specs and the district didn't try to save money by cutting back on equipment. They just said OK.