JacobRothermel
Active Member
Help me make a case to my Powers That Be:
What's your production footprint typically look like?
While I think this question applies to a lot of folks, I'm particularly curious to ask those in an academic settings (though I'd value union folks, too) who may be in permanent to semi-permanent residence with a performing arts center but cannot build in-space. Assuming you cannot build on stage and have to load in or "install", in what order do you all typically load in to a space? I'd ask for both traditional proscenium spaces (i.e., with fly systems) and for alternative spaces like black boxes and/or spaces with lighting catwalks.
Do you hang lights & audio first? Last? When do you typically do rigging (including soft goods changeovers)? Do you schedule LX and scenery overlapping or intrinsically separated (especially if you've catwalk spaces above the stage)?
Almost as importantly, WHEN DO ACTORS TYPICALLY REHEARSE ON STAGE? Tech? If prior to Tech, how prior? A week? Two? If two or more weeks prior, how long do you typically have access to the space, performances included (i.e., five weeks? six? longer?)? What the breakdown of that time, (i.e., you have 8 weeks start-to-finish but 4 of those weeks are performances)?
As a little background, my academic department is soon planning (covid notwithstanding) to take residence of a new performing arts center. We will become primary residents with mostly-constant access to scene shops, etc. but not to performance spaces. Mgmt of this PAC is fairly new to large facility management like a PAC but are intimately linked for the Theatre dept, at large. We're being given five-week "rentals" of a particular space, start to finish; 2 weeks "load-in", +/-1 week for focus & tech, 2 weeks will be performances. My issue is coming, less so from PAC mgmt, but from my academic dept who want wishes to maintain a model we used in our old theatre, where we were not only the sole residents but basically owned the space as well.
Within this five-week footprint, actors would take stage for rehearsal at the end of Week One; yes, in the middle of load-in. Resident designer and academic artist arguments are that spacing must take place in-space w/ "appropriate" time prior to focus to augment LX plots and give student actors ample time to be on stage. This actor-on-stage footprint is our traditional one; however it's worth noting that our previous theatre allowed us to build in-space and typically had a footprint of 6-8 weeks total (so a lot more time to hang, cable, construct, and finish prior to actors taking stage).
With a accepting nod to the fact that academic theatre is non-traditional in a planning sense (i.e., bat-sh** crazy), I'd be grateful for any insight you all might have as to models for residency in PACs.
thanks,
-jake
What's your production footprint typically look like?
While I think this question applies to a lot of folks, I'm particularly curious to ask those in an academic settings (though I'd value union folks, too) who may be in permanent to semi-permanent residence with a performing arts center but cannot build in-space. Assuming you cannot build on stage and have to load in or "install", in what order do you all typically load in to a space? I'd ask for both traditional proscenium spaces (i.e., with fly systems) and for alternative spaces like black boxes and/or spaces with lighting catwalks.
Do you hang lights & audio first? Last? When do you typically do rigging (including soft goods changeovers)? Do you schedule LX and scenery overlapping or intrinsically separated (especially if you've catwalk spaces above the stage)?
Almost as importantly, WHEN DO ACTORS TYPICALLY REHEARSE ON STAGE? Tech? If prior to Tech, how prior? A week? Two? If two or more weeks prior, how long do you typically have access to the space, performances included (i.e., five weeks? six? longer?)? What the breakdown of that time, (i.e., you have 8 weeks start-to-finish but 4 of those weeks are performances)?
As a little background, my academic department is soon planning (covid notwithstanding) to take residence of a new performing arts center. We will become primary residents with mostly-constant access to scene shops, etc. but not to performance spaces. Mgmt of this PAC is fairly new to large facility management like a PAC but are intimately linked for the Theatre dept, at large. We're being given five-week "rentals" of a particular space, start to finish; 2 weeks "load-in", +/-1 week for focus & tech, 2 weeks will be performances. My issue is coming, less so from PAC mgmt, but from my academic dept who want wishes to maintain a model we used in our old theatre, where we were not only the sole residents but basically owned the space as well.
Within this five-week footprint, actors would take stage for rehearsal at the end of Week One; yes, in the middle of load-in. Resident designer and academic artist arguments are that spacing must take place in-space w/ "appropriate" time prior to focus to augment LX plots and give student actors ample time to be on stage. This actor-on-stage footprint is our traditional one; however it's worth noting that our previous theatre allowed us to build in-space and typically had a footprint of 6-8 weeks total (so a lot more time to hang, cable, construct, and finish prior to actors taking stage).
With a accepting nod to the fact that academic theatre is non-traditional in a planning sense (i.e., bat-sh** crazy), I'd be grateful for any insight you all might have as to models for residency in PACs.
thanks,
-jake