Performance spaces with individual chairs and risers

[BillConnerFASTC]

Or a black box in common terms. For those of you that use or manage such a space, with folding or stack chairs on some sort of risers, do you gang or secure the chairs or otherwise take measures to prevent the from sliding off the platform?

Somewhat related, I always plan for aisles with handrails and aisle lighting - as required by codes in most places in the USA. What do you see in your venues or those that you visit?

 

[Dionysus]

I do a lot of work in a black-box with flexable seating.

We ALWAYS secure at least 3-4 chairs together in a row (usually most of the row) and we NEVER use folding chairs. Our chairs are stackable on their rolling racks 18 high and are stored in a rehearsal hall (or elsewhere in the building) when not needed. In the normal seating configuration in the Hexagonal room we have 8 levels of risers each (with a row on the floor) with a 1' rise (and 6" steps), which allows for 147 chairs. We commonly transition to a neat in-the-round configuration where we can get upwards of 160 chairs (more if we want, depends on staging) or Cabaret seating for anywhere from 60 to 110.

We have minimal light codes and codes that actually dictate that chairs be connected or secured if there are so many (can't recall the code rules for the life of me).

In the standard configuration the sides of the risers are against walls on 3 sides, but there are railings on the stair units going up the sides, which we custom-bolted to the risers.

In arena or in-the-round we add side and back railings as needed along with a chair rail (toeboard), all made from steel.

We light the house effectively from above, changing with the seating configuration, however we have permanent lighting for our standard configuration.

Our seating risers were replaced a few years ago, and it is fully custom not only due to the shape of the room (company actually had to rebuild several risers to make it fit correctly) but also due to our chosen rise of 1' per row.

 

[garyvp]

We have variable seating patterns and we use only solid metal arm chairs. We do not gang them. We have proper handrails on all aisles and steps and we have step lights.

 

[SteveB]

Some chairs gang, some don't and the platforms are built with sides and railings that prevent chairs from sliding off.

No aisle lighting though.

Not sure the space has ever seen a building inspection and I know that for a while it didn't have a C of O, I think our college has been trying to get the space legal.

 

[Skervald]

Our black box doubles as a studio/rehearsal room/sometimes rental hall. As a result, our risers and chairs go up for a couple of weeks at a time and then come down for a few weeks and then the cycle repeats. It's a room that goes through a lot of changes. (it only works because I have lots of cheap and even some free labor.) Our most common configuration uses a 9 level block of seating with an 8" rise between levels. Each deck has a chair rail across the back to prevent legs sliding off. We put railings around the entire perimeter. We do not use folding chairs, only fixed padded but we don't gang them together. I've recently thought about ganging to make straightening up between performances a little easier. Most of the time the aisles go up the outside so the railing provides a hand rail. I have a semi-permanent house light set up and we mark the edge of each step with a thin strip of white gaff and station ushers with flashlights strategically. I'd like to find a practical solution for an aisle light but haven't found anything that really fits the bill so far.

 

[Colin]

Our typical arrangement has three levels of riser and then more rows on the floor. The risers have railings but no toeboard, so still easy enough for chair feet to slide off the edge. So, I screw the chairs on each end to the riser, and also the chairs that flank the center aisle through the risers to maintain that width. They're the sort of chair that has front and back legs connected along the floor by a nice wide plastic band that's easy to drill through. Those are the only chairs that get secured in any way. The center seats in the back row can't slide off due to the seat backs hitting the railing. The floor is cement, so those rows continually need arranging after the room has been used for a class or rehearsal, and we have to keep an eye out for people relocating themselves into egress routes during performances. An elegant method for ganging those chairs together would be great (one that doesn't require buying new chairs).

 

[RickR]

I've seen many places with chairs that gang with little plastic clips. Not acceptable as they; break apart, break, don't get used in the first place, get lost off the chairs...

 

[Fountain Of Euph]

I dont use ganged chairs. I have versatile risers, but its easy to use Wengers chair rail or a piece of lumber and c clamps. Ropelights work well for isle lights

Sent from Taptalk for Android, this was.

 

[themuzicman]

Or a black box in common terms. For those of you that use or manage such a space, with folding or stack chairs on some sort of risers, do you gang or secure the chairs or otherwise take measures to prevent the from sliding off the platform?

In NYC we are required to secure all chairs together that are removable. We generally zip-tie the legs of the chairs together in rows before every show because work crews need access during the day for work calls. Zip ties are cheap, and easy to remove and replace. This generally makes them less susceptible to sliding off the risers.

 

[ruinexplorer]

I haven't worked in a theater with a black box in over a decade, but when I did, I was the TD. It was originally designed as a rehearsal room, but we converted it to a performance space at times. We did not secure the chairs together, but we did have chair rails placed at the back of the riser to prevent them from sliding off the back and full rails on the top most and sides (Wenger model risers, chair rails, and railings). We also had the fire marshal come in and give us occupancy based on four different settings ("proscenium" long or short, thrust, and in the round). We did not have aisle lights, but we never went to black, so there was always measurable light in the aisles. These days, I would have probably added some sort of aisle lighting.

 

[burgherandfries]

My black box space's chairs have a loop system that locks them together when they're set properly but also allows them to be used individually for meetings and such. We don't allow the last chair to be closer than 6" from the edge of the platform and when the risers are set off of the wall, we have attachment pieces that grip the riser to create a back with rails. I like to set 1 chairs to a row with 2 chair-widths of an aisle up the middle.