As Gaffteper can attest, he's seen my shop space, I have next to no space to construct. When ART was originally conceived they had all their sets constructed off site then brought in and assenbled on stage. Several years ago when they decided to begin constructing on site they quickly found that there was simply no space to build, except onstage. I recenly started looking for off site shop space when I came across a reasonable canidate for the space I penned the following email to our board and Management Team It's long, maybe dry in places but I think it does spell out a lot of the issues that "Building on Stage" brings up. Some of the issues are unique to ARTs situation as we have a large parking garage which I have taken over about 1/10th of to use as storage and metal shop facilities. WE've recently turned over Management of the garage to an outside company which has brought in a whole new set of issues, like staff members now having to pay exhobitant prices for parking if they want to use our parking lot. Perhaps someone else might be able to take this e-mail and use parts of it as a way to show their management the advantages of "off-site" construction of scenery. Honestly I've always worked at places where we constructed off site then moved into the theater, and I was more than a bit taken aback when I learned of the situation in which ART operated when I first got there. So here it is :
Excerpts from Shop Facilities Email.
When we proceed with the Phase III project of installing the staircase we will be losing the Production Office, which currently houses three staff positions: Technical Director, the Master Carpenter/Shop Foreman, the Facilities Manager (not to mention it is, the repository for Technical Reference, Manuals, de facto meeting room for crews, Printing central for both of the plotters, the Vinyl sign production room, home to half of the Facility Managers inventory of light bulbs and other small stuff, as well as just being the office where I do my work). We will also lose the current Mainstage Box Office and the former Box Office Managers office, both of which are used to store materials vital to the operations of concessions, and facilities. Furthermore, speaking of staff positions, presently we do not have, nor am I aware of a plan for, an office space dedicated to the Properties Manager, a position which is to be re-instated next season. I bring this up because if we are not able to split the warehouse from the office space as was mentioned, it could actually serve as a solution to the upcoming space concerns outlined above.
In fact, as I got to thinking, I found there were several things that this property may have to offer us. I have listed them as talking points, and go on to explain them below:
o Providing free, convenient parking for all staff members as well as actors and crew members when necessary.
o This would free up virtually the entire lower parking garage to .......
o Improving the “Look” of our facility.
o Reducing the cleaning / maintenance cost of our facility. Reducing the wear and tear of our facility.
o Increasing rental income by having the theatres available more often.
o Allows for a slight modification to the Phase III floor plan resulting in the opening up of more space available onsite for F.O.H. use.
o Higher production values at current budget levels.
o Increased Production department efficiency.
o Furthering our mission statement, by allowing us to provide affordable shop space for other theatrical companies and educational institutions.
Parking Garage and related:
There is a 50’ X 100’ vacant lot attached to ..........., hereby referred to as “the Property”. At present, the lot is a bit overgrown, but once cleaned up I think it could provide ample parking for our staff members, actors and crew people. This will reduce the amount of spaces we need to keep in reserve from .......management. The lot is located exactly one block away. Any staff member could park and walk that distance. Because of the access it could also serve as an excellent parking alternative for Actors and Crew members who may be working at the Theater until all hours of the night.
Moving all the staff and crew parking as well as all the shop storage areas to the Property would free virtually every parking space in the lower lot, and the more spaces we can provide to the ......., the more spaces they will have to sell which means dollars for us as well.
Furthermore, by relocating the stock storage and Metal shop, the garage will have a cleaner, neater appearance, which is advantageous to both us as the owners of the facility and the Goodman’s as the people trying to rent space in it. Not having the metal shop in the lower garage will decrease the noise endured by many of renters when we are in full construction mode of a show. Not spray painting, “Bondo”-ing, varnishing, all of which are currently done in the garage, will reduce fumes, pollutants, toxins, and dust to which our renters are exposed to and do complain about.
By not have a large enough shop space or assembly area we are forced to “Build on the Stage” which means cutting, sanding, spraying and painting in the theaters themselves. As hard we try we will never be able to completely reduce the production of dirt in the theater but by having an off site shop space we will cut out most of our contribution. This will result in a lower cost for maintenance and cleaning of the theaters as well as reducing a very stressful part of tech-week; prepping for the Sunday night audience, which usually entails the Production Manager and Technical Director running around the theater at the last moment moping, wiping and cleaning.
Production Efficiency:
Being able to preassemble our sets <scenery> off site and then loading them “En Masse” into the theater means we, the Production Department, do not need to block out the 5 – 6 weeks prior to tech week as “Unavailable to Rentals”. Having preassembled the set, a typical load-in should take more than a week and a half to two weeks total, that’s including lights. This means the spaces are going to be available far more often than they are at present. More availability means more rental income.
Front of House Space:
The modification of the Phase III floor plan is an idea that came to me yesterday when I was looking at the model while ........ and I were discussing cleaning out the properties storage areas. It really is a side note of sorts but I feel it merits mentioning as it could provide a lot of storage space for events and facility support, e.g. storage of tables, linens, Pipe and Drape, which we are in great need of. The Property is so close we could move all our props storage over and our Stage Managers and Production Assistants would still be able to easily obtain rehearsal props, and set pieces. This would be problematic if the shop / storage space were located way across town as some of our SMs and P.A.s do not drive.
Higher Production Value:
Being able to fully assemble, paint and finish a set prior to installing it in the theater will allow us to do a much better job of hiding seams, working out fit problems, and figuring out assembly order. All of these things will lead directly to a higher degree of “finish” on the end product. These are things which now we often don’t have the time to address in advance, we typically say, “We’ll fix it once it’s in.” Unfortunately, often fixes are just not possible once everything is in place. Many a small issue can derail us at the last minute, by catching these during the pre-assembly phase we, once again, increase the quality of the end product while not increasing our scenic budgets one whit.
Department Efficiency:
Presently, we spend a lot of time moving materials around, going to the garage for a piece of wood, wrangling plywood through doors, building something inside then taking outside to be painted, or vice versa. To receive a lumber order we the delivery truck must back into the parking lot, we take the whole crew outside, cross load from the truck to wheeled carts, move the carts to the storage bin, off load the carts, then go back for the next load off the truck. Presently we obtain most of our lumber from ......... as they are the only company willing to work with us on deliveries to our strange situation. The Property will afford us a “Dock Height” loading bay. This means we could order lumber from either ........., both of which will offer us wholesale prices as they are distributers not retailers. Having one large, open shop space means not stumbling around each other in the shop, being able to move material s more efficiently means less time wasted which is the very definition of efficiency.
Mission Statement:
As a manner of defraying rental costs, and as a way to help our friends and neighbors, it may be possible for us to provide storage, shop and paint deck space to other theatre companies or small productions. As we all know ..... is renting a large block of next season in our facility, through discussions with .........I have discovered the shop space, to which they are relocating, is wholly insufficient. It may be possible that some of our space could be rented out as storage, for companies such ..............or any one of the companies from whom, having never seen our present shop space, I often receive calls requesting,
“A place to build a couple flats…”
..... I thank you for indulging my long windedness, and look forward to your comments, and discussing this issue with you all further.
Sincerely,
Van J. McQueen
Technical Director
Artists Repertory Theatre
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