Theatre Design & Technology - May 1965 - 18

trol of undesirable sound transmission. On at
least one occasion sets were being built for two
shows in the shop, a performance was in progress
on the main stage whi Ie the "Ex" was also in
the midst of production, yet there was no problem
of sound from another activity being heard by
either audience. In fact both theaters are very
well insulated from outside sounds as well.
There are two minor exceptions to ideal sound
control: the catwalks above the main auditorium
are so noi sy when wal ked on that during the
show no one may adjust lights in the beams or
ports without being heard, and sound from the
dance studio can be heard by the audience in the
Ex.
The shop itself is ideally placed behind the main
stage and next to the Ex so that it services both
through wide openings, although the height of the
opening into the main stage is restrictive. Its being very well equipped has in part compensated
for the shop's restricted size. Probably it was
not conceived as servicing dramatic activity
throughout the University, but it does; and there
have been several times when technicians for
three shows were trying to bui Id at the same
time. Technical directors seem to barely survive
the ordeal. Actually the greatest di ffi cu Ity of
working in the shop most of the time is that there
is little or no storage space designed into the
Drama Center. One of the dressing rooms serves
as prop storage, costume storage has been fantastically compressed, and set storage fi lis most
of the trap room and an almost inaccessible area
under the fixed seats of the auditorium. Perhaps
someday the unused garden area behind the Ex
will be converted into a warehouse. Of course it
will not be large enough, but it will be much
better than the present compromises.

Essentially the Ex is a bare space 35 feet by
50 feet with a 15-foot grid ceiling. On three sides
there is a balcony at 9Y2 feet and on two wa II s
there is acoustical treatment preventing box-like
reverberations. Thegrid, of tracks spaced twofeet
apart in each direction and with a catwalk on top,
serves for the mounting of lighting instruments
as well as the hanging of movable panels. These
panels four feet wide and extending almost to the
floor have two carriers that travel in the tracks
in such a manner that panels may be moved about
and placed in numerous patterns. While the entire
interior of the Ex is painted midnight blue, these
panels may be painted and placed to suit the
production staging. In addition, metal parallels
from the large Loeb stock may be used to form a
multi-leveled, variable-walled setting. Both the
lighting control and sound control are portable
and usually are located somewhere along the balcony railing. The slave dimmer rack is over the
grid where, wired directly to the 24 dimmers, 60
cord reels about the grid perimeter supply the instruments. In practice it has been relatively easy
for one or two people to handle all of the lighting
of a show, and often the production staff totals
five or les s. Wh i Ie four manually-operated seat
wagons are available, occasionally one of them
is closed up or removed to achieve certain prearrangement s.

CONCLUSION The Drama Center continues today
as a working experiment in theater technology
where innovations are the rule not the exception.
When new of course, the tendency was to use its
mechanical facilities to their utmost which often
distorted productions into technical extravaganzas. As novelty tarnished, better judgment
prevailed resulting in the constructive use of

A fine set of well-equipped dressing rooms are
inherent flexibi lity to enhance soundly conbelow the main stage area, with stairs leading to
ceived productions. All aspects of the facility
both sides of the stage. There are four small
have been tried in diverse manners, providing a
rooms for one or two people, two large chorus
body of evidence which testifies to the general
rooms, ana two spare large rooms (one now f-o-r--su-cce-s-s-of-a-reasonably-utHized-mechani-cal'------------props). The only significant oversight in this
theater. One should understand that it is the
area was the abundance of fluorescent lighting
nature of experiment that the sound locks and
installed instead of illumination that might have
elevator systems should be so completely sucaided in makeup development.
cessful while the synchronous winch system is
.
less so. Certainly the experiment is not over, as
Rehearsal area Isusually taxed, but th~re always
the mechanisms are still being modified and
seems to be enough. The dance studio and the
changed the new sound system is being added
two second
th e WInC
·'h con t ro Is mo d·f·
t b'e
.
d..floor hpractice rooms are in regular
.
I Ied
, an d
one canno
use; In aII dltlon,
t e north lobby and the library
·1 bl
sure b u t some as ye t -un d·Iscovere d po t en t·la I may
are usua y aval a e.
be realized.

THE EXPERIMENTAL THEATER The greatesf
problem with the Experimental Theater during the
first three years was to decide what to do with
the overflow crowds which attend most productions. Often two shows are given in the same
evening, with standing room fi lied both times,
and late-comers for the first show wait in the
lobby to be sure of seats for the second. Whi Ie
those left outside might not agree, the small size
of the Ex (seating 104) is one of its greatest
virtues.

A testimony to the success of the Loeb exists in
the hundreds of students who use the fac i Iity
each year, sustaining a continuous program of
activities which presses hard upon the building's
one month vacation closing. Both colleges are
profiting handsomely by the stimu lating experience of having an experimental and dynamic
theatrical venture in their midst. As the novelty
further dissipates and the policy takes firmer
sh ape even greater student acceptance and uti Iity
cannot fai I to enhance the Loeb Drama Center's
value to the Harvard University Community.

IUSITT

THEATRE DESIGN AND l£CHNOlOOY

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