Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1979 - 12

present, a series of eight spot lines and manual winch-operated lines are in use. They tie off at a pinrail mounted at the
floor level, stage left. The stagehouse/proscenium/floor relationship allows for flying of sets with only minimal masking. In
order to provide the multi-configuration flexibility, the stage
floor is at the same elevation as the rest of the building floor.
The portable staging units are brought in to create the actual
working stage floor, particularly if dance is part of the program.
A ten-line contour curtain, winch-operated, is set at the
proscenium. There is some question whether the investment
in this item might not have been better used elsewhere, but on
the other hand it does lend a certain air of luxury to the otherwise "black box" technicality of the performance hall as a
whole. It is very probable that the drama of this recognizable
curtain could instil in the children, upon entry, an immediate
sense of theatre and performance. Three of the pipes in the
stagehouse are electrics with a six-gang plugging box for
each pipe mounted high on the stage left wall. A fourth pipe is
normally located FOH just beyond the proscenium opening.
Lighting in the rectangular part of the hall is provided by
five continuous connector strips that are dead hung from the
deck with standard 1~" pipe bracketed off the strip. Four of
the pipes ring the periphery of the main square staging area,
and the fifth bisects it on centerline (see Fig. 4). Each connector strip contains pigtails mounted 2' on center. Lights and
strips are by Kliegl.
The total of ninety-eight circuits is cabled back (using wire
cable trays) to a control room located at the top of a spiral
staircase in the southeast corner of the hall. This small room is
a little overcrowded with all of the cables fed in, but the designer is able to group them together to ease search-and-find.
The circuits are patched in this room and dimming is achieved
by use of two twelve-channel Scrimmers to give a two-scene
present, 24 x 2.4 kW channel operation. Channels 1-12 of
the second scene preset have malfunctioned and need to be
fixed. The dimming curve, which is a bit notchy, also requires
adjustment. Otherwise the Scrimmers have performed satisfactorily. Lighting designer Dan Bartlett is happy with the flexibility of the lighting layout and the electrical capabilities.
In conclusion, the Drama Center works well and totally fulfills the original program requirements. The scope is relatively
simple and yet provides great flexibility. Such attributes have
been provided within the very low budget of about $1 million,
completelyequipped.D

Credits
Building Name:

Samuel & Lucille Lemberg Drama Center at
the Usdan Center for the Creative & Performing Arts

Amphitheater:

Lucy Moses Amphitheater

Architect:

Ashok M. Bhavnani/ Johansen & Bhavnani,
Architects

Theater Consultant:

Nananne Porcher of Jean Rosenthal Associates

Acoustic Consultant:

Peter George of Acoustics/Noise Control
Consultants

Structural Engineer:

KBNA/B Associates, P.C.

Mechanical/Electrical
Engineer:
Nordheimer Associates. Inc.
Landscape Architect:

Johnson and Dee

Graphics:

Kathryn M. Kerrigan

Photographs:

Norman McGrath

Theatre Design & Technology

Suspension
Structures
*

Scenic
Design

by James Merrill Stone
and Alan Blosser

This is not a "how to" article. It is an introduction to the possibilities and requirements of suspension structures in the theatre.
None of the ideas expressed here should be attempted by anyone not
experienced or knowledgable in cable technology. Consult structural
engineers and other appropriate experts before attempting any similar
designs.- eds.

Today is the age of cable in architecture. Just as the ancients developed the keystone, the Romans the dome, and
nineteenth-century architects the use of steel in construction,
the modern engineer has found a new tool: stranded flexible
cable (wire rope). New imaginative uses of cable technology
touch almost every aspect of modern construction. This same
tool is available to the scenic designer.

Cable Technology In Sets
All designers are familiar with the uses of cable in traditionally flown two-dimensional scenery, chandeliers, ceiling
pieces, etc. In these familiar applications, the flexible cable or
wire rope, as it is technically called, runs from the rear of the
set piece to ceiling hooks or screw or bolt eyes, then up to a
pipe or batten. The pipe is either raised or lowered to place
the set piece in position onstage, or raise it for storage into
the flies. In any case, the total weight of the pipe and its load
will usually not exceed a few hundred pounds, and will be
counterweighted at the pin rail. The unit is supported against
the pull of gravity, but in no other direction. An errant actor or
USITI /Winter. 1979

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