Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1984 - 9

(A+B+overhang). ("B" lift holds 2 rows
of seats when grand opera pit not required.)
Screw jack lifts, with 4 vertical stop positions.
Box Boom lighting positions: located in sidewalls and upper acoustical reflectors: 6 total
positions.
Lighting catwalks: Near catwalk at 59' above
stage; 66' throw to curtain line. Far catwalk
at 64' above stage; 92 I throw to curtain line.
(Continuous catwalk circulation to all
positions.)
TV cabling: Camera positions available in
sidewalls, orchestra pit, any seating level,
lobby, etc., with concealed cable runs
throughout.
Forestage gridiron: 17' deep x 80 I wide with
winch and manual line sets for cluster, reflectors, and special forestage scenic effects.
Vital Statistics (Support Space):
Loading Facilities: 4 full-length, full-width
truck bays at loading dock open into 1,500 sq.
ft. receiving and road-cases bay.
TV truck access: Up to 4 TV trucks can be accommodated in parking bays off stage right or
stage left, with complete power and A-V and
telephone taps.
Rear stage area: 6,500 sq.ft. clear space with
30' high door access to stage.
Storage rigging: 20 winch points at rear stage
ceiling 36' above floor, can store up to 10 tons.
Crew Rooms: Offices for all crew hands, plus
separate men and women crew toilets, showers
and lounges.

Technical "ledges" occur at the top of all sidewall panels providing very large spaces for servicing acoustical curtain housings, lighting
positions, and entry to the catwalk systems.
Adjustable acoustic characteristics are achieved
with acoustical draperies which are located in
the house ceiling and on the technical ledges.
These draperies, on a computerized control
system, are drawn up from housings to various
exposure settings. Approximately half of
these housings are also acoustical reflectors
and architectural lighting for the house.
(Units are lowered close to the seating levels
below for re-lamping.)
Projection:
Complete projection facilities for 35mm or
less under Level 2 at house centerline, with direct access to technical tunnel and audio control booth.
Acoustical Concept Summary:
The acoustical design for the main theatre
makes use of an asymmetrical layout of seating sections to produce an optimum pattern of
lateral sound reflections. The wide fanshaped area of seating is broken up into sections which approximate narrower, more rectangular areas.

press rooms and TV studio and main theatre
for live production with audience or studiobasis use.
I ,OOO-Seat Theatre:
The "second" theatre will be a I,OOO-seat facility with proscenium-style stage and full fly
tower. An adjustable closure at the balcony
will reduce the theatre to 600 seats when desired, with optional alternate use of the balcony. The theatre will be used primarily for
showcasing local arts groups, and to offer adjunct space for "overflow" productions by the
existing South Coast Repertory Theatre.
Studio/ Multi-use Theatre:
The "black box" is a studio-type theatre for
up to 300, capable of housing local groups'
productions in a wide range of styles. When
required, this space is also the large rehearsal
room, designed to accommodate full symphony orchestra rehearsal. (Variable acoustic
treatments are available for this use.) A walkable wire grid and full overhead catwalk system aids theatre and TV presentation use.

The ceiling and upper side-walls contain
unusually extensive technical access spaces.

Television Local Origination:
The theatres are designed with TV production
in mind, minimizing any fitting out as an afterthought. Cable runs (pending infrared) are
provided throughout the facility, with easy
man access. TV truck locations are also designed in, along with telephone pairs and
power to all potential room uses including

Design and Consultant Team:
Architects: The Blurock Partnership, ewport Beach, California; Caudill-RowlettScott, Houston, Texas (Associated Architects)
Theatre Design Consultant: John von Szeliski, AlA
Theatre Operations Consultant: Len Bedsow
Acousticians: Joint Venture Acoustical Consultants: Paoletti-Lewitz Associates; Jerald
R. Hyde; A. Harold Marshall
Stage Lighting: Jules Fisher Associates
Rigging: Peter Feller Associates
Sound System and Video: Paul Alan Magil
Associates
Architectural Lighting: Jules Fisher-Paul
Marantz
Landscape Architect / Site Design: The SWA
Group
Engineering: Martin and Tranbarger (Structural); Frederick Brown Associates (Electrical); Nack and Sunderland (Mechanical);
Robert Bein, William Frost (Civil)

of the room changes in different relationships to the centerline, to the floor,
and to the opposi te sidewall as one
looks from top to bottom. Simply calling for locations and angles of the many
surfaces and facets of walls and reflector panels was a major challenge in
the working drawings. Incidentally,
computer-aided design was considered
late in the schematic design period, as it
would seem that CAD could assist with
visualizing the hundreds of complex
implications in each choice of room
shape. At that point, however, we
found it impossible to take the time to
devise a computer program. Eventually
CAD was used to close the structural dimensioning and check the consistency

of vertical overlay moving from the
bottom levels to the top of the building.
Many other complex architectural
and engineering problems were gradually-sometimes pain fully- worked
out, while acoustical testing went forward to verify the evolving design. This
testing was first done at the optical-test
level, using Ys" and I: 50 models, then
electro-acoustically with I :50and I: 10
scale models. The I : 10 model (test personnel and observer could walk into
the resulting auditorium) was painstakingly built in Auckland by JVAC and
Dr. Harold Marshall's Acoustical Institute personnel. Once "dried out" and
sealed, the object was to test representative anechoically-recorded sound in a

precise mock-up simulation of all surfaces and materials, so that acoustical
performance could be measured at crucial locations throughout the space for
various performance modes. So complete was the modelling and simulation
that the acousticians could actually
provide an opportunity to truly "hear"
the hall before the full-size version was
built. Representatives of The Center
and the design team participated in
these test sessions in Auckland, dealing
with fine-tuning decisions for acoustical characteristics.
Are "adjustable acoustics" used to
cope with the multi-use challenge?
There are adjustable systems in the ceiling and upper sidewall areas which vary

Special Design Features (Main Theatre):
The most noticeable feature will be the asymmetrical house layout, along with rather exotic
side-wall and proscenium shaping. This "new
look" comes from an acoustical emphasis on
lateral sound reflection surfaces and complex
patterns of lateral sound energy. Designing
this scheme, with seating trays ending midhouse rather than at side-wall, required a very
special approach to exiting and fire-code issues, structure, and mechanical system routes.

The 3,000 seats are divided into 4 levels. Level
2 is actually a raised section of level I, but provides a distinctive relationship to the overall
space. Level 3 is a tier of seats suspended over
Level I, and Level 4 is stepped up as a balcony
over Level 2. Instead of spanning the width of
the hall, these sections end near the center, offering a series of choice seats at the edge of
each tier.

USITT /Sullllller

J98~/Theatre Design

Technolog~

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1984