Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2012 - 41

distributed at stage level. Four additional 200A switches are located on the grid, gallery, forestage, and one of the catwalks.
200A isolated audio power is provided in both of the downstage
wings. The house mix position sits 65´ from the plaster line
with a DiGiCo SD7 console. (The auxiliary mix position in the
control booth provides the Yamaha M7CL console.) Front of
house speakers, which can be raised above the wood cloud,
include:
29 JBL VT-4888DP Line array
8 JBL VT-4882 Subs
2 Renkus-Heinz IC24-R array columns
7 Renkus TRX62H (Front Fills)
Eighty wired microphone inputs
are distributed on the stage, with an
additional forty in the pit.
Since the back of the stage house
faces the university's historic Orange
Grove, it could not be hidden in a back
or side alley. Therefore, Hill needed to
put a "public face" on what is normally
the unseen side of a building. In keeping with her philosophy of using a limited palette, she took the same stainless
steel panels from the front of the building
used for the sunshade and applied them
vertically, rather than horizontally. "We
wanted that connection to come around
the building," Hill said. "It's all the same
materials, just used in different ways."
The dock accommodates two 53´ tractor
trailer rigs and has two additional 200A
services available for road service power.
A single lift door can close to conceal the
whole loading dock area.
The Great Hall has traditional support spaces, including
wardrobe facilities, a repair shop, warm-up, and quick-change
rooms. Also included is a 54´ x 51´ rehearsal hall on the second
floor which mirrors the playing space of the hall. Complete with
a sprung floor and 48-channel dimming system, not to mention the wide windows looking out to a glorious view of the
Santa Monica mountains, the space not only provides an ideal
warm-up and rehearsal space for touring dance companies,
but it could eventually be utilized as a small performance venue
for special events. (Full technical specifications are available
at http://www.valleyperformingartscenter.org/about/facilities/
technical-specifications/.)
But the Great Hall and its support spaces only tell half the
story of the Valley Performing Arts Center.
photos by tom bonner, courtesy of hga architects & engineers

the venue's first full season of thirty-three events. With a 55´
proscenium 32´ in height, the full stage footprint is 120´ wide
and 58´ deep at the center line. Sixty single purchase line sets
on 8˝ centers sit stage right and are deployed to a 76´-10˝ grid.
The apron lowers on a 51´ Spriralift to reveal the 64´-6˝ x 16´-8˝
Henry Mancini Family Orchestra Pit, large enough to accommodate sixty-five musicians. For events not requiring the forestage
or an orchestra, sixty-nine portable seats can be added to the
house.
The electrics package provides 642-20A and 16-50A ETC
Sensor dimmers with an ETC Eos 4k console. For touring productions, three 400A and two 200A 108/company switches are

The VPAC rehearsal room

Multi-Use Teaching and Learning Spaces
The California State University System supports only construction
projects directly linked to academic instruction. Projects such
as parking facilities, health centers, student unions, etc., must
be built with non-state funding. The North and East Performing

CSUN's experimental theatre space

theatre design

& technology

winter

2012

http://www.valleyperformingartscenter.org/about/facilities/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2012