Theatre Design & Technology - May 1965 - 17

viewing room for production staff and special
seminars. Unfortunately access to these rooms is
from the second floor hall at the front of the
bui Iding and is di stant from the auditorium or
stage. A walk from the stage to the control rooms
above the auditorium would have helped greatly.
The sound system avai lable has been adequate,
having a turntable, tape deck, and ampl ifier complex in the control room powering two large
speaker enclosures which may be located anywhere about the stage or apron area. However it
has always been understood that this was a
temporary situation and complete revi sion permitting stereo effects and superior sound quolity
is currently under consideration.
In many respects the stage floor in the Loeb is
its most ordinary feature. Both the stage and
elevators are surfaced with traditional wood
flooring while the apron wings are of polished
linoleum, which proves some problem when used
as acting areas. The arrangement of traps has
proved fortunate. On the main stage a downstage
area 12 feet by 28 feet is in 7 foot by 4 foot
units which may be opened. Of more interest,
however, is the trap arrangement in the center
front of the apron elevator where stairs may be
placed to pro vi de entrance s through th e front of
the thrust stage.
One of the most experimental technical innovations of the Drama Center is its synchronous
winch system. With the control console movable
about the stage left floor, one may operate any
of thirty lines each capable of handling 250 Ibs.
These lines may be spotted anywhere above the
main stage floor from in front of the act curtain
all the way back to the cyc in increments of four
feet left and right of center and of three inches
up and down stage. The 53-foot grid gives ample
height for conventional hanging and the last
hang ing row offstage is 28 feet from the center
line. Lines may be operated from the console in
preset groups from either of two controls, permitting motion of two hung units at different
speeds at the same time. Thus a batten with
three lines may be slowly raised while a set
piece with five irregularly arranged lines may be
rapidly lowered into place at the same time.
Obviously this system has some advantages
offered by no other, in that lines may be dropped
at random about the stage and operated in a variety of groupings, the only limitations being clear
space in the flies, and the number of lines available. On more than one occasion the Loeb winch
system has been taxed to its ultimate with a!1
thirty lines being used dynamically during one
performance, and some being used twice with
changes during the intermission. The saving in
manpower for hanging and operating a show is
consideroble, since only one man actually operates all winch control s.
Unfortunately there are three types of drawbacks
in the system: those inherent in a synchronous
winch, those peculiar to the Loeb installation,

MAY,

1965

and those related to the fact that this most
complicated of all suspension devices must be
used with facility by students who have a minimum of time to devote to learning all of the ramifications of its operation. Motor control of a line
mean s that the speed is varied insteps, permitting no subtle acceleration or pacing of stage
motion. The line, being unbalanced, does not
maintain tension when a setpiece arrives at the
floor, making the adjustment of motor limits very
critical, often to the point of impossibility. When
considering a system one understands there are
finite limits, but one always desires just a few
more lines. On at least one occasion some thirty
more lines were desired. The Loeb system as installed proved to be noi sy, and even with soundproofing can still be clearly heard if there are no
covering sounds. The limit controls on the console were very difficult to use unless one studied their use carefully, and these have since been
removed. The winches do not run perfectly together, hence objects lose trim, making for numerous problems. A system that demands careful
use presents a safety problem and while no system can be immune to carelessness, there is the
advantage of second thought in hand-operated
systems.
Certainly a synchronous winch system could be
devised to overcome most of these problems,
also a mixed counter-weight and winch system
might be a reasonable alternative. One must consider, however, that space and expense were
realistic limitations placed upon this experiment, which ultimately may prove of great value
to the theater arts.
At the back wall of the stage is a thirty-foot wide
plaster cyclorama extending all the way to the
grid. Motors drive the vertically-rolled cloth
wing sections down stage to make the cyc enclose the stage area if desired. In front of the
white surface is a blue scrim (being changed to
black) making reasonable sky effects easier to
achieve. The cyc structure is rarely in the way
and certainly convenient when needed. One does
wi sh that a crossover had been bui It into it so
that actors would not have to negotiate so many
doors going through the shop to get from one side
of the stage to the other when the fu II stage
depth is in use. The striplighting system originally intended for cyc lighting proved very cumbersome and most difficult to focus successfully.
The most successful effects to date have been
achieved using student-designed Linnebach projectors or strips along the bottom of the cyc with
ellipsoidal reflector flood instruments carefully
directed from high in the flies.

PRODUCTION FACI L1TIES In going from the
stage into the shop one observes the massiveness
of the two sets of large doors. These doors and
the other set leading to the Experimental Theatre
are part of the very successful sound lock
system.
There is little question that the most valuable
single feature of the Loeb is the excellent con-

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