Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1980 - 6

A Flexible
Modular
Facade Design
by Frank Silberstein
In recent years, the demands of rising costs and the need
for greater variety in scenic arrangements have required the
development of many innovations. The now ubiquitous "black
box," with its flexible seating and scenic possibilities, and the
reappearance of an ancient theatrical concept-the thrust
stage-are two possible solutions. The scenic system to be
described utilizes elements of both of these approaches.
The design of the recently completed, 403-seat Brown
County Playhouse operated by the Department of Theatre and
Drama at Indiana University, was suggested by the specifics
of the problem. It has an attractive interior decor that combines rough-cut wood surfaces with modern industrial shapes
such as steel trusses and ductwork. This "rough hewn, high
tech" surrounds a fairly conventional thrust stage which had
no background facade. The omission of a permanent facade
was ordained by several factors, not the least of which was
uncertainty as to what type of background would be the most
functional for the repertory chosen. In addition to the demands of our regular summer program, which is somewhat
unpredictable, it was suggested that outside groups, both theatrical and otherwise, might be using the space. Thus, it
seemed impractical to design a permanent facade of any configuration that would be suitable for as yet unknown applications.
The only permanent architectural separation between the
audience and the backstage spaces are seventeen-foot high
wing pieces on either side of the upstage opening. These are
covered for decorative purposes with rough-cut lumber giving
a "reverse board and batten" appearance. The space above
is open to the dark gray steel of the roof, the supporting trusswork, lighting catwalks, etc. In other words, these wings, as
well as other smaller wood covered "screens" along the back
and sides of the audience space, appear more or less free
standing against dark browns and grays of the surrounding
structure.
The experience of the first season convinced us that although it was physically possible for us to create a completely
new facade for each new show, the result was insupportable
expenditures in materials, time, and labor. A more efficient approach had to be devised. It appeared that any satisfactory
solution would have to satisfy a number of criteria: It would
have to be 1) safe and have sufficient structural rigidity; 2)
neutral in appearance; 3) engineered to permit easy changes
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Thealre Design & Technology

from one setup to another; 4) flexible in providing openings
and acting levels; 5) decoratively related to the rest of the
theatre's interior; 6) designed to allow continued re-use of the
system without costly damage to the materials.
These requirements, and the interior features described,
suggested a modular screen system (Fig. 1). The envisioned
scheme would be flexible, and at the same time would have a
close connection with the permanent interior features of the
theatre, thus preserving some decorative continuity.

The Basic System
The basic facade system consists of four elements: 1)
Holes in an overhead gridwork and in the stage floor; 2) vertical pipe stanchions located and stabilized by the holes; 3)
horizontal rails supported by the stanchions; 4) plywood panels or other scenic elements supported by these rails.
1) The steel gridwork above the stage provides 'X6" diameter mounting holes on 4' centers left and right stage and l'
centers up and down stage (Figs. 2A and 2B). An exactly
identical pattern of %" diameter holes drilled in the stage floor
matches the grid above.
2) The vertical stanchions consist of a group of twenty-four
2" N.P.S., schedule 40 pipes, 20'6" long. These have specially made steel plugs welded on top from which a %" diameter locator pin projects 3%", and which can engage the 'X6"
holes in the overhead grid. The bottom of each stanchion has
an identical plug with a %" x %" long protruding pin. This
plug-pin assembly, however, is not welded to the pipe. Instead
it is inserted in the appropriate floor locating hole prior to positioning the stanchion, thereby simplifying the process of centering the long heavy stanchion on the proper floor locator
hole (Fig. 3). By means of this arrangement any stanchion can
be securely placed in anyone of the approximately 130 locations on stage.
3) The horizontal rails comprise a group of twenty-six 9"
deep x 4%" thick wood and steel members designed to be
fastened between the stanchions. The fastening is achieved
by means of Rota-Locks. ™ The use of Rota-Locks obviously
allows the rails to be securely fastened at any height and in a
variety of angular configurations without drilling holes or
otherwise damaging the pipe stanchions. The Rota-Locks
were used in combination with specially made adapters deUSITI/Winler, 1980

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1980