Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1985 - 57

THEATRE ARCHITECTURE
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Angus Bowmer Theatre
Ashland, Oregon
Owner: Oregon Shakespearean
Festival Association

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Architect
Kirk, Wallace, McKinley, AlA &
Associate

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Section

Theatre Designer:
Richard L. Hay

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Plan of Main Level

Stage Lighting Consultant:
George T. Howard & Associates
Stage Equipment and Sound
Consultant:
Landry, Hunt and Bogan

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Stage FOIm

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Acoustical Consultant
Robin M. Towne & Associates, Inc.
Structural Engineers:
Skilling, Helle, Christiansen,
Robertson

Plan of Lobby

Electrical Engineers:
Sparling and Associates, Inc.
Mechanical Engineers:
Valentine, Fisher & Tomlinson
Landscape Architects:
Royston, Hanamoto, Beck & Abey
with C. E. Corry
Completion: 1970
Seating Capacity: 60 I
Expected Use:
Drama in rotating repertory, occasional
small musicals
Built to supplement a 1200 seat outdoor amphitheatre facing an Elizabethan
stagehouse, the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival's indoor Bowmer Theatre has
permitted the Festival to expand its
climate-limited schedule and present
two or more performances daily during
its 14 week summer season. A nine
week winter season is also presented
indoors in the Bowmer Theatre.
Built with a tight budget, and on a
limiting ite, the Bowmer Theatre was
designed to accommodate drama productions using scenery set up in the
same chamber as the audience. The
repertory of three summer or four winter productions plays in strict rotating
order, changing daily.

The structure of the building combines a reinforced concrete base with
heavy timber superstructure framing
which is exposed in the lobby ceiling.
Exterior materials are painted to match
the existing Shakespearean theatre.
The theatre can be described as having an open end-stage with a projecting
forestage; the same ceiling and walls enclose the audience and performing area.
The auditorium side walls continue on
stage to enclose the acting areas at the
sides. These walls provide variable entrances to the acting area at stage level
and at an eight foot elevation, carry
lighting instruments, and are pivoted to
swing through an arc of over 90 degrees
to vary the visible (stage) volume for
intimate or spectacular production.
Asymmetrical arrangements are al 0
used.
The forestage shape can be altered
by stock side plugs and step units to the
moat and vomitories. Removalofsrage

stairs and lowering the hydraulic forestage to moat level permits set-up of
special scenic stage shapes of all sorts:
ramping, curved, asymmetrical, etc.
Most scenery in the repertory is dimensional and shifts in rolling units,
storing in either off stage spaces or in
the scenery dock at the rear of the stage,
with a height limitation of 21 feet.
Forestage plat forming stores in two levels under the stage with access by the
stage lift. There is minimum flying
space; any back cloths run on tracks
and store to the side.
Ceiling panels over the acting area
pivot ectionally on the three stage
bridges; there are four fixed lighting
catwalks in the auditorium and a follow
spot and front scenic projection booth
lowers from the ceiling.

SITT Spring 1985 Theatre Design & Technology

55
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