Open Forum

If you were designing your ideal high school theatre classroom, what equipment/furniture/technology/resources would you want? We're in the midst of revising our long-term strategic plan, and since our theatre space is woefully inadequate, I want to have some solid and specific ideas of resources I need to improve the educational experience here. I have some ideas, of course, but I bet you all have thought of a lot of great things I'd never have dreamed of! I'm also thinking of applying for some grants, but I need to think carefully about what resources are most needed to improve the rigor of my program.

Oooh. I can think of so many... Up-to-date tech equipment would definitely be high on the list. Having resources to train the kids so that they can get jobs after they complete high school would be a dream. We're barely updating now but I'd recommend an ion for your light board. It's easy to use and easy to learn.

I'm also a make-up person so I'd go for (and actually have) an air brush for easy application on difficult characters. Having a well-stocked make-up cabinet is also a huge plus. The ability to create your own prosthetics and hair pieces (if possible) is a great learning tool and and the kids have a blast. :^)  It's expensive to maintain however. They go through a lot of materials as they learn...

If you were designing your ideal high school theatre classroom, what equipment/furniture/technology/resources would you want? We're in the midst of revising our long-term strategic plan, and since our theatre space is woefully inadequate, I want to have some solid and specific ideas of resources I need to improve the educational experience here. I have some ideas, of course, but I bet you all have thought of a lot of great things I'd never have dreamed of! I'm also thinking of applying for some grants, but I need to think carefully about what resources are most needed to improve the rigor of my program.

You didn't say if this was a retrofit to an existing space, or a new facility, but it sounds like you are making a wish list for a new building.  A new classroom should be well-suited for theatre use which is very different than a conventional school classroom.  I know that sounds obvious, but when dealing with architects and administrators that don't 'get' theatre it is not obvious - they will try to warp a 'classroom' model into your 'special' classroom, rather than tossing-out the classroom model and starting fresh with a theatre perspective.
 
Many schools have opted for Black-Box theatres.  These can be very useful.  If you do this, it needs to be situated so it has adjunct facilities like Dressing / Make-up Rooms, Restroom / Shower / Washroom / Lockers, Costume Shop, Scene Shop, Storage that can be shared between the Black Box and the Main Auditorium.  Sharing is an efficient use of resources.

Let me re-emphasize the need for lockers:  Theatre Students need a secure place to stash their books, phones, laptops, Safety Shoes, Safety Glasses, Gloves, Hardhats, ear plugs, and work clothes.  These are not communal items to be shared - they are covered in sweat and grime that is unique to each person and present a health hazard when shared.  This is why it is called Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

A Black Box Theatre needs to have many of the same features that a conventional stage / auditorium has:

• Sprung floor with sacrificial (replaceable) utility surface (at the same exact floor elevation as the shop and stage - NO ramps).  Concrete floors are very damaging to your performers.
• Good Acoustics - a square concrete box does not sound good - you have to design the acoustics into the room, not just plan on scabbing-on some fiberglass wall panels.
• Quiet - Sound / Light Locks at the entrances (double sets of doors with a vestibule in between), QUIET HVAC (the room is very small, so quiet is very important, particularly when you are recording voices in a ‘studio’ mode).  Sound should not leak to/from nearby Band / Music Halls - Band Halls are very loud and must have special isolation or they will disturb the whole building.)
• Production Intercom - with switchable link to the main auditorium system so it can be used for pre-show event staging.
• Lighting Grid (usually a pipe-grid, but not always).
• Safe access to the light grid - this can be a Safety Cage Ladder (like the Little Giant CAGE), and/or a Vertical Manlift (Like the Genie), and/or a walk-on wire tension grid.  The walk-on grid is a great tool and very safe - but students need to understand that you still don't walk around under the grid when workers are on the grid!
• Portable staging, seating risers (with railings), and seats - and MOST IMPORTANTLY: a place to store them that is NOT in the room, in the hallway, or on the main stage.
• Storage, storage, storage, and more storage.  Don't put everything is the same room.  Compartmentalize sound, video (yes, your classroom can be a studio), Lighting (yes, it doesn't all hang from the grid - and you need a place to service it, store gels, gobos, lamps, safety cables, and portable cables), Staging / seating, Costumes (Costume Storage is SEPARATE from Costume Shop - it needs to be humidity controlled 24/7/365), Laundry (Can be shared by Scene Shop, Costume Shop, and even the Choral / Band department if centrally located between them), Tool Storage, Flats and Scenery Storage, Orchestra Shell (for the Main Stage) Storage, Piano Storage (it needs to be protected from physical abuse, and needs to be humidity / temperature controlled 24/7/365), etc.  Don't let your classroom become a storage room.
• Offices - Teachers, Tech Director / Design / Shop Office, Script Library, etc.
• Conventional Classroom for desks, chairs, computer work stations - don't try to put these in your Black Box Theatre - they just get in the way.
• Control Rooms (sound mixer needs to be in the room for shows, but in a separate room for audio recording during 'studio' use, Video Control (if you are using the room for a studio), Lighting Control (can look down into the room from a mezzanine and/or be in the room near the sound operator - both are good to have depending upon the type of show or teaching that is being done.

Another area that gets severely misunderstood is the 'House / Work / Run-of-Show' lighting.  NO fluorescent lights!  Zero.  Nada.  None. Use fully dimmable LED lights that are individually addressable and specifically hardwired and mounted for the function, and the controls need to be fully integrated with the stage lighting system.  If the system is properly designed these fixtures can also satisfy the Emergency Egress Illumination requirements so you don't have to install yet another set of lights in the room to clutter it up.

A cautionary note:  Modern 'cheap' construction techniques done by many trades will run data, fire alarm, HVAC control, and general building PA wiring out of conduit across walls and ceilings.  You have to be very specific about NOT allowing this in the Black Box - the wiring becomes a visual annoyance and can easily be snagged and ripped-out.  Demand that ALL wiring (with the exception of portable cables for portable lighting, sound, and video equipment) be installed in conduits inside the Black Box, Storage Rooms, Shops, Stages, Control Rooms, and within 10 feet of Catwalks.  It is worth every dollar.

Video Projection - Black Box Theatres can be great cinemas for watching both training films and movies.  Include a properly designed display system and sound system into the room.  It is possible to get Projectors and Projection Screen cases that are Black (not white).  Projectors typically need special lenses so they can be positioned out of the way rather than hanging in the middle of your theatre.  The location of the projector should not interfere with drapery tracks, lighting, etc., and should have a convenient way to get a high resolution digital video signal to the projector (HDMI, DisplayPort, etc.) without having to climb up to the projector or string cables around the room (we have the technology - use it).

Fire Sprinkler Pipes - be sure that they are installed well above the lighting pipe grid so they are not generally accessible by the students (they will attach lights and rigging to them not knowing that it can damage the fire sprinkler system and that it is illegal to do so).

Conduits, Air Ducts, Plumbing Pipes, Roof Drain Pipes - wherever possible they should NOT traverse the room at any level, and where they are absolutely necessary, they should be held tight to the roof deck and only have vertical drops to the device they serve where necessary.  Given the opportunity, contractors will run them horizontally right through the worst possible locations with no regard for the functionality of the space.  You have to watch this one like a hawk!  Once they install it in the wrong place, they will typically demand a 'change order' fee to relocate it.  You have to 'head them off at the pass.'  Check Bid documents (those prepared by the Architect and Engineers - remember - they don't 'get' theatre) to see that notes with this requirement are on every drawing, and check the shop drawings to see that it was understood, and check the construction site to see that it is done properly.

Data Ports, WAPS, Receptacles, door frames, doors, door hardware, and all the junk on the walls and ceiling - BLACK.  Not chrome, not stainless steel, not ivory, not brushed aluminum, not nickel-plated, not white (sensing a pattern here?).  BLACK.  The only exceptions are Fire Extinguishers and Fire Alarm Pull Stations.

EXIT signs can be really bright and disruptive.  The least disruptive ones seem to be the type that are edge-lit letters / symbols on clear acrylic with a black wall behind them.  Back-lit devices tend to be brighter.  If you must have back-lit devices, then the ones with a black case and red letters (US standard, Green 'running man' if ISO standard) are your next best choice.

Fire Detection Devices (Smoke Detectors, Rate of Rise Heat Detectors, etc.) and Fire Notification Devices (Horns, Strobes, Speakers) can all be painted out BLACK if it is done by a UL trained / certified painter.

• Note that if your Black Box Theatre / Classroom has a perimeter curtain track, then the Strobes need to be mounted on the pipe grid inside the curtain perimeter so they can be seen if the curtain is deployed (again, Fire Alarm System designers don't 'get' theatre, so they would have no idea that the curtains will be there unless you point it out to them explicitly).
• Similarly, the curtain tracks should not pass in front of the Egress Doors so that the curtains cannot be accidentally or deliberately be positioned to cover or mask the doors.
• If you plan on using atmospheric effects (smoke, haze, fog, etc.), then demand that multi-criteria fire detection devices be installed.  These have three or four different types of sensors in them and the device has to be tripped by at least two of them before it sends an alarm.  A typical Black Box Theatre may only have 1-4 of these (depending upon size, so it is not a huge expense to the project to accommodate this unique 'theatre' requirement.

And that is just the obvious stuff . . . <Insert shameless plug here for hiring a Theatre Consultant to assist with your project>

Oooh. I can think of so many... Up-to-date tech equipment would definitely be high on the list. Having resources to train the kids so that they can get jobs after they complete high school would be a dream. We're barely updating now but I'd recommend an ion for your light board. It's easy to use and easy to learn.

I'm also a make-up person so I'd go for (and actually have) an air brush for easy application on difficult characters. Having a well-stocked make-up cabinet is also a huge plus. The ability to create your own prosthetics and hair pieces (if possible) is a great learning tool and and the kids have a blast. :^)  It's expensive to maintain however. They go through a lot of materials as they learn...

If you were designing your ideal high school theatre classroom, what equipment/furniture/technology/resources would you want? We're in the midst of revising our long-term strategic plan, and since our theatre space is woefully inadequate, I want to have some solid and specific ideas of resources I need to improve the educational experience here. I have some ideas, of course, but I bet you all have thought of a lot of great things I'd never have dreamed of! I'm also thinking of applying for some grants, but I need to think carefully about what resources are most needed to improve the rigor of my program.

If you were designing your ideal high school theatre classroom, what equipment/furniture/technology/resources would you want? We're in the midst of revising our long-term strategic plan, and since our theatre space is woefully inadequate, I want to have some solid and specific ideas of resources I need to improve the educational experience here. I have some ideas, of course, but I bet you all have thought of a lot of great things I'd never have dreamed of! I'm also thinking of applying for some grants, but I need to think carefully about what resources are most needed to improve the rigor of my program.

If you were designing your ideal high school theatre classroom, what equipment/furniture/technology/resources would you want? We're in the midst of revising our long-term strategic plan, and since our theatre space is woefully inadequate, I want to have some solid and specific ideas of resources I need to improve the educational experience here. I have some ideas, of course, but I bet you all have thought of a lot of great things I'd never have dreamed of! I'm also thinking of applying for some grants, but I need to think carefully about what resources are most needed to improve the rigor of my program.

If you were designing your ideal high school theatre classroom, what equipment/furniture/technology/resources would you want? We're in the midst of revising our long-term strategic plan, and since our theatre space is woefully inadequate, I want to have some solid and specific ideas of resources I need to improve the educational experience here. I have some ideas, of course, but I bet you all have thought of a lot of great things I'd never have dreamed of! I'm also thinking of applying for some grants, but I need to think carefully about what resources are most needed to improve the rigor of my program.