New venue

[LXbydesign]

Playhouse at Whitely Bay, Newcastle is a nice space. Lots of room backstage and easy load in.

 

Arts depot in Finchley.

 

Chichester nice now - but I still dont like their grid! ** laughs out loud **

 

A lot of it is common sense. Plenty of facility panels everywhere, sensible load in. being able to isolate smoke detectors easily, good working light & backstage working light systems and most im of all - a nice kitchen / green room area.

[Marineboy63]

As a tech SM curently touring on small/mid scale opera, my ideal venue would have the following (I know, or guess, that some of these are impossible, impractical, or unecessary for 90% of shows that any theatre might have performing. They're just what I'd like, on this tour :-) ).

 

Level access direct to stage from lorry height.

A scene dock where we can store flightcases etc, that isn't full of half-built panto scenery

A short walk to stage from the lorry

A flat, black, unraked stage, that actually is flat, and that we can screw stuff into

A pit on a hydraulic lift that is large enought to fit an 11-piece orchestra including percussion, and that can be parked at any specified height, including stage, auditorium, and lower levels. If it can be only parked at the bottom level which is so deep that the conductor is on a 3' rostrum, this is less than ideal.

13amp and dimmed circuit outlets in the pit

Up/down wing masking on tab tracks, with blacks in sections, not one full piece

Lots of hard and soft masking available

Wings that are minimum 3m wider each side than the prosc.

Blues all around the stage, that are switchable in banks, eg SL/US/SR

Good working light in all areas, that isn't a couple of floods rigged on an LX bar, so you lose your workers when you drop the bar to rig on it

C/W or proper powered bars, and plenty of them. No hand or drill winches, thank you

Hard power, dimmer circuits and DMX outlets all around the stage, at floor level as well as fly floor

A prompt desk that is large enough to put an opera score, a notebook, pencil case and a bottle of water.

A stage view screen for the DSM that is large than 4x5" and doesn't go white/blobby in anything brighter than working light.

Working wireless cans

Backstage show relay and calls (that preferably doesn't go "bing bong" when you press the 'talk' button)

Lots of dressing rooms on the same level as the stage, or with lift access if not possible.

Natural light and plenty of 13amp sockets in dressing rooms

A laundry room next to the dressing rooms, with 2x industrial washers and 2x industrial dryers (or higher spec domestic machines with a quick wash programme), a sink for hand wash, and somewhere to hang drip-dry handwash. A separate washer and dryer elsewhere for FOH/cleaning staff, so you don't have to wait till the bar laundry has finished before you can do your show washing.

A green room with sofas, table for eating food, fridge, microwave

 

Thanks for this. A brilliant list. I intend lifting it wholesale.