# How many layers of renovations do you have?



## Footer (Mar 11, 2009)

Looking at my 2 theatres, one is brand new the other is going on 20 years old. My newer theatre already has a second layer of stuff added to it, such as new circuits, backstage monitors, stuff that was not included in the initial install. My older theatre has probably 4 or 5 layers of stuff added to it, some of the new layers are to replace layers that were added before. IE, 2 different sound systems installed. I have 3 different versions of clearcom, 2 that no longer work. I also have 3 different version of backstage works, once again 2 that no longer work. So... How many layers of things do you have in your theatre that were installed after the initial build?


----------



## sk8rsdad (Mar 11, 2009)

I couldn't pick "more than 9" in the poll.

Quoting from our Member's Handbook:

_All theatres are works in progress and the Ron Maslin Playhouse is no exception. Any description of the equipment and furnishing of the Playhouse is at best a snapshot of a facility that has and will evolve, as circumstances require._​


----------



## lieperjp (Mar 11, 2009)

In our auditorium, one major renovation to change it from a gym/auditorium to just an auditorium (1968), then one minor renovation where we installed new dimmers and electrical circuitry to the dimmers, but not the raceways (1996).


----------



## cdub260 (Mar 11, 2009)

There's really no way of knowing with my venue. We've been in our current location since 1941 and the facilities have gone through a number of renovations and upgrades in the nearly seven decades since then. In the late '40's or early '50's, the original stage building was torn down and replaced with the current structure, which has, itself, gone through an unknown number of upgrades and renovations over the years, most recently upgrading our backstage work lights from 60 year old incandescent drop lights to brighter, more energy efficient, high bay fluorescents. For the 2004 season, we replaced our 4 dilapidated work shop and storage buildings with a single 10,000 square ft. shop building with separate areas for carpentry, welding, electrics, painting, foam sculpting, and even office and storage space. In the time I've been on staff at the pageant, we've added 6 permanent lighting trusses to the amphitheatre and expanded our dimming capacity by about 30%.

In the 1960's we added a second performance space, a 232 seat enclosed theatre, which has also gone through an unknown number of upgrades since it was built.

Then there's the Festival of Arts grounds, the 5.6 acre site which both of our performance spaces are located. This, as with the two performance spaces has seen a great many changes in its design, function, and appearance over the intervening decades. I've seen plans for the grounds from the 1950's, and they bear little resemblance to the current facilities.

The use and appearance of our facilities are constantly changing as needs and budgets permit. I guarantee that if the people who built the amphitheatre for the 1941 Pageant season were to walk into our facility today, they would not recognize it as the same place. While we still do, essentially the same show, though individual pictures and themes vary from year to year, in both form and function, we have a vastly different venue than we had then.


----------



## DaveySimps (Mar 11, 2009)

Our theatre is just about 5 ½ years old, so there is only one real layer, but we add on as we go, just like everyone else. The best layer we have thus far is the velvety smooth layer of caramel found in every bite


~Dave


----------



## cdub260 (Mar 11, 2009)

DaveySimps said:


> The best layer we have thus far is the velvety smooth layer of caramel found in every bite



You get caramel?

Ours is the layer of well aged stinky cheese.


----------



## Footer (Mar 11, 2009)

I find the most annoying this is when the previous layers don't get taken away. I have so much crap hanging on my walls that does not work. I am slowly going through and taking all the junk down, but its going to take some time. Mic jacks that go nowhere, all that fun stuff.


----------



## DaveySimps (Mar 11, 2009)

cdub260 said:


> You get caramel?
> 
> Ours is the layer of well aged stinky cheese.



Yes, we opted for caramel because the nuget would not fit conveniently into a 19" rack space.

~Dave


----------



## rwhealey (Mar 11, 2009)

Our main stage is new, and has had one generation of equipment upgrades (new light board, new sound board, new sound shells) after 15 years of operation. No big rennovations.

Our black box was the stage in the old auditorium and still has the old floor boxes (no longer attached to anything) and some old rigging stuff (scary looking cranks attached to rusted cables that go nowhere).


----------



## jml42691 (Mar 12, 2009)

Our theatre has had 2 major renovations, the building opened in the 70s as a gym/auditorium combination, then in 1990 the school opened a real athletic building and the basketball team moved out of the combo building, which led the school to convert the building to a Black Box Theatre in 1993 (which was quite pathetic, absolutely no permanent seating or anything, they essentially just put down carpet and painted the entire room black and added a pathetic lighting grid). Then in 2007 a major renovation was done giving us a true stage, house seating, amazing lighting system, and everything I wanted at the time.

So 2 major renovations..


----------



## fredthe (Mar 12, 2009)

I put down one layer, because although our theater is 30 years old, two years ago is was stripped to the walls/concrete and rebuilt from scratch. They even raised the roof to put in a fly system. They did leave the FOH catwalks because they were in good shape, and in a reasonable position. There are a few sections of conduit in the catwalks that don't go anywere... but they're pretty obvious and I'm not counting them.

-Fred


----------

