# Historic Theatre Renovations



## cheyennetech (Apr 29, 2015)

I am working on coming up with a list of things to bring to the board for consideration on our ongoing renovation project of the Historic Atlas Theatre in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

The theatre has been in use for our local productions since 1965 for the Melodrama in summer, and 1969 for regular productions. The last major renovation was from 1977-1980 (the building was purchased in 1971.) A consulting firm was brought in several years ago for a best case scenario and came up a $16 million dream renovation. That was pie-in-the-sky money is no object.

I'm looking more at the technical side since the aesthetics are pretty much covered in the long term facilities plan (new paint, new flooring in the auditorium, new seating, LED lighting for house lights and aisles.)

The intent is to create a premier event space and return the building to it's former grandeur. Things that I am considering are upgrading the audio system, having the rigging system evaluated (the current rigging is the original from 1907, no counterweights, which plays heck with a fully loaded electric), possibly going to LED for stage lighting (replacing our cans, and maybe the source fours). If anyone has anything else I should be considering, suggestions are welcome. If anyone knows of any consultants fairly close I would love to talk to them.

Thanks,

Joe Batson
Rental Coordinator
Cheyenne Little Theatre Players


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## BillConnerFASTC (Apr 30, 2015)

I have some reservations about your goals and funding available, though I did a historic renovation of the Palace Theatre in Manchester NH many years ago fo r somewhere aroundca million, and it made a big difference: paint, chairs, major rigging redo, very modest lighting system, some other.

Not too many consultants between Midwest and west coast either. Wish I could help but sounds like its beyond your means to hire a consultant and I don't get by Cheyenne very often, or nearly never (though I may be for check out of a project in Ft Washakie - which is in WY but not sure where.  

One specific, beware that led generally weighs significantly more than quartz. That impacts rigging, and may impact structural design.


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## SteveB (Apr 30, 2015)

cheyennetech said:


> I am working on coming up with a list of things to bring to the board for consideration on our ongoing renovation project of the Historic Atlas Theatre in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
> 
> The theatre has been in use for our local productions since 1965 for the Melodrama in summer, and 1969 for regular productions. The last major renovation was from 1977-1980 (the building was purchased in 1971.) A consulting firm was brought in several years ago for a best case scenario and came up a $16 million dream renovation. That was pie-in-the-sky money is no object.
> 
> ...



A friend of mine was the consultant on a renovation and new additions to this space in Florida - Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center.

2 things they did which I consider bold, but probably wise as well, were to install a complete motorized winch system, an ETC system in this case, as well as a lot of LED units for stage lighting. You should contact Stan Kaye at the Univ. of Florida - Gainsville for more info. He can give you the speech as to the decisions made. 

As well there are a few consultants here that have experience in this, hopefully they'll pick up on this thread, but in any event those two things popped into my mind immediatley - motorized rigging and a full LED systems to save on the electrical system upgrade costs.


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## robartsd (Apr 30, 2015)

Oft repeated advice on Control Booth is infastructure before instruments.

It sounds to me like your most important and urgent technical need is your rigging (if "having the rigging system evaluated" you mean it is long overdue for inspection - have it inspected ASAP). Once you've figured out the plan for the rigging, you can start to look at lighting and sound.

And even if you can't afford to hire a consultant in, reading Bill's posts and articles will help you learn a lot about what needs to be considered. Posting information about planned changes on CB with enough detail will also likely get a lot of comments that may be helpful.


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## rwhealey (Apr 30, 2015)

Hello Joe,

Take a look at your PMs (seems like they are called conversations now) for some local consultant info.


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## JLNorthGA (May 4, 2015)

Something to consider. I attended an ETC lighting seminar about a year or so ago. The opinion of the demonstrators/seminar givers was that the most effective "bang for the buck" was to have a mixed lighting system.

In other words, have regular ellipsoidal instruments (Source Fours of course, after all, it was an ETC seminar) for the FOH lights and to use LED fixtures for the above stage lights.

+1 on the rigging inspection. I had one done in December - long overdue. Found lots of problems. We have addressed many of them.
Even if you don't have all the recommended tasks performed, it will give you a basis upon which to proceed.


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## RickR (May 4, 2015)

Safety has to be top priority. That probably means rigging first. Past there gets tricky as need and wants get mixed up with funding and politics. 

ETC has been big on a mixed system for years. They have some very good points. But reality is based on where you are now. LEDs change weekly. You can't focus on a specific product.


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## teqniqal (May 31, 2015)

You need a plan to make a plan. This doesn't necessarily mean that you are hiring someone to design a solution, but having an experienced theatre consultant that can assess your situation objectively can go a long way towards getting your priorities figured-out and identifying issues that you may not see yourself. This is one of the problems with doing everything in-house - you don't know what it is you don't know. A fresh set of eyes that has broad knowledge of current theatre technologies and experience with theatre renovation is needed. There are many specialists that are great with lights, or rigging, or sound, but there is more to a project than those three specialties, and finding a balance between them is key to a successful project. A consultant with a broad knowledge base can provide a balanced assessment. This guidance can help you to educate your supporters about the work needed to fund a project like yours, and to help you allocate resorces for a phased improvement program. Once the community understands the long-term goals, they can incrementally support you to get through each phase of the development. Let me know if we can help - travel to your location is not that difficult, so investing in an outside opinion can be invaluable to the well-being of the project.


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