Are you involved in the process of a remodel or new-build – then a word about form and function. When you are working with architects, I know the artistic side of them want everything to look “warm” or “attractive” or “inviting” or “pretty” or “dazzling” and so on. As a Lighting Designer, I completely get that. But, it’s going to be up to you to not let form rule at the expense of function in a high school theatre facility. Remember, techies wear black and skulk around in the dark backstage. If they haven’t been seen or noticed then they have done their job. Techies have that same mentality about their theatre building too. It’s ok to make the lobby and house attractive for the audience, but not at the expense of taking away from the thing the audience came to look at – the show.
Some functionalities to make sure your architect takes into consideration include:
• Traffic patterns, doors, locks, room configurations
• Efficacy and practicality of the equipment - is the equipment obsolete, overkill or just right?
• Placement of equipment
• Optimal amount and quality of equipment needed in order to efficiently run a production
• The layout of the backstage area for optimal functionality
• Optimized communication system to fulfill the needs for the operation of a production
• The function of auto lighting and sound controls
• Headset positions
• Scene shop location
• Storage needs for sets, props, costumes and people
• Counterweight system or winch system, or a combination
• Drapes, their purposes and placement
• What equipment should go in the booth, what should go backstage
• Placement of air-conditioning units so that drapes don’t ripple during shows
• An office space for the theatre management and staff - a window please!
Form should stop at the proscenium and function should take over. We don’t care how pretty things look backstage; we only care if they serve to make the show work. At one high school theatre I worked at, there was a door in the backstage wall that had the lock the wrong way round, such that it was possible for students to enter the stage from the rest of the school. The purpose of the lock should have been to keep students off the stage during the school day. We had to make sure to gaff tape the latch open all the time during performances so that actors and crew members could exit the stage. I had a work order submitted for months and months to fix this functionality problem, to no avail. Within that time period, one day the same backstage wall of the theatre was scraped by someone carelessly moving some orchestra shells. The scrape was so deep that it took the black paint off of the wall and exposed the white plaster beneath. I put in a work order. That work order was taken care of within the week! Why?! That wall is never seen by the audience - for every single performance in that theatre, either the cyc or the black curtain is down. No one would ever leave the wall exposed (unless it was a very special design choice of the set designer for some reason, and that would be rare), so that work order had a very low priority. Yet, a decision-making administrator only saw the form of one issue, not the priority of malfunction that we were experiencing. As you can see, as the theatre professional, it’s up to you to help architects, and administrators, understand the form versus function needs of your theatre design.
