Is your school considering a smaller new-build or remodeled theatre? Many architects and administrators immediately jump to the idea of a black box theatre in situations where there will only be a smaller theatre. But, there are some general pros and cons to consider for the long term when considering investing in a black box theatre as opposed to a small fixed proscenium theatre. A black box theatre has a high versatility factor; it can be re-configured to a proscenium stage, a thrust stage or theatre-in-the-round. But, consider, with versatility comes expenses.
Teachers and directors love to be creative in black box theatres. To begin with, masking flats (walls) or drapes would have to be purchased or constructed to create a “backstage” space. In addition, each time the acting space is reconfigured the lighting instruments and drapes would have to be moved to new positions. This would be on top of the usual set construction that is needed for a performance.
Before deciding on a black box theatre that has versatility, school district should look at their theatre operations plans and look at the costs, time constraints and safety factors, and assess some questions, such as:
• Who would be doing the reconfigurations each time, a class of students lead by a CTE teacher and/or professional technicians hired by the district?
• Are students allowed to go up on a genie or ladder to rehang and refocus the lights?
• Are the students trained in how to safely rig flats and/or drapes from the grid?
One school I worked at had a black box theatre and they hired me to create a lighting rep plot for them. Theatre-in-the-round and thrust stages require about twice the number of lighting instruments than a proscenium stage does because the actors and the sets must be lit from several sides. This theatre had been given a lighting package, but it was insufficient for the potential of the space, so the Drama teacher decided to create a permanently fixed proscenium stage within the black box space with flats as the proscenium walls. In another black box school theatre I worked in there were an ample amount of instruments but there were no lighting positions to allow for lighting the sides of the stage, so, again, we had no choice but to structure the theatre into a permanent proscenium configuration. In these circumstances it would perhaps have been better to provide that school with a small 100-seat theatre, had the administration assessed future operations, budget and time restrictions ahead of time.
On the other hand, there are some plusses to a black box theatre. For instance, a black box theatre’s floor space can be cleared for classes and rehearsals to be held in there. Plus a black box theatre is great for learning environments where tech theatre skills are a part of the curriculum. For instance, set design and construction techniques have more liberty, and lighting techniques can be created for class exercises. It can all depend on the administration. It may be up to you to educate them to first consider the theatre operations after the theatre is built. This will inform their decisions about what sort of theatre to build in the first place.
