In a truly democratic country it is assuredly not necessary to provide conspicuous boxes for persons of superior rank or social distinction. In advanced theatres, stage boxes are eliminated for acoustic reasons, and to direct concentrated attention upon the stage. The old-fashioned rectangular type of audience hall, with a lyre or horseshoe shaped balcony, has been superseded by the square auditorium with contracting paneled walls approaching the stage opening, curved rear walls with well rounded corners, and a balcony whose front follows the seat line below. The shape of the auditorium is at present undergoing many changes. It should, like the auditorium itself, be as simple, harmonious and unobtrusive as possible. This frame, being the constructive feature closest to the action on the stage, has greater possibilities than any other place for distracting attention from that action. There is no part of a theatre, within or without (not even the auditorium in which the old-fashioned style of defacing its walls with meaningless and inartistic plaster wreaths and ribbons still persists), that is so commonly overloaded with meaningless ornamentation as the proscenium opening. The space immediately above the proscenium opening, usually termed the sounding board, should be low and curved outward to reflect better both sound and heat. With amply and properly curved coves for reflected indirect lighting, and with a well-devised central open dome for ventilation that can be opened to the sky in the warm summer months, such a ceiling is ideal. An opening with a flattened elliptical top presents the best appearance and suggests a simple, effective design for the ceiling. If it be flat the ceiling should be formed flat. ![]() Where the top of the opening is arched the ceiling of the room should be curved to correspond. The manner in which the stage opening is framed usually determines the architectural treatment of the auditorium. ![]() ![]() While a proscenium opening with a greater height than width might present to some eyes a better architectural effect, the reverse proportion is more practicable and in the writer's opinion more artistic. The height of the opening should be about equal to three-fourths of its width and the angle of the opening itself about 45 degrees. An audience hall forty feet wide should have an opening of about twenty-one feet a sixty-foot width of hall should have an opening of about thirty-two feet, and an eighty-foot hall an opening of forty-three feet. The width of the opening should be slightly more than half the width of the audience hall. The one proportion that regulates the dimensions of an auditorium is the width of the proscenium opening, or vice versa. Its formation and decoration should tend to focus attention upon the scene pictured on the stage. Holland’s Opus, the community successfully campaigned the school district to restore and improve the 900+ seat theater.Ī4LE Pacific Northwest Region Chapter, Pinnacle Award (2021) | James D.The design of the auditorium is a prime consideration in theatre planning. Recognizable as the set from the 1995 film, Mr. Grant’s historic auditorium was lacking in stage height, depth, proscenium width, technical support, lighting, and suffered from poor acoustics. ![]() The $138M modernization of Grant High School included creating a new home for the local performing arts scene for both community driven performances and school events.
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