[SML] Stairs from audience to stage

[John McAfee]

I had a similar situation at two new construction academic spaces (2006 opening, 2012 opening).  But in both there were box seats by the vestibules, so VIP’s mostly were seated there.  The aprons were spiralift so they had removable barriers that were decorative (and pains in the ass), so I was regularly asked to make stairs for rehearsal so students didn’t step on the fancy barriers.  I always refused because any reasonable stairs would block the first two rows of seats and there was no guarantee that they would be placed and removed before and after rehearsal (and would have required a slight curve and a base that accommodated the audience aisle steps and I didn’t have the crew or time to do all of that).

I think you’ll find that over a five-year period in education, almost every director will want a direct path to the house at least once, and if it is a space used by the administration for assemblies, there’ll be a request at least once a year.

In most public schools I’ve worked at or done inspections for, there is a large area available in front of the stage with no seating (cheap alternative to an orchestra pit) and there is almost always a set of built stairs that look like they’ve never moved (often in addition to stairs to the side that were designed with the building).  I would like to know more about what you find for accessible options, because I don’t think I’ve -ever- seen an accessible house-to-stage option that didn’t require leaving the house in a somewhat awkward way.


> On Jan 14, 2024, at 2:37 PM, Jon Ares via Stagecraft <stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
> 
> In my space (opened in 2006), there are no "permanent" steps... it was
> designed for all people to enter through vestibules off the apron on
> both sides - imagine side stages, but a wall instead. So, if panelists
> or guest speakers, et al were to go up on to the stage, they had to
> walk up (away from the stage), around the seating, and into the
> vestibule. We had a portable, shop-built, as-ugly-as-possible portable
> temp stairs for rehearsals, etc, but every time we'd have VIPs, we'd
> always be asked to bring them back out, because no one wants to go for
> a long walk to get on stage. So.... for a show where the director
> wanted actors to enter/exit through the House, I designed some steps
> at each end of the apron to architecturally look like the theatre...
> set pieces... not permanent.... not to Code.... and of course, you can
> guess, in 2024, they're still there, because it's "imperative" VIPs
> and speakers have quick access from the front row to the stage.
> 
> My district just opened a brand-new PAC at the other big high school
> in my district, and the space was designed with side stages as the
> access to the apron, and I've asked the Technical Coordinator there if
> anyone has asked for/demanded steps up to the stage, but she says no
> one has asked yet, but they've only had a few events (comparatively)
> and one show in December, when the pit was open, so it hasn't been an
> issue yet.
> 
> Maybe the solution is never show an alternative, and no one will
> demand the alternative.  If I could turn back time....   then again,
> I'd have even more people jumping on/off the stage....  :(
> 
> - Jon
> 
> On Sun, Jan 14, 2024 at 10:07 AM Bill Conner via Stagecraft
> <stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
>> 
>> I've been working on some code changes and wanted more views on just the desirability of a permanent in the house route from audience to stage.  While my current work concerns an accessible route, I really want to hear about the functional and artistic issues affecting the choice of having a permanent in the house path or route.  My present big picture view is that for theatre - opera, drama, dance - permanent stairs are undesirable for artistic reasons.  For a very multi purpose space, like in high schools, where far and away the overwhelming majority of stages and auditoriums are, the path or route seems inevitably necessary.
>> 
>> Avoiding the complications  accessibility  brings to this for a moment,  correct or expand or just pontificate on the desirability of permanent path or route.
>> 
>> Thank you.
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Jon Ares
> www.arescreative.com
> 
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