[SML] [EXTERNAL] Stairs from audience to stage

[Jeffrey Kanyuck]

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At the College where I work, we have a 908-seat theater with stairs on each side of the stage leading out to the audience and then more going down if you want to go down into the orchestra pit.
We had a 332-seat theater which was just demolished that we had renovated the stage ourselves to correct for front aisle requirements according to fire code. Due to the age of the theater and beyond possible was any kind of ADA compliant access to the stage from the audience anywhere. We did create two step units lined up with the central aisles that were their own "filler". If you undid the coffin lock and flipped a step you had steps.
We are currently having built a new 412-seat theater with steps and ramps at the side of the stage.

Not only do a lot of our touring productions (concerts, magic acts, animal acts, dance shows, you name it) but also our home-based productions of dance shows and musical want (including in their riders) stairs to the audience for interaction by either having performers go out and come in through the audience or ask audience members to the stage.

Jeffrey Kanyuck

________________________________
From: Stagecraft <stagecraft-bounces at theatrical.net> on behalf of Bill Conner via Stagecraft <stagecraft at theatrical.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2024 1:03 PM
To: Stagecraft <stagecraft at theatrical.net>
Cc: Bill Conner <billconnerastc at gmail.com>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [SML] Stairs from audience to stage

Please use caution: This email was sent from outside of HCC.

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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