ASTC members are professional theatre consultants who have demonstrated the broad range of capability and experience necessary to qualify for membership. As professionals, ASTC members have individual and collective interests in providing unbiased, functionally sound, practical, and visionary consulting and design services to owners, users, architects, and engineers of performance and assembly facilities.

ASTC members specialize in the design of a broad range of performing arts and assembly facilities. Examples include:

• Recital Halls and Concert Halls
• Opera Houses
• Outdoor Amphitheatres
• Theatre Renovations/Restorations
• Adaptive Reuse
• Las Vegas Style/Cruise Ship Showrooms
• Multi-Use Performing Arts Centers and Auditoria
• Dance Stages
• Ballrooms and Convention Centers
• Worship Facilities
• Lecture Halls
• Assembly Rooms

The strength of the ASTC rests with the ongoing interaction among individual members and the Society’s collective mission to establish and maintain best practices within the assembly occupancy building design industry. Towards that end, the ASTC has established a Code of Ethics guiding members in the conduct of their duties as theatre consultants.

To qualify for membership, individuals must show they are independent of any organization or company engaged in the provision, installation, or construction of performing arts facilities. Members agree to derive no part of their income from the buying or selling of specialty systems and equipment that they are in the business of recommending or specifying. This helps to ensure unbiased advice and consultation designed to achieve the needs and goals of the Client and not the personal financial goals of the consultant.

The ASTC holds our members to the highest standard of ethics in our business practices.

ASTC members are committed to the ongoing process of broadening their professional practice through in-depth examinations of the many aspects of performance facility design. Each year, the organization convenes The ASTC Forum at which members explore pertinent subjects and issues in detail. Past Forum topics have included:

• Programming and Planning for the 21st Century
• The Artistic Side of Theatre Planning
• Acousticians
• Facilities for Dance
• Casino Theatres
• Outdoor Theatres
• Rooms for Music
• Front of House Design Issues

Click HERE for the complete list of ASTC Forum topics.

In addition to participation in round-tables and seminars, each year’s Forum is planned with an intentional goal for attendees to travel to new and different cities to tour newly constructed and renovated performance venues. Tours are comprehensive, visiting both Front of House and Back of House spaces, where members learn about innovative solutions as well as the occasional “lesson learned”. Participation in these tours also offer members a chance to experience facilities that they might not otherwise see and presents them with a context so they can compare and contrast their own solutions with those employed by other members.

On a day-to-day level, The American Society of Theatre Consultants provides a regular forum for the exchange of ideas and information among members.

ASTC members network and interact with numerous other organizations whose vested interests in the performing arts serve to advance the collective interests of the live production industry. Affiliated organizations and conferences include:

• USITT – United States Institute for Theatre Technology
• OISTAT – International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians
• NATEAC – North American Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference
• ITEAC – International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference
• NFPA – National Fire Protection Association
• ESTA – Entertainment Services and Technology Association
• IAAVM – International Association of Venue Managers

The ASTC is developing programs to encourage diversity and inclusion within the theatre consulting profession. A mentoring program for secondary school students interested in careers in theatre design was inaugurated in 2021 to provide students with meaningful experience with this specialized career.

Every odd numbered year, the ASTC co-sponsors the ASTC – USITT Student Theatre Renovation Challenge held at the USITT Conference. By working together with an ASTC theatre consultant mentor and a faculty advisor, graduate and undergraduate students experience how venues are designed and renovated. Additionally, students learn to see performance spaces with a critical eye and are exposed to facility and system design career paths.

• Each team selects a theoretical project on or near the team’s college campus. They survey and study the current conditions and develop a plan to renovate or adapt the subject space to meet the team’s stated goals. Potential projects include:
  • Substantial improvements to an existing theatre
  • Conversion of non-performance space into a new performance space
  • Changing the form and function of an existing theatre.

The ASTC has a continuing interest and involvement in the evolution of building codes and has been a catalyst in the development of the model building and life safety codes pertaining to performance facility design and operation. The ASTC’s activities include serving on national model code committees and workgroups in ongoing industry efforts to establish standards and recommended practices.

• Model Codes
  • ADAAG – ADA Accessibility Guidelines
  • ANSI A117.1 – Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities
  • FDW-AAA – NFPA Technical Committee on Fire Doors and Windows
  • ICC – International Code Council / International Building Code (IBC)
  • SAF-AXE – NFPA Technical Committee on Assembly Occupancies and Membrane Structures

• Industry Workgroups – ESTA Technical Standards Program including:
  • Control Protocols Working Group
  • Floors Working Group
  • Followspot Position Working Group
  • Rigging Working Group
  • Stage Machinery Working Group
  • Technical Standards Group

The American Society of Theatre Consultants is proud of its accomplishments and looks forward to a continued and increasing role in advancing the design of performance facilities and allied projects. All ASTC members have collective interests in the promotion of a robust future for live performance and the evolution of the facilities designed for its support. Growing ecological and economic pressures combined with increasingly sophisticated technologies are driving the future of live performance in new and exciting directions. The ASTC is developing programs to promote the industry to the next generations, while promoting diversity and inclusion. ASTC members remain on the forefront of the effort to create functional, attractive, and cost effective performance facilities to serve the needs of their users for years and years to come.