September 5, 2018

ASTC at 35

The American Society of Theatre Consultants is celebrating its 35th Anniversary this year. Typically, we are all too busy doing our work and don’t take the time to look back. Here, a few members look back on where ASTC started and what it has accomplished. READ MORE…
August 29, 2018

Open Stage Design & James Hull Miller, ASTC Founding Member

Question: What makes scenery so expensive? Answer: A proscenium frame. Question: Why? Answer: Because it must be filled with Scenery. -James Hull Miller, ASTC As ASTC celebrates 35 years, member R. Duane Wilson looks back to a founding member and mentor in theatre design. James Hull Miller found a different way to look at performance venues. READ MORE…
August 29, 2018

Platform or Stage?

Is it a “stage” or a “platform”? While this seems an easy question to answer, it often is a source of confusion when designing a space for performance. The distinction is quite important, with far-ranging and often expensive consequences. READ MORE…
August 29, 2018

ASTC Welcomes New Members

The American Society of Theatre Consultants has added three new members at its Spring Business Meeting, held in conjunction with the United States Institute for Theatre […]
August 28, 2018

Announcing the 2019 ASTC – USITT Student/Consultant Renovation Challenge

The ASTC – USITT Student / Consultant Venue Renovation Challenge returns in 2019. Now is the time for university teams to plan ahead so they can include it in their academic schedules. READ MORE…
December 12, 2017

House Light Integration

House lights are as much a part of an auditorium as the stage, the catwalks and all of the other elements that make up a complete performance space. And, until recently, there was the simple expectation that the house light fixtures would typically be provided in the building’s electrical equipment package to be controlled by the theatrical and/or architectural dimming and control system. More often than not, the house light fixtures were specified by the electrical engineer as incandescent or quartz products connected to the dimmers designed by the theatre consultant. Now, however, the game has changed a bit. Read More...
December 12, 2017

House Light Upgrades – It’s Not Just the Lamp (Bulb)

It’s become an all too familiar scenario… A school district is looking to save on energy and maintenance costs and hires an energy efficiency consultant. With all good intentions, the consultant sees three dozen or so 500-watt PAR lamps in the auditorium house lights and recommends they be replaced by 17-watt LED PARs. The district also expects huge savings in replacement lamp costs and increased safety since the custodians won’t need to climb out on planks over the plaster lath ceiling.
December 12, 2017

Changes to Life Safety Code – Standpipes on Stage

The practice and later code requirements to provide stand pipes and with hoses on stages is very old. They seemed to have originated from the factory fire brigade concept, where employees of the company were expected to respond first and fight fire. Despite some assertions to the contrary, they are for occupant fire fighting, and never have been intended for use by the fire service. The time to retire this code requirement is well past, and thankfully the NFPA’s 2018 Life Safety Code (101) will no longer require standpipes on stages. The substantiation for the change, initiated by the committee and not from a public comment stated, ”The variation in equipment and resources is different such that the AHJ should have freedom to make the call on hose requirements. If needed, they should be installed based on NFPA 13". The discussion was, by my recollection, much broader. Read More...
December 12, 2017

Announcing the 2019 ASTC – USITT Student/Consultant Renovation Challenge

PLEASE NOTE: The ASTC / USITT Venue Renovation Challenge will now be held every two years 2019, 2021, etc. with the Cash prizes significantly increased. READ […]