A TO A TALKS

WANT 9 RESOURCES TO HELP YOU
​LEVEL-UP SUPPORT AND FUNDING FOR YOUR SCHOOL THEATRE?

​
RCD Theatre Ops facilitates collaborative dialogs between 
Architects who design educational facilities and school Administrators, ​
in order to reveal approaches where ​the
​design of the lighting system and other systems reflect school theatre operation intentions.  ​
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AFTER YOUR THEATRE IS DESIGNED AND BUILT, WHO IS GOING TO RUN THE LIGHTING SYSTEM AND OTHER SYSTEMS IN YOUR FACILITY?  
YOUR DRAMA TEACHER? YOUR CUSTODIANS?  YOUR DISTRICT SCHEDULER?
WILL YOU NEED TO HIRE A THEATRE MANAGER AND TECHNICIANS?

THE DECISION  YOU MAKE ABOUT HOW YOUR FACILITY WILL BE MANAGED IN THE FUTURE AFFECTS THE DECISIONS YOU MAKE NOW ABOUT HOW TO DESIGN AND BUILD YOUR FACILITY.

These days many junior and senior high schools are being built or re-modeled with a state-of-the-art theatre on campus. And while school districts manage to raise the money for capital projects to build their theatre facility, once the keys are handed over the school district administration is taken by surprise at the cost and level of operations that have to go into perpetually running and managing their new state-of-the-art school theatre.  RCD Theatre Ops can help you keep your long-term costs down by helping you plan ahead with your operational choices.
 
Having to design a high school theatre without information about how the administration will want it to function is like being charged with painting the lines on a football field without knowing how the game is played.  Having to manage a theatre facility without an understanding of its operational requirements is like coaching a football team by just letting them play by their own rules. If you’ve never “played” behind the scenes before, RCD Theatre Ops is here to help.
 
These collaborative discussions between architects and administrators help administrators anticipate the unique functional requirements of their school theatre, including staffing, educational purpose, equipment needs, safety, and sustainability, which will in turn support architects’ design decisions.  Every school theatre is different, so RCD Theatre Ops will guide you to consider questions that will create a school theatre that suits your operational and learning intentions, such as:
  • What controls should the light board accommodate, and is state-of-the-art technology the best option? 
  • Do we really need a Rep Plot?
  • Should the theatre have an analog sound board or a digital sound board? 
  • How big does the scene shop really need to be? 
  • Do we actually need a costume shop?
  • Where should communication headset jacks be located? 
  • How much storage space is too much? 
  • Which is more suitable for our needs, a black box theatre or a proscenium theatre?  Do we need both?
  • Is office space needed and where should it be located? 
  • Is a counterweight system or a winch system actually safer for our students to operate?
  • Who will run the theatre – does it really need “running”? 
  • What educational purpose will the theatre serve, and what decisions need to be made about the educational programs before design choices can be made?
  • Should the theatre be rented to outside groups?
 
Through collaborative conversations, approaches will be revealed whereby design choices effectively support the intended functions of each individual school theatre, thus supporting each school’s vision for educational usage, safe operations and expenditure expectations.

Past Projects
 
Please contact us to schedule your A-to-A Talks. RCD Theatre Ops advocates for sustainable, safe, relevant and supportive learning environments in school theatres, from drawing board to opening night.