camdram.net - Association of Cambridge Theatre Societies

ADC Theatre

The ADC Theatre is Cambridge’s University Playhouse, and is the oldest in the country. Whilst it is owned by the Amateur Dramatic Club, the theatre is managed by the University. If you make a successful application to the Amateur Dramatic Club to stage a show at the Theatre, you would get full financial support, help with forming a production crew and a guaranteed place in the schedule. If you are being funded by other dramatic societies, or you want to fund a show yourself, you need to apply directly to the Theatre Manager for a slot.

The Theatre normally offers week long slots for performances at either 7:45pm (MainShow) or 11pm (LateShow). Deadlines for applications are published in Varsity. Hirers are charged on a box office split system, with the theatre taking 37.5% of gross income.

Rehearsals

The stage can be booked for rehearsals, although high demand means that only shows to be performed at the ADC Theatre are normally given stage time. The stage should be booked through the theatre management (phone 01223 359547).

There is a piano and electric stage piano available, although the piano is normally out of tune (and the possibility of specifically tuning it should be investigated if you wish to use it in a show).

Technical information

The proscenium arch is 21'10" wide and 12'5" high. The maximum stage depth is 36'5".

The auditorium seats 227, and has disabled access.

There are two backstage dressing rooms; one for the mainshow, and one for the lateshow. DR1 (Mainshow) has a sink. There are backstage toilets.

The access to stage from the dressing rooms is to Stage Left. Entrances can be made directly onto the main stage, or onto the forestage through a Juliet. Similar entrances can be made from Stage Right if a get-round is created behind the stage backdrop.

The load-in doors are 3'8" x 7'2" and are on the first floor. Access is via a staircase that is folded half-way. Particularly large items of set can be flown onto stage through the stage traps (11'7" x 3'4"). Access should be checked carefully if large items of set are being used.

The venue has a fly tower, and counterweight and hemp systems are present for flown set. The Theatre owns a selection of flying equipment.

There is a fully-equipped workshop for building set, which ADC Theatre shows can use for free.

A Stage Plan is available.

Lighting

The ADC Theatre has over 200 lanterns; a list can be found at [www.adctheatre.com/downloads/lantern_list.pdf]. They are controlled off a Strand 520 computerised lighting desk.

There are 138 permanently-installed dimmers and 6 switch circuits (D54), most of which terminate in the patch-bay although some are hard-patched to Front of House positions or Socapex outlets. Up to an additional 6 Strand Act 6 dimmer packs are available from the theatre management, making a total of 174 available channels using in-house equipment. Additional dimmers can be added using D54 or DMX (various points around stage/patch-bay) or analogue control (12 x -10V in patch-bay, normally used for 2 theatre Act 6 dimmers; 24 x +10V in auditorium roof void). Full patching information is avable at [www.adctheatre.com/downloads/adc_theatre_lx.pdf]

The rigging positions are shown on the stage plan, and include one Front of House stage-width bar (Bar 0), 2 sets of lighting ladders Front of House, 2 sets of sidebars Front of House, a lighting dome Front of House, and the over-stage fly systems. Permanent booms are present just behind the proscenium arch SL and SR, and further temporary booms can be rigged upstage of the proscenium arch.

A commonly used Front of House frontlight rig consists of Strand Optique 15/42 profiles on the sidebars to provide forestage frontlight, Cantata 26/44 or Starlette Fresnels on Bar Zero to provide frontlight upstage of the proscenium arch, and more frontlight on counterweight 1 if a deep stage is being used. Counterweight 1 is very commonly used as a lighting postion as its uppermost position is only a few feet above the top of the proscenium arch.

A variation on the above rig has one Optique on a sidebar, one Optique on a houselight bar and one Optique in the dome. It can be argued that this provides a more consistent angle to the forestage.