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). 10pm slots for performances in the Larkum Studio are also available, as well as one-off slots for bar shows. 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, Larkum Studio and dressing rooms can be booked for rehearsals and auditions, although high demand means that shows to be performed at the ADC Theatre are given preference. Rehearsal spaces can be booked online at http://roombooking.adctheatre.com/ or by contacting the theatre management (01223 359547).
There is an electric stage piano available for rehearsals, and a baby grand piano in the Larkum Studio.
Technical information
The proscenium arch is 21'10" wide and 12'5" high. The maximum stage depth is 36'5".
The auditorium seats 228, and has disabled access.
There are two backstage dressing rooms; one for the mainshow, and one for the lateshow. These are separated by a Green Room with some seating, an audiovisual stage relay, and three toilets. Each dressing room has a shower located off it, as well as two sinks with electric shaver sockets. DR1 also has a washing machine and tumble drier, which are available for use by performing companies (although are primarily provided for laundering theatre-owned items).
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 straight staircase from the theatre yard, with a 90-degree left turn at the top in order to pass into the front row of the auditorium. 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/lanternlist.pdf]. Control for these is provided through a new ETC Ion console, and there is also a Strand 520 available.
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.
Sound
The main auditorium has a fixed FoH sound rig of paired D&B Ci90 Tops and C7 Sub-bass speakers, mounted either side of the proscenium arch. The mixing position is a control box at the rear of the auditorium, and control is given though a Yamaha M7CL-32, as well as 2 CD players, 2 minidisc players and a selection of outboard gear.
Tie lines are installed to all areas of the stage and auditorium, as well as dressing rooms, FoH and the bar. These terminate in a Bantam patch pannel, along with the mixing desk, in the control box. Amplifiers are located above the auditorium, and can be patched to various Speakon outlets around the stage. 6 Bose 802 speakers are available for connecting to these amplifiers.
The theatre also owns a selection of microphones for instrument and vocal use, several DI boxes and a stage piano. There are 4 Sennheiser 1083 VHF Radio Microhpnes, as well as 2 Trantec S3000 systems. There are 8 lit RAT stands, and 10 boom-arm microphone stands.
For full details of theatre stock equipment, please see the following links:
Sound Equipment Details
Sound Patch ArrangementsLast edited Sat 28th Mar 2009 by Giles Fleming
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