Chicago magazine | September 2017: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the venerable Navy Pier institution with a name that conjures images of staid, wood-paneled rigidity, may seem an unlikely candidate to construct the city’s slickest new performance space. But as Barbara Gaines, CST’s founder and longtime artistic director, says, “Reinvention was Shakespeare’s middle name.”
4 comments:
THIS IS SO COOL. I think that having a flexible theatre is awesome in concept and the fact that this theatre has the ability to go from being in the round, alley, rectangular, and circular is pretty incredible. I hope that one day most theatres will be this flexible because that provides the director with more flexibility. I'm sure it also benefits the theatre as it's easier for a diverse set of shows to perform there.
That is quiet the seating arrangement. It doesn’t seem all the different than a black box theater with reconfigurable bleachers other than the audience being completely vertically stacked rather than raked. One thing I’m not seeing in the drawings and didn’t notice in the explanation, how does the audience physically get to the upper levels? Design wise, I think there’d be a lot of challenges coming from the wide range of sightlines. Trying to design a set that looks good from slightly below (the audience and ground level) as well as high above requires different factors to be considered. Not that it isn’t possible, and this would definitely be an interesting space to work in and see shows in. To me the reconfigurable nature isn’t as unique as the stacked seating. I assume that would also change how the actors would have to play to the space, which would also get challenging. This does seem nice for lighting given that the audience is essentially all lighting positions, all though that also has its own set of complications. Overall, I think you could do a lot of cool work in this space.
This is a really interesting idea and has certainly been thought out in length but at the same time I feel that a lot of immersive theatre spaces and exploratory theaters do this already. This type of "modular" theatre is a really cool idea how it can change and rearrange for any kind of performance or need but I just seems like it presents more challenges then it fixes. The tower method first off gives me questions to how the designers will work as yes they do have a variety of opportunities when it comes to setting arrangements but they do not have such liberties when it comes to actual designs on stage as everyone is so close and on top of whatever set is presented to the audience. The actors also may face some challenges as it is not necessarily a space that they will be used to or have performed in before. I for one am not huge on modular designs as I feel that for in things such as the case as a black box or even adjustable shelves you find what best fits what you are using them for and you stick with that form factor because its the best for what you need to do. I do think this is still a really cool design opportunity especially for lighting and sound designers being able to adjust and find interesting spaces and directors will love the flexibility of their space. I do feel something like this could be really interesting and cutting edge I'm just skeptical if it will be able to be used to its full potential I do trust however that the Chicago Shake's will have amazing new things to do there.
I think this is a very cool concept. Modular designs have recently become popular what with modular housing and tents. This theater seems to be following this trend. It is would be very interesting to see how each director and designer decides to utilize a space that allows for a "blank canvas" though I think it will be rarely difficult as the setting of the theatre often dictates a design or concept. I think there are some cool opportunities for the audience to feel more immersed within the performance especially if the towers are able to move mid performance. I think that would create an interesting dynamic between the boundaries of the stage and the audience. However, I would have to question the practicality of such a mobile theater design. It seems as if the lighting designer will have problems finding locations to hang lights and the sound designer might run into the same problem with speakers. I don't think it cannot be done but working within a changing theater is definitely a design challenge.
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