Village Squire, 1978-11, Page 40time Nov. 22.
Although the new Grand is almost
entirely new, there are connections with
the historic past Grand. The one part of the
old theatre that remains is the stagehouse
and the beautiful old proscenium arch over
the stage. It gives a feeling of antiquity to
the beautiful ulta-modern facility.
The Grand is now not just one theatre,
but two. The main auditorium used to hold
1100 people but now has been cut down to
a very intimate auditorium holding 800.
The farthest seat from the stage in the
orchestra portion of the theatre is 52 feet
meaning it is an excellent place to watch a
performance. What the 56 million
reconstruction did for the building was
provide a second theatre as well as
improved service facilities for a theatre
that had virtually none.
The McManus Studio Theatre provides a
second playing space, a versatile one that
is small enough for untried and
experimental works.
Theatre publicity director Rob Wellan
shows off the building in its unfinished
state while the workmen are shut down for
lunch break. The architects Peter Smith
and Bill Larkin of the Lett -Smith
architectural firm have taken a great deal
of imagination and created all the services
the theatre needed but didn't have and
packed them into almost the same space as
the original Grand. The theatre was able to
buy a little bit of additional land but on the
whole, the new Grand is just the old Grand
rebuilt.
When the new theatre opens Nov. 22 for
the production of Kiss Me Kate. patrons
will walk into a spacious lobby where
before there was a small space. They'll be
able to go upstairs to a relaxing lounge
area overlooking Richmond Street. They'll
have the most comfortable seating the
architects staff and board can buy
(questionnaires from patrons of the old
Grand before reconstruction showed that
the two things people wanted most in the
new Grand were comfortable seats and a
bar). Mr. WeIlan predicts customers will
be amazed at the new building.
He reserves the word "brilliant" for the
work of the architects. They spent a great
deal of time with each member of the staff
getting the requirements of that person's
job, Mr. Wellan says. They also came up
with many labour saving improvements
which will make the new theatre more
efficient (one of the reasons for rebuilding
was that the old theatre was costing an
impossible amount for upkeep and was
inefficient). The lighting system is now
installed in the ceiling and serviced by a
series of catwalks which means a crew of
two can light the most difficult show in
three or four hours, compared to days
when the ladders had to be moved around
to each lighting instrument in the old days.
They also devised a system for covering
and uncovering the orchestra pit that cost a
couple of thousand dollars and replaces a
hydraulic system that would have cost
more than 5100 thousand.
38 The Village Squire November 1978
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