Back Stage Tour of the Waterside Theatre - 15th July 2015
28 members gathered in the spacious foyer to wait for our guides. One of them, Sophie Winfield, is our area rep for both the Aylesbury and Milton Keynes Theatres. She is also responsible for organising the group bookings for us. Our group was divided into 2 and Sophie’s group started backstage with the rest of us spending time looking at the auditorium and foyers.
The Waterside Theatre was designed by Amersham based architect, Norman Bragg, of Aedas RHWL. This is a large architectural practice that specialise in prestigious civic buildings, particularly for the Arts. The construction, funded by AVDC as part of the regeneration programme for Aylesbury, started in 2007 by Wilmott and Dixon who are based in Hertfordshire. The late Linda Bellingham performed the ‘topping out’ ceremony in 2009.The completed building opened in 2010. Architecturally inspired by the Chilterns and fixtures to reflect the natural environment, the exterior uses natural stone found in the Chiltern area and the interior large areas of coloured woods both as a visual statement and to improve the acoustic qualities of the auditorium. Green carpets, tall wooden shafts thrusting up to support the roof and balconies and lighting in the form of water droplets also help the reflection of the woodland of the nearby countryside.
The theatre is designed to be a receiving House. This is a theatre that has basic equipment and facilities. Visiting companies, on tour, bring in everything they require ie scenery, props, costumes, sound equipment, lighting etc., but most importantly their own staff. Waterside have only a few technical staff who will assist the visitors. Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) run the theatre and are responsible for the artistic content.
We had the opportunity to sit in the auditorium at each level. The group decided that the lower circle gave the best view of the stage. The other group were on stage and their ‘performance’ was rated as ‘rubbish’ but helped in assessing the acoustics! As Waterside is a multipurpose auditorium it has to be able to remove the seats quickly and easily. This is done as seats are mounted on air pallets that work as mini hovercraft so that they can be moved onto the stage lift to be lowered and stored under the flat floor of the stalls. This means there is a compromise between a steeper rake for viewing and a shallower rake for flexibility of use. The house lights for performances are coloured LEDs mounted within the wooden walls. Fresh air is drawn into the building by natural airflow and distributed to the audience through a tree shaped vent under each seat. Warm air is provided from a heat pump drawing heat from below the lawns at the front of the theatre. Rainwater is harvested to provide for the toilets. This all combines to make the theatre an efficient and eco-friendly building to run.
Stage Side
On the way to the stage we were shown the ‘Second Space’. This is used for very small shows such as stand-up comedy and for direct transmission from other theatres and opera houses. I watched a performance of Pirates of Penzance at Waterside at the same time as my brother in Truro. The dressing rooms can supply single star, five man and chorus rooms. All equipped with lit mirrors, monitors linked to the stage and full washing facilities. A far cry from the pokey rooms in many theatres.
The stage is a 45m x 15m flat floor with the fly tower covering the entire area. There are 57 manually operated lines for moving lighting, curtains and scenery up into the storage area above the stage. Very heavy weights can be lifted as each line is counter weighted. The item to be ‘flown’ is balanced by the weight in a cradle on the line. As a piece of scenery moves up the weight moves down, all done by one man. This is operated from the stage floor or from 2 other galleries higher up the tower. Important for a receiving house is the access from the delivering lorry. Scenery is brought onto stage through the loading doors where the lorries can reverse up close. The down stage corners of the stage are fully equipped with full technical facilities for the travelling stage management team to run a show.
Waterside Theatre was conceived by AVDC as a focal point and catalyst for regeneration of the area around the canal basin. Although the cost went from £35m to a final figure of £47m it seems to be paying off as the footfall in the area is increasing and the area is becoming an exciting destination with groups coming from as far afield as Poole in Dorset.
The Waterside Theatre was designed by Amersham based architect, Norman Bragg, of Aedas RHWL. This is a large architectural practice that specialise in prestigious civic buildings, particularly for the Arts. The construction, funded by AVDC as part of the regeneration programme for Aylesbury, started in 2007 by Wilmott and Dixon who are based in Hertfordshire. The late Linda Bellingham performed the ‘topping out’ ceremony in 2009.The completed building opened in 2010. Architecturally inspired by the Chilterns and fixtures to reflect the natural environment, the exterior uses natural stone found in the Chiltern area and the interior large areas of coloured woods both as a visual statement and to improve the acoustic qualities of the auditorium. Green carpets, tall wooden shafts thrusting up to support the roof and balconies and lighting in the form of water droplets also help the reflection of the woodland of the nearby countryside.
The theatre is designed to be a receiving House. This is a theatre that has basic equipment and facilities. Visiting companies, on tour, bring in everything they require ie scenery, props, costumes, sound equipment, lighting etc., but most importantly their own staff. Waterside have only a few technical staff who will assist the visitors. Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) run the theatre and are responsible for the artistic content.
We had the opportunity to sit in the auditorium at each level. The group decided that the lower circle gave the best view of the stage. The other group were on stage and their ‘performance’ was rated as ‘rubbish’ but helped in assessing the acoustics! As Waterside is a multipurpose auditorium it has to be able to remove the seats quickly and easily. This is done as seats are mounted on air pallets that work as mini hovercraft so that they can be moved onto the stage lift to be lowered and stored under the flat floor of the stalls. This means there is a compromise between a steeper rake for viewing and a shallower rake for flexibility of use. The house lights for performances are coloured LEDs mounted within the wooden walls. Fresh air is drawn into the building by natural airflow and distributed to the audience through a tree shaped vent under each seat. Warm air is provided from a heat pump drawing heat from below the lawns at the front of the theatre. Rainwater is harvested to provide for the toilets. This all combines to make the theatre an efficient and eco-friendly building to run.
Stage Side
On the way to the stage we were shown the ‘Second Space’. This is used for very small shows such as stand-up comedy and for direct transmission from other theatres and opera houses. I watched a performance of Pirates of Penzance at Waterside at the same time as my brother in Truro. The dressing rooms can supply single star, five man and chorus rooms. All equipped with lit mirrors, monitors linked to the stage and full washing facilities. A far cry from the pokey rooms in many theatres.
The stage is a 45m x 15m flat floor with the fly tower covering the entire area. There are 57 manually operated lines for moving lighting, curtains and scenery up into the storage area above the stage. Very heavy weights can be lifted as each line is counter weighted. The item to be ‘flown’ is balanced by the weight in a cradle on the line. As a piece of scenery moves up the weight moves down, all done by one man. This is operated from the stage floor or from 2 other galleries higher up the tower. Important for a receiving house is the access from the delivering lorry. Scenery is brought onto stage through the loading doors where the lorries can reverse up close. The down stage corners of the stage are fully equipped with full technical facilities for the travelling stage management team to run a show.
Waterside Theatre was conceived by AVDC as a focal point and catalyst for regeneration of the area around the canal basin. Although the cost went from £35m to a final figure of £47m it seems to be paying off as the footfall in the area is increasing and the area is becoming an exciting destination with groups coming from as far afield as Poole in Dorset.