 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Theatre Flooring:
It’s Not Just for Standing On
Whether your performers stroll, step, stand or dance on
your venue’s stage, selecting the right type of floor can make all the
difference in performance quality and, consequently, ticket sales. At the
Marjorie Luke Theatre in Santa Barbara, Calif., a recent $3 million renovation
of the entire facility included a remodeling and extension of the stage. “We
built out an area from the proscenium arch where we could store our steel
deck under the front lip of the stage,” explains Mark Robley Johnson,
the theatre’s technical director. In a unique agreement, the theatre—located
on the grounds of Santa Barbara Junior High School—is operated by a nonprofit
organization as a dual-use facility. When not being used by the school, the
facility hosts a wide variety of entertainment including children’s theatre,
acting workshops, dance presentations and musical acts.
Obtaining proper funding and finding time in a busy schedule can be huge roadblocks
in the effort to overhaul your stage floor. For some theatres this means raising
money through various means and then going dark for a while as the work gets
underway. The 10-month renovation of the Marjorie Luke Theatre—which
was originally built during the Great Depression—was a grassroots effort
that blended private and corporate donations with funding from a state initiative.
Like the theatre itself, the new stage floor is multipurpose. “It’s
wood over concrete,” explains Johnson. “Then we laid a masonite
cover on it. When we have dance presentations or groups that request it, we
lay down a Harlequin sprung floor.” A “sprung” or “floating”
floor is engineered to provide appropriate cushion or “bounce” for
certain types of performances. Moorestown, N.J.-based American Harlequin produces
portable sprung floor panels that can be stored when not in use.
On the other hand, perhaps your theatre needs a floor that stays put, or maybe
you’re looking for an easy-to-clean surface to cover an existing concrete
subfloor. Whatever the case, flooring vendors offer a wide variety of surface
types, from black linoleum to hardwood hewn from solid oak. Randy Swartz,
president of Philadelphia’s Stagestep, Inc., provides a few examples:
“Our Rave flooring comes in lots of colors and is very lightweight,”
he says. “Timestep, a heavy-duty flooring, is used for tap, hip-hop and
theatrical productions where sets and props are used onstage. Quietstep is
used primarily for ballet.”
Is it time to replace your floor? If it’s old and brittle, damaged or
stained beyond repair, or no longer lies flat, it’s probably time to
call a flooring contractor. According to Tracey Cosgrove, product manager
for Rosco Laboratories in Stamford, Conn., theatres need to focus on several
key questions when hunting for a company to install a new stage floor: “First,
what kinds of activities are going to happen on the floor? Will there be dancing,
classes, or scenery moved across it? And second, is the floor a permanent
install, or will it be a temporary floor that will be moved on and off the
stage, or in and out of a facility?” Adds Claire Londress of American
Harlequin, “We need to know about the current subfloor in the facility.
Is it a hard subfloor like concrete, wood or tile? Or is it a sprung floor
instead?”
Your most useful tool in choosing a new floor is to talk to those who will
use it the most. Of course, opinions will vary depending on whom you’re
asking. “Lighting designers like non-reflective floors and generally
like black,” says Randy Swartz of Stagestep. “On the other hand,
dancers usually prefer gray flooring, which gives them a horizon.” Renae
Williams, the director of dance presentation at the Los Angeles Music Center,
took a democratic approach to choosing a new stage floor for her facility:
“Our Technical Director researched several different options and also
spoke with the production staff from the companies we present. We want our
visiting artists to feel comfortable and well taken care of while here.”
At the Chautauqua Institution, an educational facility and resort in New York,
the newly christened Bratton Theatre sports a brand-new stage. “The old
theatre was a very small converted space,” says Mike Sullivan, director
of institution relations. “It didn’t have a real stage, and it had
temporary seating. Our theatre company was very good at putting on these wonderful
plays and really needed a space to match their talent.” Funded through
a capital campaign, consultants Davis Crossfield Associates and architect
Mitchell Kurtz reworked the space into a true theatre.
According to Kurtz, the Bratton Theatre’s new stage was crafted with
ordinary carpentry materials. “Whatever you might carve up, you can simply
get a replacement piece from a lumber yard,” he says. The top quarter-inch
of the floor is “sacrificial” or replaceable. “So as you screw
into the floor over the years,” explains Kurtz, “you can peel the
layers apart and toss them away without undermining the structure.” Adds
Robert Davis of Davis Crossfield Associates, “If you paint on the surface
with a thick paint that won’t come off, you don’t have to spend
hours scraping it. You just have to replace the panels.”
When talking with a flooring contractor, make sure you’ve decided how
much surface coverage you require. “We’ve done stages as small as
750 square feet for high school theatres,” says Michael Sean Graves,
president, Entertainment Flooring Systems, “and as large as 20,000 square
feet for concert halls.” Larger venues require additional flooring because
of their multipurpose requirements, wings, and the like. Keep an eye on cost
as you add up your space requirements. According to Swartz, floors by Stagestep
can run between $1.22 to $3.89 per square foot, with additional costs for
shipping, subfloors, and adhesives.
Protecting your investment
While the major manufacturers all provide some type of warranty for new floors,
a theatre’s first line of defense is to maintain the surface with care.
“If it isn’t maintained properly,” cautions Graves, “a
new floor can be destroyed fairly quickly”—sometimes in as little
as three years. Entertainment Flooring Systems provides a one-year warranty
for hardwood floors due to their propensity for easy wear and tear. Vinyl
and linoleum, on the other hand, come with a seven-year warranty. At Rosco
Laboratories, the typical warranty is five years against manufacturing defects,
while American Harlequin offers a lifetime warranty.
The materials used in the construction of the floor play a large role in its
lifespan. Graves notes that while hardwood can last for many years, vinyl
and linoleum floors exist in a constant state of wear-and-tear and will eventually
dry out. “Vinyl hardens and becomes brittle,” says Graves, “because
the plasticizers, which keep the surface flexible, are constantly curing.
Linoleum eventually dries out too.” He estimates that well-maintained
vinyl can last eight to 15 years under normal wear conditions. Adds Davis,
“There are many serviceable floors that are 50 years old or older. It
depends on how you use them.”
Is your theatre part of the green building movement? If you prefer to use
as many ecology-friendly products as possible, you have some additional items
to consider when choosing your new stage floor. Linoleum (a canvas or burlap
base covered with linseed oil and other materials) and vinyl (a synthetic
plastic composed of chlorine and ethylene derivatives) are less expensive
than natural wood. Critical to choosing a “green” floor are the
materials used in manufacturing and installation, as well as factors like
toxicity, recyclability and longevity.
Speaking of recycling, the Cleveland Public Theatre took an interesting approach
when it resurfaced the stage of its Gordon Square Theatre several years ago.
“We are slowly renovating the properties,” says Executive Artistic
Director Raymond Bobgan, “and are now undertaking a major capital campaign
in cooperation with a community development organization and another theatre.”
Volunteers and several designers visited a nearby racquetball court that was
being torn down. “We took the racquetball floor apart so it wouldn’t
be destroyed,” recalls Bobgan, “and then installed it over the floor
of the Gordon Square Theatre.”
To keep your new floor sparkling, soap- and wax-based cleaners are not recommended
for surfaces like vinyl because the cleaner will make the floor slippery—which
spells certain disaster for the performer. “For vinyl surfaces, we recommend
the use of a pH-neutral vinyl floor cleaner,” says Claire Londress of
Harlequin. “This type of cleaner can be found at almost any hardware
or home supply store.” Londress cautions that while buffing machines
are useful for large areas, the equipment must be used carefully to avoid
damaging the non-slip surface. According to Graves, hardwood floors, despite
their longevity, can require refinishing up to twice a year—an additional
cost for the theatre.
Installing a new floor
At Entertainment Flooring Systems, Graves supervises the installation of each
floor, usually with a team of stagehands with whom he’s worked for the
last two decades. “Sometimes we use local labor as well,” he says.
“It depends on where the space is and the availability of my experienced
labor.” On average the team can install approximately 1000 square feet
of flooring per day. However, if two layers are required—for example,
a sprung subfloor topped with a vinyl surface—the installers need twice
the time to cover the same amount of surface area. For hardwood floors, Graves
says that coverage decreases to 750 square feet per day because the crew needs
to apply a coat of polyurethane to seal the new surface.
Once the stage is installed, it needs curing, or drying, time. According to
Graves, glue used in linoleum or vinyl flooring typically takes at least a
day to cure: “You need to wait 24 hours before you walk on it, and 48
hours until there’s any major traffic on the surface.” Heavy or
rolling loads must wait one week before traversing the new stage.
For smooth installation of a new floor, Graves makes sure to chat with the
client as well as the architect. “A lot of the time we deal with the
architect or consultant, but we also need to consult with the owner of the
facility.
Sometimes with renovations, they way things are designed and the way they’re
used are totally different.” Says Claire Londress, “We work with
our customers to ensure that the design of the new floor suits existing space
or, if we’re looking at a new building, meshes with the architect’s
plans.” For a great performance, the right environment can make all the
difference.
Put your best foot forward and keep the discussion going on flooring at the
DramaBiz Magazine forum, visit www.dramabiz.com/forum.
