A collaboration between Theatre Projects, architect Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, and acoustician Jaffe Holden, the $6.7 million renovation of Talbot Hall addressed not only upgrades and modernization of the Danos Theater, but also improvements to the campus TV studio, radio station, several classrooms, and other communications department facilities located in the hall.
Improvements to the Danos Theater addressed a number of audience comfort, performance flexibility, and safety issues. The primary focus of the renovations was the hall's fan-shaped auditorium, which was reseated with new, more comfortable, and appropriately sized seats in place of dated, well-worn ones. The new seating was staggered using variable seat widths so audience members wouldn't be placed directly in front of one another.
The seat count was decreased from 388 to 325, creating a more comfortable and intimate audience experience with clearer sightlines. The auditorium reseating also improved accessibility for people with disabilities.
"We wanted to focus on the comfort of the patrons," Andrew Hagan, Theatre Projects' project manager, said. "We wanted to make the experience of seeing shows there much more enjoyable and make sure the theatre department had more freedom in how they used the space."
The theatre's antiquated stage lighting system was replaced with modern dimming and relay control systems and an Ethernet lighting network. Theatre Projects designed the new lighting infrastructure to work with both the new state-of-the-art, energy-efficient LED lights that they specified, and the university's current stock of incandescent lights.
The Danos Theater's deteriorating counterweight rigging system was ripped out and replaced with a complement of motorized battens and a centralized control system. Over the audience, a pipe grid now joins the pre-existing set of catwalks, creating a broad range of rigging options.
To make the Danos Theater a more viable venue for Nicholls State's music department, including choral and symphonic groups, the theatre was outfitted with an orchestra shell, which includes a tip-and-fly ceiling. Jaffe Holden, who helped design the shell, also managed upgrades to the theatre's A/V components and additional acoustic work.
Theatre Projects led upgrades to Talbot Hall's green room and dressing rooms, which-in addition to the theatre lighting, seating, stage, and rigging upgrades-have helped to make the 73,000sq.ft Talbot Hall an infinitely more functional, comfortable, and versatile facility for audiences and performers alike. Thanks to that increased theatrical flexibility, the theatre department can stage more dynamic and ambitious works at a greater pace with less effort, benefitting young actors, university staff, and audiences.
(Jim Evans)
