The historic theatre, built in 1926 and eventually falling into disrepair, re-opened in 2001 as a performing arts centre following years of renovation work by the all-volunteer Stadium Theatre Foundation. Since re-opening, however, sound quality within the theatre's Grand Hall was not up to expectations, leading the foundation to seek a professional solution.
The shoebox-shaped Grand Hall offers approximately 1,100 seats split between the main floor, balcony and side boxes. Its ample stage now hosts more than 90 events a year, including concerts, theatrical productions and lectures.
The new system was implemented by ATR/Treehouse of nearby Providence, Rhode Island, with input and support from Stadium Theatre tech director Dan Peloquin as well as Mary Cook, Scott Jordan and Joe Fustolo of the EAW Application Support Group (ASG).
Positioned at the house mix position on the main floor, the 48-channel Mackie Onyx 4880 console was selected for a variety of reasons. Topping the list were ease of use and plenty of channels, in addition to meeting a request for a board that delivers pro caliber sonic performance and features without breaking the budget.
Given the extreme differences in expertise on the part of its users from night to night, the console also had to be operator friendly while still meeting rider expectations. "In general, this system is very easy to operate," says Peloquin, "and the Mackie console is just right, simple yet great sounding."
The console accommodates productions that wish to utilise their own outboard effects and other processing gear. In addition, the Onyx board's ample inputs are handy for things like expanding the number of wireless microphone systems, exemplified by a recent production where 10 extra units were rented so that every performer could be outfitted with their own system.
The new house system also features left and right main clusters made up of EAW AX396 full-range loudspeakers and AX122 subwoofers providing stereo coverage, with a single AX396 also mounted centrally at the stage proscenium to provide voice/spoken word reinforcement. All loudspeakers in the system are driven by EAW Commercial CAZ Series power amplifiers, with processing supplied by an EAW MX8750 digital signal processor.
(Chris Henry)
