Rating the spaces
With more than a dozen performing spaces that make space available to small and mid-size theater companies, finding a place to perform should be easy. But most -- if not all -- come with drawbacks that make them unattractive or undesirables.
With the Hazlett Theater and City Theatre Company's two theaters no longer available for outside rentals, choices have recently diminished even further.
Below are descriptive information on the four most available spaces. Also included is information on Smallman Hall, a planned performance space in the Strip District.
The descriptions of these five spaces were based on interviews with theater companies as well as my personal observations from the past 15 years as a theater critic and a lifetime of theater patronage, plus information gathered by the Coalition for Acquisition of Performance Space.
For complete information on the 15 spaces the coalition researched, go to the Survey of Pittsburgh Performance Spaces by the Coalition for Acquisition of Performance Space .
Gemini Theater
Location: The Factory, 7510 Penn Ave., Point Breeze.
Seating capacity : 100 movable chairs on risers.
Stage configuration: Audience surrounds three sides of the 22-foot-wide by 21-foot-deep thrust black box stage. Some flexibility for other configurations.
Coalition's overall score: B+
Pros: 100-seat capacity and reasonable rental fees ($175 per day/$1,000 per week). Scrupulously clean and well maintained, but institutional ambiance. Abundant free parking on-premises. Neighborhood feels safe with low incidence of the crimes that most often affect theater patrons. Public transportation available. Restrooms are shared with East End Food Co-op but are clean, well lighted and stocked.
Cons: Space available only 50 percent of the time. Proximity to Wilkinsburg and memories of shootings and carjackings affect patron perceptions. Handicap access available only at matinees. Limited nearby restaurants. Low ceilings make it impossible to fly scenery. No traps in floor and limited space for sets, props and costume storage. No laundry facilities. D rating for technical features.
Hazlett Theater
Location: 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side.
Seating capacity: 457 seats.
Stage configuration: Audience surrounds three sides of the 30-foot-wide by 32-foot-deep thrust stage, but there is some flexibility.
Coalition's Overall score: C+
Pros: As the former home of Pittsburgh Public Theater, this purpose-built theater space offers multiple dressing rooms with showers and toilets, scene shop with tools, full kitchen, loading dock, green room and laundry facilities, lighting and sound equipment. Concession area has a wet bar, ice machine and large cooler. Metered parking is adjacent to theater. Public transportation available. Handicap accessible. B rating for technical features.
Cons: Unavailable while awaiting the results of a feasibility study. The Hazlett is managed by Pittsburgh's Department of Parks and Recreation, which is facing budgetary restrictions. With 457 seats and rental of $500 per day/$2,000 per week, it's too large and expensive for most small and mid-size groups. Lobby areas, bathrooms and grounds need repair, maintenance and upgrading. Nearest restaurants are several blocks away. Parking scarce during some sports events. Allegheny Center ranks among the City's Top 10 neighborhoods for reported crime. Lack of foot traffic and business activity near the theater adds to patrons' perceptions concerning safety.
Kelly-Strayhorn Community
Performing Arts Center
Location: 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty
Seating capacity: 384
Stage configuration: 40-foot-wide by 28-foot-deep proscenium stage.
Coalition's Overall score: B
Pros: Renovations completed in May 2001. Public areas are clean, well-lighted and well-maintained inside and out. The neon-lit exterior is easy to locate at night. Comfortable theater seats. Heating and air-conditioning works well and quietly. Bathrooms are clean and well-lighted. Handicap accessible.
Parking is available nearby. Public transportation available. Each of two dressing rooms accommodates up to six people. A rating for technical features.
Cons: With 384 seats and high rental -- $450 to $800 day/ $1,700 week -- it may be too large and expensive. Events at East Liberty Presbyterian Church limit available parking. Lobby lacks seating. No dedicated box office, a security issue for groups that deal largely in cash transactions. Concessions area lacks an ice machine. No shower and only one bathroom backstage. No laundry facilities and minimal storage space for sets, props or costumes. A stage manager is provided as part of the rental contract, an unattractive requirement for those groups accustomed to having their own. East Liberty ranks among the city's Top 10 neighborhoods for reported crime. Many perceive the Penn Circle traffic configurations as confusing and the area as dangerous. Few restaurants and bars open during theater hours.
Veronica's Veil Auditorium
Location: 44 Pius St., South Side.
Seating capacity: 833
Stage configuration: 52-foot-wide by 41-foot-deep proscenium stage
Coalition's Overall score: C
Pros: Available for rental 50 percent of the time at $750 a week. Restrooms are old but newly painted. Concessions can be provided: coffee, hot dogs, popcorn, nachos. Ice machine and cooler available. The neighborhood is quiet, residential and ranked among the top third of neighborhoods for safety. Grounds and interior spaces are neat and clean. Minimal storage is available for set, props and costumes. Abundant fly space, wing space and a proscenium curtain. C rating for technical features.
Cons: 833-seat capacity -- 500 on the main floor plus 333 in the balcony -- makes it too large for most groups. Mostly available in summer but auditorium isn't air-conditioned. The cavernous 1872 building, last renovated in 1925, retains its appearance from its former use as the auditorium and social hall of a Catholic School. Wooden auditorium seats are hard and unforgiving. The auditorium is on the second floor, up a flight of steps, and lacks handicap access, as does the backstage. The restrooms are downstairs from the auditorium. Unlighted, paved parking lot can accommodate 30 self-parked cars or 50 to 60 cars if an attendant does the parking. Narrow surrounding streets make on-street parking problematic. Location on a steep slope above the South Side flats complicates arrival of school or tour buses. Distant from public transportation and restaurants, bars and coffee shops. Building space available in basement, but set pieces would have to be carried up two flights.
Smallman Hall
Location: 2835 Smallman St., Strip District.
Details: Open Stage Theatre organizers hope to transform this 10,000-square-foot former warehouse into a multistage performing arts center. Last season, Open Stage Theatre used a portion of the space for its 100-seat theater. But the huge, flexible space and two-story-high ceilings could be configured for almost any size audience and orientation. The next step is to acquire $350,000 to upgrade the heating and install air conditioning, renovate office space, concession and lobby spaces.
Pros: Public transportation available. Near restaurants, bars and nightclubs. Abundant free parking in gravel lot behind and next to the theater. Potential lobby area and a separate concessions area with some equipment from its use as a bingo hall. Plenty of space that can be transformed into dressing rooms, storage areas and restroom facilities for the actors. The building is clean, if a bit shabby, as it awaits transformation.
Cons: Renovation plans await funding. Industrial heating equipment is noisy during performance. Presently not air-conditioned. Rental fees not yet determined. Electrical system requires an upgrade to run complex, power-hungry lighting and sound equipment. Bathrooms, though functional are institutional. A young party crowd floods into the area on weekends.
| Part-time space |
The following spaces have been available to outside groups in the past. While some are attractive performing spaces, the coalition determined that they are available only 25 percent of the time. Most exceed the desirable 100- to 250-seat size. Rental fees and charges are determined on an individual and per-case basis.
| Dream space |
We asked administrators from six of the area's small to mid-size theater companies to dream the perfect space. Here's what they suggested:
She envisions a complex of performing spaces in a variety of configurations and seating sizes from 100 to 500 seats; offices and shared services; rehearsal and classroom space; plus a scene building shop and storage space that serveral groups could share plus a common public gathering and gallery space with a restaurant, bar and/or cafe.
