Where Eagles Dare Studio Theatre

(required reading for renters)

Where Eagles Dare used to have a ground-floor black-box theatre with 14’ ceilings and 24 lights. After 5 years and with a lease renewal in prospect, it didn’t make sense to keep it, so instead we beefed up Studio Blackbird so it could function as a theatre when it wasn’t in use as a studio.

Like all the rehearsal spaces, the studio theatre is at 347 W. 36th St. (13th floor). The spaces are in the heart of Off-Off-Broadway's new Midtown theatre district, just a short walk from Penn Station or Times Square.

The design of this space is also a reaction to many years of renting inadequate and overpriced spaces in Manhattan. It also comes with a greenroom, which enters directly onto the “stage.” It has a lighting grid with 9 instruments and 8 dimmers, as well as 50 chairs, mostly on risers. There is also a CD player, with an amp and 2 speakers. All in all, a fine place for a small show with little or no scenery. The walls and floor are painted black. The studio overall is 21’ wide X 29’ long, including the risers. The acting area when 50 seats are deployed is 21’ wide X 14’ deep. The ceiling is 10’ high. The floor is painted concrete.

While Studio Blackbird is limited in amenities, it’s also inexpensive. Where most theatres are rented by the week, the studio theatre is rented in 4-hr blocks. There are no exclusive bookings of the studio theatre.

Rates (per 4-hr block)

Any time except Saturday nights or Sundays

$190

Saturday nights or Sundays

$240

 

Rates (per hour)

Rehearsal (peak time)

$27

Rehearsal (off-peak time)

$21

Rehearsal (Sunday)

$24

Tech rehearsal (additional)

$3

Keyboard

$3

Other useful facts about the Studio Theatre:

  • There is almost no storage. You may store some “big stuff” House Right of the risers, and “small stuff” under the risers, but only with permission of the management. None of this space is secure. You may also use our gym lockers, for $20 per month each, if you bring your own padlocks. Do not bring stuff in before your tech rehearsal, and use the freight entrance and freight elevator. (Freight hours are 8 am – 6 pm weekdays and 8 am – noon Saturdays. The freight elevator and entrance are closed on Sundays and holidays.) If someone else needs the space for something other than straight rehearsals when you’re not performing, be prepared for requests to move your stuff somewhere else during their times. This “somewhere else” might be outside the building, if we can’t accommodate you in an unused studio.
  • Furniture moves around. We have lots of it, but don’t expect the same pieces to be in the same rooms when you come back. If you use our furniture, you have to forage for it before each use of the space. Foraging does NOT mean interrupting other classes without permission.
  • Lights move around. If you have a multi-night booking, you may configure the lights at your tech rehearsal, and they’ll usually be just as you left them when you come back the next day. But be prepared for variations if you’re out of the space for a night or more. Other people use it. We try to minimize surprises by telling you when other people need to move “your” lights, but it’s good to allot time to make adjustments when you come back in the space after a layoff.
  • You want tech with that? Don’t assume that we’ll schedule a tech rehearsal for you the night before your opening. We book only those hours you ask for. Again, don’t expect that your lights will stay the same if 1 or more days intervenes between your tech rehearsal and your opening.
  • You want rehearsal with that? See above. We love to sell rehearsal time – it’s what we do – but if we don’t offer it, don’t assume we’ve put it in the book if you haven’t asked for it. (Believe it or not, it happens. Don’t ask.)
  • Use the lights we have. Don’t ask us if you can bring in extra lights or dimmers. There’s only so much electricity to go around among house lights, stage lights, and air-conditioning, and extra stage lights cause problems. The idea of a studio theatre is to allow barebones productions.
  • You can have any color you want as long as it’s black. If you want to create an “environment” – by painting the floor, walls or ceilings; installing cumbersome scenery; reconfiguring the risers, etc. – you need exclusive use of the space. The studio theatre is a shared space. End of discussion. (The floor’s “patina” is the result of an environmental experiment gone very, very, bad.)
  • Our waiting room seats 7, max. You should seat your audience 15 – 30 minutes before curtain. The hallway outside the elevators is not an alternative lobby. We might put a couple of chairs out there out of respect for your older patrons, but you should seat them in the waiting room and get them in the theatre as soon as the crowds start to show.
  • Insurance is included! That means you don’t have to pay for a certificate of general-liability insurance. (If you’re a showcase, Equity will still insist on volunteer-accident insurance.)

These restrictions are the only way to manage the space efficiently, which keeps the price down. We welcome people who want to use the studio theatre as it is intended – an inexpensive alternative to a “real” theatre.  But it’s a shared space, and producers need to recognize that fact.

For an appointment, call me at 212/279-2504 or E-mail me at studios @ oobr.com.