
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.
