General Space Notes
The McCarroll Theatre commonly houses faculty directed workshop productions, and new works workshops over the course of the semester.
The Coordinator of Theatre Operations, Mary Scheidegger, (room 223) schedules the use of the McCarroll Theatre. Department workshops and senior directing projects have priority over other events. All faculty, staff and students are strongly encouraged to sign out spaces ahead of time to ensure that the space is available for their sole use.
The theatre will not have multiple events in performance simultaneously. Major productions have full use of the theatre starting ten days before the opening of the production and no other group will be granted use of the theatre during this time.
If they are not being used for scheduled productions or main stage rehearsals, theatre department spaces may be reserved by students from the end of scheduled classes until 1:00 a.m. Monday through Friday and from 7:00 a.m. until 1:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Theatrical productions are typically not permitted during exam week.
Priority: The following groups of people have priority (in the following order) in the theatre department facilities:
i. Department workshop productions
ii. Department non-main stage productions
iii. Theatre Arts Faculty and Staff
iv. Department students classwork / review work
All individuals using the facilities are responsible for maintaining them. You are required to use wastebaskets to dispose of refuse. Recycling bins for copier paper (white and colored) and typing paper are available in the main office, next to the copier and at several other locations in the building.
Upon completion of any function (class, rehearsal, performance, etc.) the function’s supervisor (faculty or student) is to make certain that the space is returned to its standard, organized, usable condition. Chairs are to be returned to their normal placement. ALL stock rehearsal furniture is to be returned to its proper storage areas. All additional furniture, props, costumes, equipment, etc. provided by the function must be removed from the space.
All spaces used for storage of equipment, rehearsal furniture, etc., are not to be left unattended unless they are locked. SECURITY is a priority in this building.
The person in charge of any function, whether faculty or student, assumes responsibility for assuring that established procedures are followed. Any damage to the McCarroll Theatre’s space, stock furniture, or equipment should be reported to the Student Assistant (see below) immediately. Failure to follow these procedures or abuse of the space or equipment may result in the withdrawal of permission to use the facilities.
Casting
Workshop and new work productions will be cast through the standard main stage casting process.
Rehearsal Process
McCarroll Theatre productions are assigned a production slot. Performances may be presented at any time during the assigned slot except on days when a main stage performance is scheduled.
After every rehearsal or performance, the McCarroll Theatre and the support areas must be restored to their standard, organized condition that will allow the next occupant to use the space immediately upon arrival.
Stage Management
Stage managers will be assigned to the Workshop and New Works projects, as needed, when personnel permits.
House Management / Ticketing
The audience is seated in four levels along the east wall of the theatre. The audience gathers in the main theatre lobby and enters the space through the east door between the Theatre and Studio I so that they remain out of the backstage area of the building.
Theatre Arts Management will support Workshop productions. Support will be considered, as needed, for New Works projects. On the day of performance, a ticketing table should be set up in the corridor, perpendicular to the costume shop, to create a barrier between the audience and the west side hallway. Pipe and drape should be set up behind the ticketing table to further shield the backstage area. Pipe and drape must be removed following each performance.
All tickets for performances in The McCarroll Theatre will be free of charge. However, tickets for “new works” workshops must be reserved ahead of time. Theatre Arts Management will e-mail all department students in advance of these productions to solicit requests for tickets.
Late seating of patrons is left to the discretion of the director, but, in general, is not permitted in the McCarroll Studio Theatre because of the intimacy of the space.
The available Theatre Arts Management support is described below. Support will be considered, as needed, for new work projects. Students must receive approval to participate in a production from their area faculty, using the standard Permission to Participate form before they agree to participate in a production.
Publicity
The TAM area welcomes ideas from production members on how to promote the production. The TAM liaison will write and distribute a press release and post announcements about the show on Intercom and the theatre department website, as well as the department’s Twitter account (@ictheatrearts) and on Facebook (Ithaca College Theatre Arts). With the director’s guidance, the TAM liaison will also arrange for an 8.5 x 11” color flier to be produced, copied, and distributed.
A publicity photo shoot will be scheduled at least two weeks prior to the opening performance. The primary purpose is to obtain press photos that will be used to publicize the production. The photo shoot will last no more than one hour. There is no budget to pay this photographer, so the TAM liaison will find a volunteer. The TAM liaison welcomes ideas from the production’s director regarding set-ups and an appropriate setting for the shoot.
Any additional outreach events or activities are outside the TAM liaison’s responsibilities.
Programs
At the first rehearsal, cast and crew will be given directions about how to access bio forms electronically by going to: https://www.ithaca.edu/hs/depts/theatre/resources/forms/bio. Bios should be filled out and sent to the program coordinator within twenty-four hours after that first rehearsal. Bios should be kept under 125 words. Keep in mind that all bios will be edited to conform to College guidelines in reference to style. In general, if a regular patron cannot understand a reference in a bio, it will be edited until they can.
Cast and crew will have one opportunity, in a very tight time window, to proof program copy. A copy will be emailed to the stage manager for dissemination to all participants in the production. Production-wide “acknowledgements” should also be submitted at this time.
The production’s director and/or dramaturg are invited to submit notes for the program (no more than 350 words). The deadline for these notes is the first rehearsal.
Ticketing
The TAM liaison will distribute ticket reservation sheets to cast and crew at the first rehearsal. Cast and crew members may request multiple tickets up to a maximum of four. Completed ticket reservation forms should be given to the stage manager or left on the TAM bulletin board across from the scene shop. Blank forms will also be provided on the bulletin board. All tickets are subject to availability and should be reserved as quickly as possible.
Reserved tickets must be picked up at least 15 minutes before show time or they will be released to other patrons. If a company member has friends or family picking up tickets that they have reserved, the company member must make sure the patrons are aware of this policy.
Faculty and staff receive two complimentary tickets for any performance. Ticket reservation forms will be placed in the faculty/staff mailboxes. Cast and crew reservations will be prioritized and filled first. The TAM liaison handles all other ticket requests electronically via the ictams1@gmail.com email address.
The TAM liaison will manage a small staff of ushers and ticketing agents to seat patrons for each performance.
Design/Technical Description and Support
The McCarroll Theatre is a 54-seat, end stage theatre configured with permanent seating risers, seating chart, and a 22’-0” x 15’-0” stage. Surrounding the stage are black curtains with an actor crossover behind the space. Due to the large number of productions and classes that use this space, no changes can be made to the configuration of the theatre equipment except as specified below; or with written consent of the Stage Management Mentor and the Lighting and Sound Supervisor prior to rehearsal.
Due to limited resources, the Theatrical Production Arts area cannot support productions in the McCarroll Theatre at the same level as main stage productions. The available support and equipment is described below. All additional personnel, scenery, costumes, props, media content, etc. will need to be provided by the producers, directors, and cast of the production as necessary. Any equipment requests from the Theatre Department must go through the Stage Management Mentor and the Lighting and Sound Supervisor prior to load in.
Design/Operator/Crew Support
No designers will be provided for any McCarroll Theatre productions. Productions can provide their own designers, but students must receive approval to participate in a production from their area faculty, using the standard Permission to Participate form.
It is the responsibility of the producer to contact the Stage Management Mentor and the Lighting and Sound Supervisor to coordinate any safety training required for their production. No operators/run crew will be provided to run McCarroll Theatre productions. The stage manager may serve as the lighting and sound operator or the production may provide its own operator(s) if necessary. All operators must be trained by the McCarroll Theatre Student Assistant before the equipment can be used in rehearsal or performance.
Production Management
Each production gets a budget for their use on the production. All purchases must be made with a tax-exempt form. The department does not reimburse tax. Any online purchases should be made through the Production Manager or the Stage Management Supervisor. All receipts must be turned in to production management no later than 10 business days after the purchase is made. If there is not a production manager assigned to the McCarroll Studio Theatre the Stage Management Mentor will act as the Production Manager.
McCarroll Studio Theatre Student Supervisor
The McCarroll Theatre student assistant is responsible for managing load-ins and strikes in the space, training students on the theatre’s equipment and its operation, and ensuring that this equipment is well maintained and cared for by the production. Any questions about the use of the space or its equipment should be directed to this assistant. The student assistant is NOT responsible for design services, and is NOT available to act as run crew for productions. The student assistant is only scheduled certain hours per week to serve these functions. Therefore it is important to schedule load-ins, strikes, and training as far in advance as possible.
Scenery
Outside of the stock curtains that make up the space, no additional support is available from the scene shop. Requests to change the arrangement of the stock curtains must be coordinated with the student assistant and the labor for such changes must be provided by the production. Because the space is used by classes throughout the day, changes to the curtains and installation of any scenery provided by the production must be approved and coordinated with Stage Management Mentor and the Lighting and Sound Supervisor prior to rehearsal. These scenic changes can only occur during the scheduled load-in before the first performance and must be struck/restored during the designated strike period this includes the Studio 2 storage closet.
Costumes
No support is available from the costume shop. All necessary costumes should be provided by the producer and cannot be stored in the Theatre. Costumes should be stored in students’ lockers, Studio 2 theatre’s storage room (Dill 021), or taken home each night.
Props
The McCarroll Theatre has a dedicated stock of rehearsal furniture. Outside of this stock furniture, no support is available from the prop shop. All necessary props should be provided by the cast and stored in their lockers, Studio 2 Studio 2 theatre’s storage room (Dill 021), or taken home each night.
Lighting
The McCarroll Theatre’s repertory lighting plot and channel hookup are available on the website and copies will be kept by the student assistant. The plot provides two sets of front light, one set of side light, three sets of back light, front and back diagonal washes, and six re-focusable specials. All lights must be left in their repertory focus with the exception of the six specials and the front diagonal washes. The department’s gel and template stock is available for use and lighting designers may recolor any unit provided it is restored at the end of the production. All gel and gobo requests should go through the student assistant and are the responsibility of the show to get returned to the Light Shop at the end of the production. Control is provided via an ETC Express 24/48. The student assistant must train (or certify as already trained) designers and operators on the safe use of the console, dimmers, and lighting equipment. The student assistant can also provide access to the department’s gel and template stock as necessary. The dimming system in the space is already operating at full capacity therefore, no additional lighting equipment can be added to the system. Standard electrical utility outlets are available throughout the space and can be used to power manually controlled “practical’s” such as lamps.
Sound
The McCarroll Theatre’s repertory sound plot and system diagram are available on the website and copies will be kept by the student assistant. The system provides stereo, main speakers that cover the seating area a small mixer for playback and reinforcement, and playback capability through Qlab 2.3.9 or an auxiliary 1/8” stereo plug. A subwoofer (EV SB122) and four speakers are provided in the space (EV ZX1). Two wired (SM 58), handheld microphones with stands and up to 50’ of cable each can also be used for low-level reinforcement in the space. If microphones are used, the production must have a sound operator to protect the audience, actors, and equipment from damaging feedback. Requests for this additional equipment should be made to the student assistant as far in advance as possible. All additional equipment that is not hung in the grid must be completely struck at the end of each rehearsal/performance and stored in an appropriate and secure determined by the student assistant. Only the reinforcement microphones can be moved all other equipment and system must be kept in their repertory configuration and cannot be changed by the production. The student assistant must train (or certify as already trained) designers and operators on the safe use of the sound system and equipment.
Communications
The McCarroll Theatre has one channel of headset communications and enough equipment to support two users on wired headsets. Any communications equipment must be requested prior to load in.
Video / Projection
No support is available for video or projections in the studio theatre.
Technical Hours in the Theatre
The theatre is reserved for technical theatre from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and from 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. except when scheduled for a class or performance. As per Department policy, no technical rehearsal is allowed to extend past 11:00 pm. No more than ten (10) hours of rehearsal may be scheduled on any technical rehearsal day, and no more than five (5) hours of rehearsal may be scheduled on any performance day.
Production Meeting
Production meetings are assigned by the Coordinator of Theatre Operations, Mary Scheidegger, (room 223) at the beginning of each semester and must be confirmed with the Stage Management Mentor and the Lighting and Sound Supervisor to coordinate attendance of the Production Manager and the McCarroll Student Assistant one week prior to the first meeting.
Strike
All production-related equipment, including props, costumes, and furniture must be removed from the studio theatre and storage areas, and the spaces fully restored, immediately following the final performance. Strike must be completed before classes commence the day following the final performance.