DG 1110.3.120
DESIGN GUIDE: MUSIC AND DRAMA CENTERS
CHAPTER 5: THE INTIMATE ROOM
JANUARY 1981
5-3. THE INTIMATE ROOM
The eye-to-eye relationship established by Fron-
tal arrangement works well for verbal presen-
tations, the actor's face seen against a back-
ground that can itself add meaning and nuance.
Thrust staging presents the actor as a freestand-
A theater's purpose is to define and intensify the
ing element in relation to a scenic background
relationship between audience and performers;
that identifies location; the performance be-
in most cases the Room's architecture makes a
comes three-dimensional. Surround arrange-
clear distinction. However, the psychological
ment requires the actor to move to be under-
separation has diminished historically. In the
stood, with minimum obscuring scenery; it
past, ballet, opera, symphony and drama were
emphasizes the communicative aspect of body
complete and ordered forms of expression, rein-
actions. In all, the observer must exert his fac-
forcing a similar understanding of social and
ulties to make the connections among spoken
natural order. Contemporary experience is full
words, sounds, gestures, images, harmonies
of conflicting values, variety, fragmentation, ab-
and juxtapositions.
surdity and even brutality. As a way to exter-
nalize and deal with this perceived quality of ex-
Enthusiasm for experimentation has led to fas-
istence, the arts are challenging traditional forms
cination with "flexibility" to change the audi-
of expression, softening the audience-performer
ence-performer relationship. To do so physically
boundaries. The burst of monumental cultural
at any but small scale (less than 500 people) in-
center construction that took place in the late
volves a disproportionate amount of machinery,
50's and 60's tended to overemphasize tradi-
expense and building volume. It is wiser to per-
tional ceremonial patterns for the enshrinement
mit the stage director and scene designer leeway
of Art, and glorification of benefactors. The cor-
to explore a variety of production techniques
responding quests for perfection have made
within a fixed relationship. Clarity in the choice
these facilities peculiarly inflexible in the face of
of how the audience will meet the performer is
new ideas. Yet new approaches to staging, com-
essential.
position and movement demand legitimate ar-
chitectural solutions.
In music, concert hall design seems to be
While experimental designs will doubtless add
undergoing a slower evolutionbut there are so
much to the formal vocabularies of theater arts
few new concert halls change is deceptive. Elec-
tronics and amplification have had profound im-
and architecture, the built-in distinction between
pact on the content, presentation and audience
audience space and performers' space will most
likely remain for the present. Conscious en-
expectations of music. Users of small rooms
often rely on electronic systems to create the
hancement of psychological participation and
listening environment regardless of intrinsic nat-
intimacy, however, has become a common char-
ural qualities. Recent departures from traditional
acteristic sought in new facilities. The three basic
audience-performer relationships-Frontal,
concert hall design have mainly been on a gi-
gantic scale, for mass audiences far exceeding
Thrust and Surround (Section 3-2)can each be
the physical limits of natural acoustics. Ampli-
employed to this end.
5-4
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