CHAPTER XIV.

THEATER BUILDINGS.

_General Requirements._--In most cities it is required that theaters be built in locations which give free space for exits on two or more sides. A common requirement is that two sides adjoin public streets or alleys and one or both the other sides be provided with an open court allowing space for fire escapes and connections to street or alley. The buildings are also, as a rule, required to be of fireproof construction and divided practically into two parts by strong fire walls; one of these parts being the auditorium, that portion of the building used by the public, and the other, the stage and its belongings.

The main fire hazard of course is on the stage and every possible precaution should be taken, first to keep a fire from starting, and second, to keep it, should it start, from communicating to the auditorium. In order to protect the audience in case a fire starts doing damage on the stage, a steel and asbestos fireproof curtain is generally provided, large enough to cover the whole proscenium opening and equipped with the necessary apparatus to lower it instantly in case of necessity. In order to keep this curtain in first-class working order it is lowered at the end of every act and in the case of continuous vaudeville performances, which are not divided into acts, at least once or twice during each performance.

This curtain must be strong enough to withstand the strain of air pressure which would exist in case of a fire raging behind it. This strain, when one considers the quantity of oil-painted scenery carried by many of the large shows, is apt to be considerable, in case of fire.

In order further to protect the audience, a large vent flue is required above the stage. The purpose of this vent is to carry off the smoke and gases. The Chicago law requires the vent to be equal in area to one-twentieth of the area of the stage and to extend fifteen feet above the highest point of the roof.

The hazard to the audience is not so much that of the actual fire, as of the rapid consumption of oxygen by the flames. This causes strangling. In the case of the Iroquois Theater fire the death of many was due almost entirely to this cause. The flames spreading rapidly consumed all of the oxygen in the tightly closed theater; at the same time the smoke and gases were spreading and hundreds of the audience inhaled this heated and vitiated air with almost instantly fatal results.

As a further precaution against fire, it is now required in all large cities, that all scenery be fireproofed to such an extent that it will not carry fire. The usual test for this is, to hold a match to a part of the cloth long enough to burn a hole through it. The fire must go out as soon as the match is withdrawn.

The following are extracts from the Chicago ordinances governing theaters of the larger class:

The building must be of fireproof construction. It must adjoin two public highways one of which may be an alley.

There must be an open space on both sides of the audience room and in front.

All balconies, galleries, main floor, and stage must connect with this open space by means of doors or fire escapes.

There must be an opening into this free space also from both sides of stage.

The floor level of the highest bank of seats on the main floor shall not be more than three feet above the sidewalk level and the lowest bank of seats not more than eight feet below this level.

All stairways must have a width of twenty inches for each one hundred seats in the room, but no stairway shall be less than four feet in width.

An iron stairway must lead from the stage to the fly floor, rigging loft, and out onto the roof.

All openings leading from the stage to the outside must be vestibuled.

Above the stage there must be a ventilating flue which must extend fifteen feet above the highest point of the roof and must equal in area one-twentieth of the area of the stage.

No seat must be less than twenty inches wide and thirty-four inches from back to back.

Every aisle must lead directly to an exit.

Between the stage and the auditorium there must be a wall of masonry and all openings in this wall must be equipped with self-closing doors.

There must be a steel curtain provided to close the main stage opening and the lowering of this curtain must be controlled at two different places.

The use of wood is allowed only for the stage floor and this must be at least two and three-fourths inches thick.

Automatic sprinklers must be provided in paint room, storeroom, property room, scene storage room, carpenter shop, and dressing rooms.

A special fire alarm system must be provided on the stage.

All scenery must be treated with a suitable fireproofing compound.

All parts of the building used by the audience must be equipped with two separate lighting systems, one of which is known as the “Emergency Lighting” and must be kept lighted at all times while the audience is in the building.

A suitable supply of axes, pike poles, and fire extinguishers must be kept on hand.

There must be regular drills of employes on the use of these appliances and in the operations of doors and vents.

All doors must swing to the outside.

_The Stage._--Figure 124 is a floor plan of a typical stage, showing the orchestra pit _O_, foot lights _F_, steel curtain _C_, switchboard _S_, stage pockets _Q_, proscenium side lights _P_, and general arrangement of scenery. The foot lights are not always curved but it seems advantageous to arrange them in this way. The rows of seats are of necessity curved so as to face each patron squarely toward the stage. If then the stage and foot lights are curved in the same way, the actors will be able to come that much closer to the audience and can thus make themselves more easily heard. The curving of the foot lights will have the further advantage of illuminating the sides of an actor more than would be the case if they were laid out in a straight line.

At each side of the steel curtain are the proscenium side lights. In some cases these lights are arranged on the audience side of the curtain, the object being to arrange them as far in front of the stage as possible. The location of these lights is awkward and it is difficult to get light from them in a useful direction.

In most theaters the switchboard is located on the right-hand side of the stage, facing the audience. This is the side from which the stage manager prefers to work and the operating electrician should be close to him. In most well-arranged theaters, the switchboard is raised above the stage level so that it may not obstruct the exits of the actors. Where practicable, the board should be let into the proscenium wall so as to allow the operator to stand as close to the proscenium opening as possible. He should have a full view of the stage at all times, since many of his cues are given by movements of the actors.

The stage pockets are laid out far enough from the center of the stage to insure their being always behind the scenery. If they are brought in too close, it is possible that, in a panorama setting, for instance, they would be visible to the audience.

Doors leading from the stage to the outside are always vestibuled in good houses. The vestibule prevents the wind from blowing the drapery about unduly and also shields the actors from unpleasant drafts.

Dressing rooms are arranged wherever the conditions of the building allow suitable space. Many of them are under the stage and others are arranged on one or both sides of the stage, sometimes very high up.

A view of the stage looking from the rear is shown in Figure 125. This figure shows the vent, the method of border light suspension, bridges for support of arc lamps or other sources of illumination, the fly floor, and the rigging loft, or “grid”.

The rigging loft is generally constructed entirely of iron slats with open spaces between them. This is necessary to insure ventilation in case of fire.

In most theaters the height from stage to ceiling is about seventy feet or more. The height must be great enough to allow the scenery to be hoisted out of sight above the proscenium opening. There must also be sufficient space above the rigging loft to allow men to walk about straightening out ropes, etc. The total height should, therefore, be nearly two and one-half times that of the proscenium opening.

As a rule no openings of any kind are arranged in any of the enclosing walls of the stage, except those that are necessary as entrances. In houses which are likely to originate shows, a paint bridge is generally provided along the back wall.

_Moving-Picture Theater._--Figure 126 is a plan of a typical small moving-picture theater. A spacious lobby is an important adjunct to any such theater and this space is often as valuable as the seating space inside. It affords shelter to those who cannot be seated at the moment. It is especially convenient in localities where race suicide is not yet very noticeable and where it forms a repository for many baby carriages.

A view showing the location of a picture-machine booth is given in Figure 127. This is the arrangement most in use although there are localities where it is required that the operating room be at the end of the theater opposite the main entrance, the object being to avoid the necessity of the audience passing under the fire to the outside in case a fire should occur in the operating room. This plan has so many disadvantages that it is never followed except where the law requires it. If a properly arranged operating room is provided, there is no necessity whatever for it.

The chief use of Figure 127 is to illustrate the importance of adjusting the height at which the picture is thrown upon the curtain to the pitch of the floor. The curved lines in the upper part of the picture indicate the floor conditions which would give each seat the same clearance over-the-one-in-front-of-it to a view at the bottom of the picture. The upper line shows the bottom of the picture, level with highest seat, the other with the same point somewhat below it.

Figures 128 and 129 show the plan and the elevation of a large operating room. Every operating room should be of ample size to allow the operator to walk on all sides of the machine. It should be strictly fireproof, well-ventilated, and provided with a door giving easy exit to a floor outside, level with the floor of the room. In altogether too many rooms the only means of getting in or out is by a ladder which leads directly into the room through a small trap door. Such an arrangement is extremely dangerous in case of fire. The fumes of burning film are poisonous if inhaled and spread very fast. If two men should happen to be in such a room at the time the film is ignited, it is likely that they would wedge each other into the narrow opening and both perish. The door to the operating room should open outward and be self-closing. All openings in the operating room must be fitted with fireproof shutters by which they can be instantly closed in case of fire. There should also be suitable ventilation to the outside to carry off all smoke from burning film.

_The Screen._--The screen upon which the picture is projected should be a clear white but of a dull finish. All glare should be avoided and wherever there is a polished surface, this glare is always conspicuous.

There are a number of patent or special makes of screens on the market, but it is not the purpose at this time to discuss any of them. It will be sufficient to point out some of the simpler methods by which screens may be made.

A simple plaster wall is often used and is very serviceable, but it must not be polished and must be coated in some way to allow of washing off occasionally.

Perhaps, all things considered, a muslin screen is the best of all. Such a screen, if well stretched, gives a good flat surface entirely without glare and has the further advantage that it can easily be taken down and laundered as often as necessary. It is best to provide duplicate sets so that there may be one for use while the other is in the wash.

The only real objection to a muslin screen is the loss of light which it entails. It is not only a poor reflector of light, but it allows much of the light to pass through it. With many such screens, the picture is as well visible behind the screen as it is in front of it. This indicates a great loss of light and it is to prevent this loss of light that the other forms of screens have been devised. The most noticeable of these is the _mirror screen_, which is a mirror of ground glass. It is very economical in light but expensive in first cost and hard to keep clean. It must be washed quite frequently and careless men are apt to use too much water and get some of it on the back where it will soon begin to loosen the silver coating and ruin the mirror.

The screen should be surrounded so that no other light except that coming from the picture can reach the audience. To this end there should be a black frame around it and this black frame must also be a dull black and without glare. Velvet drapery is the very best thing that can be provided and should be brought in so close from all sides that no white rim around the picture will be visible, as such a white rim would detract greatly from the illumination of the picture.

The decorations around the proscenium should preferably be of a dark color and kept dull, especially in cities where it is necessary to maintain emergency illumination. If the front is light in color, there will be considerable reflection which will detract from the picture and require a higher illumination of it.

Wherever there is an opportunity to do so, the screen should be set well away from the nearest row of seats. This will not affect the view of those in the rear, and it will very much improve the view of those in front. It must of course be seen to that a clear view from both sides is possible.