Projects

Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago’s Tony Award®-winning home for new plays, had outgrown its space in Lincoln Park. Victory Gardens turned to Schuler Shook to lead a programming effort, identifying their goals for an expanded theatre. We worked very closely with the Artistic Director and Managing Director at that time — Dennis Zacek and Marcelle McVay — to refine Victory Gardens’s goals for a new home.

When the nearby Biograph Theatre became available for purchase, Victory Gardens saw a unique opportunity in their own neighbourhood. They purchased the famed cinema and began an extensive adaptation, developing a new 299-seat theatre that offers their playwrights a larger, more capable stage.

Schuler Shook advised Victory Gardens on theatre and backstage planning, designed the stage rigging and lighting systems, and assisted during construction of the project. In addition, Robert Shook designed lighting for the opening production of Charles Smith’s Denmark.

The Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma City wanted a new space that would allow them to explore new productions year round. The renovation of the historic Plaza Theatre movie house has provided just that — an intimate space for this regional theatre company’s productions of plays, musicals and new works. The new stage also serves as the ultimate classroom for the Lyric’s acting academy for children. 

Schuler Shook provided theatre consulting services for the 278-seat proscenium theatre, including the design of a tension wire grid, stage lighting system and auditorium house lighting. The theatre includes dressing rooms, three voice studios, office space, and an outdoor donor garden. 

This new 1,000 seat theatre serves the larger community with a wide variety of performance activities, and it also supports Bendigo Senior Secondary College. The project made possible the sustainable re-use of the former Sandhurst Gaol, which was re-purposed and renovated to serve as the front of house public space to the new adjoining theatre, providing historic character to the venue.

Schuler Shook collaborated closely with Y2 Architecture and Acoustic Studio in the planning and equipping of the new theatre. Ulumbarra Theatre is the largest regional venue in Victoria and is capable of presenting theatre, musical theatre, music, dance, cinema, community ceremonies, and a variety of audio-visual productions, for local and regional artists as well as touring productions. 

A.D. Players is a professional, resident theatre company founded by Jeannette Clift George in 1967. Mrs. George’s vision for the company included having a performing arts complex in the Houston Galleria district to produce and present theatre from a Christian perspective.

Design and planning for 1,000 seat proscenium theatre, black box theatre, event rooms, and support spaces. 

Herbert W. Armstrong College was founded in 2001 and several years later construction began on a new 823 seat auditorium. The new eight-story concert hall is located on the campus of Herbert W. Armstrong College and was built to serve the community by hosting various professional Broadway-style performances. The building also serves as a space for the Philadelphia Church of God services and provides classrooms for Armstrong College music department.

Austin’s long time public television station, KLRU teamed up with Austin Community College to build state-of-the- art broadcast studios that will increase community engagement and offer enhanced workplace development programs. The largest is a 6,500-square foot studio with retractable seating that can deploy to create a wraparound studio audience of more than 400 for a variety of events, including community forums, film and lecture series, and filming and screenings. Motorized lighting battens in the studio will add to its flexibility and ease of changeover. The second studio of 1,550 square feet has an open floor and lighting pipe grid above. The third studio of 2,500 square feet is operated by ACC. The studio has an open floor plan, lighting pipe grid above, and a built in green screen area.

Schuler Shook provided planning for audience areas and studio infrastructure and production consultation. New production systems by Schuler Shook include retractable audience eating, staging platform systems, studio lighting fixtures and control, studio grids, and rigging systems.

The Hattiloo Theatre is a Black repertory theatre that began in 2005. The new theatre building includes two theatres, a lobby used for public performance and private events, dressing rooms and concession areas. Construction for the new building began in June 2013 and opened in July 2014. There are two black box theatres including the large main stage theatre which is a flexible space able to seat up to 180 audience. The second theatre can seat up to 58. 

Walton Arts Center greatly expanded and modernized their facilities to be able to more easily fulfill their mission as a major community arts centre. Schuler Shook provided theatre consulting and architectural lighting design services.

The Minneapolis Convention Center expansion began in 1998. Included in the expansion was a large flexible 3,400-seat auditorium to be used for large assembly events. Because it was recognized that a 3,400 seat auditorium would have limited use due to its size, a space capable of reconfiguration from a single large house into multiple smaller spaces was designed.

The lighting design challenges presented by the flexibility of the space were met with the use of dual downlight systems, custom wall sconces located in movable and stationary walls, and a meticulously programmed lighting control system. Area lighting and accent lighting integrated into the room design afford flexibility, task lighting, and accenting of ceiling and wall planes.

Schuler Shook’s theatre planning scope included the auditorium, its lighting control systems and stage rigging. Schuler Shook provided additional architectural lighting design for all public spaces, meeting rooms, and exhibit halls within the expansion.

River Spirit Casino and Resort underwent a major expansion project. The massive project included a Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino and Restaurant, Paradise Cove Theatre (which is a 2,500+ seat showroom for live entertainment and sporting events), a 22-story 500-key upscale hotel tower, a world-class spa, convention and meeting centre, and new restaurants. 

Schuler Shook provided theatre planning services that included performance and architectural lighting control systems design, theatre seating including the VIP suites with open ​“Party Decks”. Seating is flexible to accommodate arena-style seating for MMA events. Schuler Shook also provided the rigging control system for in-house and touring production hoist control and conjunction with advisory services for rigging support steel and for catwalk layouts. 

Architectural lighting design services included house lighting for the theatre and VIP area, main casino lobby and floor, guest rooms and suites, fitness centre, hotel corridors, pool bar, ballroom and associated pre-function space and meeting rooms. 

Originally constructed in 1927 as a World War I memorial, this 3,500-seat reconfigurable auditorium provides a home for concerts, ceremonies and events serving the City of Sacramento. Memorial Auditorium was renovated as part of an initiative to improve convention and performance venues in an effort to attract visitors and events to the city.

This complete renovation of the old New Yorker Theatre is almost all new construction. Working closely with architects Martinez + Johnson, Schuler Shook designed new lighting and theatre systems for the 665-seat theatre and provided input on catwalk placement, sightlines, and the data and power cable distribution.

Restoration and renovation of 1910 theater (formerly World Theater) for live performances and The Prairie Home Companion broadcasts.

The City of Phoenix brought Schuler Shook in for theatre renovation assistance for the 2,300-seat Symphony Hall. Our consultants were responsible for the renovation and replacement of the orchestra shell ceiling and towers, proscenium eyebrow, motorised hoists for ceiling and eyebrow, motorised hoists for speaker clusters, and computerized rigging control system.

Named in recognition of its neighbourhood, the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston is better known as MATCH. The nonprofit group was formed expressly to create new space where artists around Houston could come together to collaborate and present their work. The MATCH facility is custom designed with input from over 40 arts groups. The resulting structure contains four performance venues referred to as MATCH boxes located in two buildings — North and South — connected by a sweeping breezeway to the plaza. MATCH supports dance, music, theatre, visual art, film, performance art, and others in the new facility.

Each ​“box” is slightly different. MATCH Box 1, a flexible theatre with seating for 100 in the round, has white walls that allow it to easily serve as an art gallery. Blackout curtains help return it to a performance space. MATCH Box 2 is an end-stage dance theatre with a permanent resilient dance floor and seating for 159. MATCH Box 3 can seat about 140 and is a more traditional black box theatre. MATCH Box 4, an end stage proscenium space with seating for 329, has catwalks for theatrical support and adjustable acoustic curtains. Boxes 1 through 3 feature pipe grids for overhead support. 

The McAllen Performing Arts Center hosts a variety of Broadway shows, Valley Symphony Orchestra, local music and popular entertainment acts, dance, and dramatic productions for McAllen and the Rio Grande Valley. The theatre seats about 1,800 patrons on three levels and features a generously-sized stage, orchestra pit with lift, motorised/ counterweight fly system, programmable Venetian-style valance, orchestra shell, motorised adjustable acoustic curtains, and extensive theatrical lighting. Schuler Shook provided full theatre design services and architectural lighting for the performing arts theatre.

Ballet Memphis’ new studio space replaced an abandoned French Quarter hotel located in Overton Square. The building is approximately 30,000 SF and includes five studios, community spaces, costume shop and offices. The building features large windows where passerbys are be able to watch ballet dancers and students rehearse.

The Kessler Theatre opened as a movie house in the early days of World War II and was recently restored to a mixed-use venue that includes a performance space, dance studio, art gallery and more.

The Goodman Theatre is home to two performance venues in Chicago’s Loop Theatre District.

Working closely with KPMB Architects and DLK Architecture, Schuler Shook designed the lighting for the exterior, lobbies and auditoriums. The design concept for the lobby was to illuminate the walls and ceiling to reinforce the transparency of the windows to Dearborn Street.