Roberts Studio Theatre
Welcome to the Nancy and Edward Roberts Studio Theatre! Please have a look around In our 360º venue tour above to see the space from all angles.
Note that the floor treatment pictured In these photos was installed for a production. The floor beneath is black.
(This tour works best on desktop).
Documentation
General Information
Seating Capacity: 209 is our standard capacity which is included with rental, and is also pictured above. Please contact us to discuss alternate seating arrangements for this flexible space, which can be increased depending on the size and scope of the event.
Stage Specifications:
Flooring: 1/4” painted Masonite (California AllFlor 530-02 Black) over a Bio Channel sprung floor system.
There is 11/4” of wood to screw or lag into floor. Maximum lag diameter is 3/8”. No drilled holes larger than 1/4” are allowed.
Technical Specifications
Dimensions and Measurements
Stage/Room Dimensions:
North to South: 49'-0"
East to West: 60'-0"
Grid
Floor to gridiron: 18'-0"
Grid Pattern:
38'-0" x 46'-0"
4'-6" x 5'-6" grid
Maximum Uniform Load: 30 PLF (pounds per linear foot)
Maximum concentrated load: 380 pounds
Maximum hanger load-grid loading of 30 PFL: 580 pounds per hanger
Other
East side cinderblock wall to the first chair (In seating configuration A) is 27'-9"
Egress is always 3'-0"
The stage floor's live load weight capacity Is 150 pounds per square foot - this means It is not suitable for a scissor lift.
Control Booths
Stage managers may call productions from the second-floor booth or, with prior arrangement, from positions on-stage or in the galleries.
Sound Is operated from the second-floor booth or, with prior arrangement, from the galleries.
Lighting Is operated from the second-floor booth or, with prior arrangement, be set up to operate from the galleries or on stage level.
Lighting
Control
96 2.4k Dimmers (dimmer per circuit)
ETC Ion 2000 (version 2.9.1 only, cannot be updated)
Integrated House/Run/Work light control using an ETC Paradigm system, installed Summer 2023
Gel frames, template holders, and other accessories are included in the house inventory. Expendables such as tie line and gel are not included. Please include all requests on a light plot to be reviewed by Calderwood management no less than two weeks in advance of the rental for prep work.
House light and hallway lighting will be approved by house staff. Addresses 134 + 143 should be at 80% during walk-in and walk-out and at 30% during the event.
Sound System Description and Communications
The sound system provided is intended to meet the needs of a more flexible space. Please see Appendix B of the Renter's Handbook for equipment list. There are some minor sound bleed issues between the Roberts Studio Theatre and the Atelier/505 condos above; because of this, all additional speakers attached to the grid must be hung on sound isolating brackets (current inventory is equipped with these brackets). The Calderwood also reserves the right to require the volume to be adjusted at any time in order to minimize sound bleed into the neighboring apartments.
A special note for musicals:
Companies may also be required to put orchestra members on sound isolating mats or carpets and/or to build sound baffles around the orchestra. Also for this reason, no orchestra members may be placed or either of the 2nd floor galleries without prior written approval from the Calderwood Pavilion Manager.
Communications:
Clear Com wired two-channel system is available for stage crew use. Backstage paging system can be implemented from Clear Com main station as well as a microphone backstage. Audio and video monitoring systems are also in place. House technical staff will do setup of these systems in accordance with renter’s needs as part of the base rental package. The Roberts is not equipped with a wireless communications system - you are welcome to rent or bring your own version of this equipment and house staff can assist with integrating it into the wired infrastructure.
New for Fall 2024:
After 20 seasons of heavy usage in the Roberts, our entire audio infrastructure is being upgraded for the next 20 years. This includes replacing our analog mixer and patch bay with a digital system from Behringer. We are thrilled to be able to offer this significant upgrade to the space, but we understand that moving to digital after many years of analog requires a learning curve. Please reach out to operations to get acquainted with the new system and what has changed. We have chosen to install the industry standard and most popular system for this size of a venue, Behringer's X32 system, hoping that everyone will find this new system easy to use.
Dressing Rooms
Please see our Dressing Rooms page for more information. The number of dressing rooms assigned and their location are dependent on the needs of each production using the venue.
Scaffolding Unit
The Roberts Studio Theatre is equipped with a rolling scaffolding unit that can comfortably reach the grid from the deck level. Assembly and disassembly must be led by a member of the Calderwood Staff. Please see the assembly guide here.
Event Rental Information
Reference Imagery:
Lighting Inventory
Lighting Cable Inventory
Scaffolding Unit
Scaffolding Unit
Interested in renting the Roberts Studio Theatre? Please email rentals@bostontheatrescene.com