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Rental Guidelines

Technical Guidelines

General Information

You must gather your technical and design team together and schedule one tech meeting with a representative from our Production Department by emailing [email protected]. This will need to take place no later than two weeks prior to your show date.

Technical Crew

Producer provides labor (manpower) to load-in, set-up and focus & restore light plot. Producer must have sufficient staff to interact with theater’s Technical Director. Producer provides Stage Manager, Lighting Designer, Stagehands, etc. Theater does not provide stage crew.

Load-In Time

A member of your staff or crew must be at the theater at your scheduled load-in time – no sooner and no later. If you arrive at the theater prior to your scheduled load-in time, you will not be admitted. Technical Directors do not work regular office hours and are scheduled to be at the theater at your load-in time in order to advise.

Production Equipment

Producer must provide all equipment and/or effects necessary for the production. This includes backline, props, additional lighting, chairs, stands, music stand lights, as well as tools, tape, gels, extension cords, etc.

Lighting

The theater provides the use of our repertory light plot. Symphony Space provides no crew, board operators or gels. Any instruments that are moved must be returned to their original positions and any alterations to the front of house focus must be restored by load-out time.

Sound

The theater leases a high quality 32-channel sound system. There is no charge for the use of one microphone with a preset level (Tier 1). There is a fee for the use of additional equipment; this price includes services of a professional operator/engineer for up to 8 hours including a one-hour break (Tier 2). Failure to provide the sound engineer a one-hour break in a shift of six hours or longer will result in one hour of overtime. A complete inventory of included equipment for the Sharp is available by clicking here, and for the Thalia, here. Please note that wireless microphones are not included.

Projection

The theater has digital and analog projection capabilities. Refer to the "General Specs" page of each theater for projector and format information. There is a fee for projection, which includes services of a Union Local 306 projectionist for up to 5 hours. This covers one projectionist, one projector, and one projection surface. If producer is projecting from laptop, the producer must provide the laptop and bring a backup of the media on a USB hard drive or a USB flash drive. If using a Mac, Producer must bring a display port to VGA Adapter. If using a PC then the media must be checked to see if it works on a Mac (in the case the PC does not function with our projector systems). In order to run the video in Full HD, Producer will need to bring a display port to HDMI Adapter. If using a PC and Producer has video in Full HD, Producer will need to have an HDMI output on the Laptop. Generally the best file formats to use for the best possible picture quality are Quicktime (.mov). The dimension should be 1920x1080 or 1280x720 for wide screen HD shows or 1024x768 for 4x3 or vintage/standard definition. The video file codecs that works the best are Apple proRes 422 (HQ) Linear PCM, timecode with a color profile of HD (1-1-1) Audio: 2 Channel Stereo.

We encourage you to contact Marty Roller at least 24 hours prior to your event to go over your projection requirements. You can email him at [email protected] or call him at 917.620.0761.

Streaming

The theater provides access to a VLAN for HD Video streaming with an upload speed of 20mb dedicated bandwidth for a fee. Producer must provide all personnel and equipment required to handle the streaming.

Dance Floor (Peter Jay Sharp Theatre only)

The theater owns six rolls of dance floor. It covers an area 40' x 29'6". The floor can only be used for dance performances. The producer is required to provide tape to secure the sections of floor. No equipment is allowed on the floor and the Technical Director must approve props. Tap is not permitted on the dance floor.

Fire Codes

Symphony Space is a smoke free environment. There is no smoking allowed anywhere in the building. Scenic Elements are not permitted on the stages at Symphony Space. This includes, but is not limited to, walls and platforms specifically designed, created, and enhanced (i.e. painted or covered for a specific look) to create the “environment” for a produced event on stage. The producer may not install such elements. A closing front-act curtain is not permitted. Props, costumes, road cases, etc. may not be stored in the fire lanes. This includes all aisles and parts of hallways. No open flame, effects involving fire, or pyrotechnics may be used in the theaters.

Expendables

With the exception of spare lamps for rep plot lighting instruments, Symphony Space does not provide expendables such tape, tie line, gels, etc. Producer must provide all needed expendables.

Stage Rules

  • All stage effects (hangings, large stage props, scenic furnishing, etc.) must be flame-proofed and the producer must provide us with certification stating as such.
  • Symphony Space is a smoke free environment. There is no smoking allowed anywhere in the building.
  • No food or drinks (except water) are allowed on the stage.
  • The piano on stage may not be used as a prop table.
  • The producer is required to provide Symphony Space with a certificate of flameproofing for all stage decorations prior to load-in.
  • By law, no open flame, effects involving fire or pyrotechnics may be used in the theaters.
  • The Technical Director must approve the use of any smoke/fog/haze machines.
  • You may not use liquids as props.
  • Live animals are not permitted.
  • Any non-freestanding props or materials that need to be hung from the lighting grid, legs or any stage surface must be approved by the Technical Director, and be inherently flameproof.
  • A closing front-act curtain is not permitted.
  • Screwing, bolting, stapling or nailing into the stage floor is not permitted. See the Technical Director for alternatives.
  • Tap floors are encouraged for any tap dancing on the stage. If not used, a repainting fee may be charged if our technical advisor feels the stage has been overly scuffed as a result of the tap dancing.
  • The stage will be clean and free of debris upon your arrival, and should be restored to the same condition at the conclusion of the event.
  • Confetti, glitter or other materials that cannot be swept completely should not be used at Symphony Space. A substantial cleaning fee may result if confetti or glitter is used. Glitter is not permitted if the dance floor is used.
  • Props or any stage decorations must be finished and ready to be assembled on the stage. You may not construct or paint these materials in the theater.
  • All Symphony Space equipment that is used must be returned to its original position. This includes chairs, music stands, rugs, legs, etc.

Guidelines

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