J. R. Clancy is a four-star sponsor of the 33rd annual League of Historic American Theatres (LHAT) conference in Cleveland, Ohio, July 15-18.
Hosted this year by PlayhouseSquare in Cleveland's downtown theatre district, the LHAT conference places historic theatres and their renovations in the spotlight—including the Hanna Theatre, the permanent home of the Great Lakes Theatre Festival (GLTF). For this recently completed renovation project, J. R. Clancy supplied 48 PowerLift automated rigging linesets, a SceneControl 500 motion control system, a handheld portable pendant for remote control of the PowerLifts, and three hydraulic lifts for the unique thrust stage configuration.
“J. R. Clancy has been involved in historic theatre renovations almost since the company's inception in 1885,” said Tom Young, vice president of marketing for J. R. Clancy. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to sponsor the LHAT conference in a venue that blends decades of history with leading edge technology and creative solutions—a real showcase for our ability to bring these elements together successfully.”
At the conference, Clancy representatives will lead a backstage tour of the Hanna Theatre, providing participants with an opportunity to see how high technology solutions can be applied to an historic building. The Hanna is the first theatre in PlayhouseSquare to have an automated lineset system, a major advantage for GLTF, which operates in rotating repertory. As the company began its 2008-2009 season with productions of "Macbeth" and "Into the Woods"— two shows with high production values—the hydraulic stage lifts, PowerLift linesets and SceneControl 500 reduced the changeover time from an all-night event to just two hours. The result: Significant savings in manpower as well as time.
“Preserving a historic landmark while bringing new efficiencies and capabilities to the resident company—these are the hallmarks of a great design,” said Young. “We were delighted to be part of the Hanna renovation, in which we used technology to make the Hanna competitive with newer theatres in the area. With this expanded capability, the Hanna can now produce whatever technical marvels its producing artistic director, Charlie Fee, can imagine.”
Clancy has extensive experience in renovations of historic theatres. In addition to the Hanna Theatre, Clancy recently completed work on the Balboa Theatre in San Diego, Calif., a 1924 vaudeville house rehabilitation designed by Westlake Reed Leskosky for the City of San Diego, as well as the Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara. The Granada posed the unusual challenge of converting a1924 movie house into a home for the Santa Barbara Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara and State Street Ballet. Roger Phillips of PMSM Architects, working with theatre consultants from Sachs Morgan Studio, restored the theatre to its 1930s heyday while turning it into a modern performing arts center.
Clancy's impressive list of renovation projects also includes the Palace Theatre in Waterbury, Conn. Sachs Morgan Studio were the theatre consultants for the renovation of this Renaissance Revival-style theatre
J. R. Clancy has been designing, manufacturing, and installing theatrical systems since 1885. More information about J. R. Clancy is available at www.jrclancy.com.
PowerLift and SceneControl are trademarks of J. R. Clancy, Inc.