GU I LD HALL A M ER I CAS
EAST HAMPTON / USA
H is tor i c L o n g I s l a n d t h e atre is mode rnise d with a f re sh ly equip p e d t e c h n i c a l AV u pg ra de , inc luding a n e le c tro a c oustic enh a nc e m e n t s y s t e m , t o bring it in-line with pe rf orme r a nd a udien c e e xp e c t a t i o n s .
Towards the eastern tip of Long Island is East Hampton’s Guild Hall, a nearly century-old cultural centre that has been a cornerstone of the Hamptons’ vibrant arts scene. As the venue approached its centennial, it underwent a facility-wide Capital Improvements Project & Campaign which included top-of-the-line physical and technological enhancements to better deliver its mission as an artistdriven, interdisciplinary institution. These comprehensive enhancements have seen the structural and technological upgrade of Guild Hall’s grounds – encompassing its museum, theatre, education centre, and administrative offices. The intimate Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan Theater underwent a dramatic technical transformation, and reopened with stateof-the-art technical capabilities and roomier, more comfortable seating. The goal of Guild Hall’s full-scale theatre AV system renovation was to equip it with high-quality technology for the artists and audiences it serves, while preserving the venue’s historic charm. Performers at the venue in recent years have included the likes of Questlove, Mark Ronson, Jerry Seinfeld, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Billy Porter. Apeiro Design were brought in as AV systems and theatrical consultants, which also included theatre lighting and stage rigging systems, with Ford AV awarded the AV integration and installation contract. With Apeiro’s Project Manager Brad Kisicki and Associate Principal Dan Mei working with the venue’s technicians, they put together a plan to modernise the theatre while maintaining its quaint aesthetic charm. Before the renovation, Guild Hall’s systems reflected its age with incandescent lighting, limited projection capabilities due to outdated equipment, and a sound system that struggled to cover the space evenly. This infrastructure did not meet modern expectations of a venue hosting a wide array of events and performances. “This is a venue that wanted to be at the cutting-edge of everything, and they felt that the performers that came through their door demand a high level of production, and that their audience deserved it,” began Kisicki. “Our role as consultants was to look at the operational functionality of the house and its rigging, and design the necessary system upgrades, with the AV aspects being the most notable of the upgrades.
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“The venue’s techs are highly knowledgeable and had a lot of input on equipment selections and we met with them regularly, so during the process they were very involved, and we at Apeiro did very little selection in a vacuum.” One of the most impressive was the installation of an electronic acoustic enhancement system to reshape the room’s acoustics electronically. “Prior to the renovation the venue often received complaints from performers who couldn’t hear anything on the stage, so to combat against that we tried to create as dead sounding an acoustic space as possible, with the assistance of acoustic consultants Akustiks, and then design a sound system that could be tailored to suit any type of performance,” added Mei. “The venue had an existing d&b audiotechnik system in place that they were very happy with, and some of the loudspeakers remained as they still functioned perfectly well, and so we worked alongside d&b’s New York team to model new d&b Soundscape systems utilising its EnSpace software for acoustic enhancement, and En-Scene for object-based signal management,” said Mei With the designs in place, Ford AV set about procuring and installing the equipment against the backdrop of an incredibly tight deadline. “The venue’s new proscenium wall was installed just two weeks before we came in, and we had to work long nights and weekends to get the loudspeakers set-up and tested before the new season opened,” explained Ford AV Project Manager Dustin Plumlee. “We worked with the local d&b audiotechnik team who came out and fine-tuned and commissioned the systems, and they gave the venue techs the necessary training on the new software.” The venue’s main array is fixed to a custom frame above the proscenium and consists of four Vi7P and Vi10P clusters with two Yi Subs, and five 44S deployed as front fills. The En-Space system is split into two, with a preset for the performers on stage, and one for the audience, and they can be used independently. The audience system consists of six d&b 44S deployed overhead, and six d&b 16C column loudspeakers set up to the sides and at the rear. For the En-Scene surround system, a total of 22 44S loudspeakers are deployed around the theatre, with DSP