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Community Brings Historic Theatre into the Present
Phoenixville, PA: a casual visitor to this bucolic Philadelphia suburb of 16,000 could be excused for thinking they had wandered back in time. Homes and buildings bear a distinctly 19th century look, with elaborate wrought iron railings and elegantly carved cornices, and the green rolling hillsides are dotted with covered bridges dating back to the early 1800’s.
In the midst of this idyllic setting, Valley Forge Christian College occupies the 84-acre site of the former Valley Forge General Hospital, an historic site whose buildings date back to the second World War. The school’s theatre recently underwent a major renovation, including installation of a state-of-the-art audio/video system based around loudspeakers from Community Professional in nearby Chester, PA.
“The original architecture has been nicely restored, and the result is a really beautiful mix of classic and modern,” remarks Audiobahn’s President Tony Hersch. The Pottstown-based systems providers worked closely with the school and the architects in designing and installing the theatre’s audio, video and lighting systems. “The architects wanted to keep a very open, somewhat industrial look, maintaining the original brick walls, as well as exposed ductwork along the hall’s high ceilings. We added light bars and theatrical fixtures as down-firing lighting to wash the brick walls in primary colours, which really creates a great visual feel.”
The 300-seat theatre is a multi-purpose venue, accommodating everything from classes and lectures to movies and live performances. The audio system employs three of Community’s iBox iHP1299 two-way 12-inch systems flown in left-centre-right configuration, augmented by a pair of TD218S dual 18-inch subwoofers. “We built concrete cavities under the stage to prevent excess resonance from the subs,” Hersch explains. “Using the iBoxes for LCR was a great solution, since their 90 x 90 degree pattern provided complete vertical coverage from front row to back.” A pair of Community’s CPL27 dual eight-inch systems on the rear wall completes the hall’s full 5.1 surround sound, fed by an Allen & Heath ML3000 32-channel mixing console. “The ML3000 is a true LCR mixer, and we’re running the subs and surrounds on aux sends,” Hersh adds.
To accommodate the venue’s multi-purpose use, Hersch specified a video component based around a Panasonic PTD5500U projector and 188” x 142” Da-Lite motorized video screen. A Panasonic DVDS77S DVD player feeds Dolby 5.1 surround sound to the audio system. The speakers are powered by QSC Powerlite amplification. Microphones are Shure SLX wireless systems.
As Hersch explains, the hall was purpose-built in the 1940’s as a theatre, thus little was needed by way of acoustic treatment. “Although the walls are stone, they’re uneven enough to break up most of the standing waves, and there are several vertical columns that also help. The room’s a bit live, but not at all problematic,” he explains.
“One of the nicest aspects of this project is the degree of sophistication the Valley Forge faculty brought to the table,” Hersch concludes. “Professor Leone Bilotta, the school’s music director, has been directly involved with specifying a number of the campus’ audio and video systems, including a full digital recording studio and a DVD editing suite, and the college offers courses and degrees in music education, performance and technology. We had a number of intelligent and enlightening discussions on the system’s design, and they were on board with creating and installing a high quality system right from the start. It’s such a pleasure to work with a client who shares the same passion for excellence.”
31st August 2006
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