ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the technical elements required in and around auditoriums for live performance - control rooms, sound mix positions, followspot rooms, and positions for spotlights. The types and sophistication of these accommodations will vary depending on the venue type and the anticipated performances. Most performance spaces will have at least one control room, and some spaces will have several dedicated to specific uses. If live audio mixing is an important part of the performance, it will be performed from an open position within the auditorium, rather than from an enclosed control room. Locating the mix position is a question of balancing competing priorities. The equipment operators within the cockpit must have clear sightlines to the performers and to the main loudspeakers. The stage lighting designer and electricians will need positions in and above the auditorium for mounting spotlights to light the stage.
