 The
Grand Dame of theaters in Northwest Pennsylvania
is the Struthers Library Theatre in downtown Warren.
Built it 1883, it has operated continuously since
then, making it the 18th oldest operating theater
in the United States. It is located at 302 Third
Avenue West, Warren.
It owes its existence to Thomas Struthers, an entrepreneur/philanthropist.
In 1882, at age 80, Struthers decided to give the
town of Warren a new library. He therefore built
for the community a building that had a theater
on the first floor, library on the second, and Masonic
rooms on the third. Over the years the library and
the Masons moved to other buildings.
The theater was originally an opera house. In 1919
it was remodeled primarily for motion pictures.
Another renovation in 1983 made it a venue for performing
arts. Capital campaigns occurred in 1990 and 2008.
This latest campaign raised money to make significant
improvements to the outside of the building and
in the areas of sound, lighting, curtains, heating,
and handicapped seating.
The Library Theater seats 940 people: 534 in orchestra
area, 312 in balcony, 84 in loge, and 10 or so in
the two handicapped areas in the back of the orchestra
seating. There is an orchestra pit big enough to
accommodate 15 to 20 musicians. The stage measures
69 x 27 feet, with a proscenium opening 34 feet
wide.
The library room, located off the mezzanine, is
available for receptions, parties,  dinners,
and similar events either in association with the
theater or separately. The room was restored in
1984 to nearly its original 1883 condition, complete
with bookracks, chandeliers, stained glass window
tops, and fireplace. The library room will accommodate
up to 125 people for a sit-down dinner, and up to
200 for a stand-up reception. It is sometimes convenient
to utilize the adjacent mezzanine in conjunction
with the library room to accommodate slightly larger
groups. There are folding chairs and round folding
tables available in the library room to seat about
100 people.
- Location
 Top
The Struthers Library Theatre is located in
the downtown business district of Warren at
302 Third Avenue West, the corner of Liberty
Street. Third Avenue is two blocks off Route
6 (Pennsylvania Avenue) and one block south
of Route 62 (Fourth Avenue) where these highways
pass through town. Most downtown stores are
within two or three blocks of the theater, and
there are several restaurants with modestly
priced menus within a block of the theater which
include The Plaza, NY Pizza and Deli, Wellness
Café, Mardi Gras, Snuffy's and the Liberty
Street Cafe. McDonald's is a little over three
blocks and Wendy's, Tim Horton's, and Pizza
Hut about six blocks away on Route 6 east. Perkins
(open 24 hours a day) is a mile west on Route
6. Holiday Inn and Super 8 Motel are across
from Perkins. In North Warren about 6 miles
north on Route 62 are Applebee's, Bob Evans,
and Burger King. Lowe's and a Hampton Inn are
located in this plaza area, too.
Parking for theater patrons is available on
the streets and in several parking lots within
a block or two of the theater. Parking is free
in the lots on evenings and weekends.
- Auditorium and
Public FacilitiesTop
The auditorium seats 940 with 534 in the orchestra,
312 in the balcony, 84 in the loge, and 10 in
the handicapped areas at the back of the orchestra
area. All seats are numbered and may be sold
on a reserved seat or open seating basis.
Public restrooms are located on the mezzanine
level in the theater. There is a second ladies
restroom and, for those unable to climb stairs,
an additional restroom located on the main floor
at the rear of the auditorium
- Heating and
Air Conditioning Top
All occupied rooms in the building are heated,
including the auditorium, lobby, mezzanine,
restrooms, stage, dressing room, control booth,
orchestra green room, and library room, but
none of the third floor rooms are heated.
Air conditioning is available, but must be arranged
in advance. There is an extra charge for use
of the air conditioning. The library room and
third floor rooms are not air-conditioned.
- Ticket Sales
and PublicityTop
There is a box office (double window) in the
lobby for the sale of tickets at performance
time. However the lobby is not open to the public
at other times, nor is the box office staffed
by theatre personnel at any time, so other arrangements
must be made for pre-performance sales, if that
is required. Many tickets are sold through the
theatre offices during regular business hours.
Under certain circumstances and only with prior
approval of the theater management some tickets
may be sold online via the theater's website.
There are two display cases at the front entrance
to the theatre where posters and other advertising
may be displayed.
- Dressing RoomsTop
There are 7 dressing rooms in the backstage
area, directly behind the stage. One is a 10
x 12 foot room on the first floor, usually used
by the lead performer. There is one on the second
level (8 x 12 feet), 4 on the third level and
one 12 x 16 foot room on the fourth floor. Each
of these dressing rooms contains a sink with
cold water, a clothes rack, dressing table and
mirror, several chairs, and electrical outlets.
In addition to the rooms above, there is a green
room in the basement that is sometimes used
as a dressing room by larger companies. It has
a makeup table with mirrors, clothes rack, chairs,
and electrical outlets, but no sink.
There is a paging system to all dressing rooms,
the basement room, and the hall just outside
the upstage door. There is a live send from
the front of stage as well as a paging mike
at stage right or from the light booth.
- Backstage
RestroomsTop
There are 4 restrooms backstage. One is in the
onstage dressing room and another one opening
off the backstage hall. There are two more on
the second floor. They have cold water. There
are no showers in the building.
- Orchestra Pit
and Preparation RoomTop
The orchestra pit is in front of the stage and
36 inches below the auditorium floor level.
It runs nearly the full width of the auditorium,
but is narrow (6 ½ x 45 feet) and has
a 15 inch raised section running 3 1/3 feet
from the stage right end of the pit. There are
24 electrical outlets on three circuits in the
pit for stand lights and electrically powered
or amplified instruments.The pit will accommodate
20 musicians comfortably, 24 to 30 in a pinch.
There is a curtained railing around the pit
on the auditorium side, with an opening at the
center so that the conductor may enter from
the auditorium side if desired. There is also
access from the green room in the basement.
There is a set of stairs available to run from
stage center over the pit to the auditorium.
The pit is equipped with a Clear-Com station
so that the conductor may communicate with the
stage manager.
The green room is a 14 x 19 foot enclosed room
in the basement with direct access to the pit.
There are 24 Manhasset type music stands available
and 16 stand lights. Folding chairs are available
as needed.
There is an upright piano and a Conn Electric
Organ in the orchestra pit. The other piano
available, onstage (upstage left in a piano
garage), is a Steinway 9-foot Grand. Both pianos
are maintained in good condition with frequent
tuning.
- Costume
Pressing AreaTop
There is a 14 x 14 foot area in the basement
equipped for costume use. There is available
an iron, ironing board, steamer, and several
clothes racks. There is a washer and dryer across
the room.
- Stage AreaTop
The stage is 69 x 27 feet, with a proscenium
opening 34 feet wide. The last upstage batten
(usually with a full stage black) is three feet
from the upstage wall, providing a crossover,
and the main curtain hangs about a foot behind
the proscenium. Thus, the maximum playing depth
of the stage is 23 feet. The legs (black velour)
that define stage width provide a playing width
of about 30 feet.
There is an additional 4 feet of playing area
in front of the main curtain. The floor at the
extreme front 24 inches of this space is a grillwork
covering over the footlight trough. One can
walk on it, but ladies in high-heeled shoes
beware.
New main curtain, legs, traveler, traveler track,
a full width black curtain, and borders were
installed in 2011.
Access to the house area from the stage is usually
through the wing space on either side of the
stage to stairs and through a door to the house.
If requested, a center set of stairs may be
put in over the orchestra pit for direct access
from the stage to the house and vice versa.
- Stage FloorTop
The stage floor is a 1983-built Douglas fir
edge-grained, tongue and grove surface painted
gray. The floor is not waxed. The surface flooring
is underlain by plywood over wooden floor joists.
- Wing Space and
Scenery StorageTop
Space for storage of scenery and set pieces
is limited. Wing space at stage right with the
legs in their normal full-stage position is
10 x 27 feet. The rigging lock rail and hand
lines are stage right and room must be left
for their operation. The door from the dressing
room area enters at upstage right and people
waiting to go on stage tend to accumulate here.
There is a stage manager table in the down stage
area of this space. Available at the table location
is a Clear-Com station, dimmable light, work
light switches, white and blue running lights,
and the paging system.
Wing space at stage left is 14 x 27 feet and
unobstructed except for the piano garage in
the upstage left corner (6 x 9 feet) and storage
of the cinema speaker tower. The top of the
piano garage is available for storage (props,
cases, etc).
Downstage right is the caged ladder to the upper
fly rail (a hemp system) that controls the borders.
Directly behind the stage in the dressing room
area, there is a small scenery storage room.
This 7 x 15 foot room also houses all of the
theater electrical service panels and the dimmer
banks, so only about half of it is available.
Access to this room is through a 5 foot wide
by 16 foot high scenery doorway at upstage center.
This doorway blocks the crossover space behind
the last upstage drop and makes this exit impractical
to use in the run of show unless another drop
is in and the upstage drop is flown.
- Loading and UnloadingTop
A 5 foot wide by 16 foot high scenery door to
the outside is upstage left next to the piano
garage. This door provides primary access to
the stage for loading and unloading of scenery
and equipment from outside. This doorway is
at street level (there is a 2 inch lip into
the doorway).
Outside this door is a parking space large enough
to accommodate a small truck or van (about 30
feet maximum length). This space will not accommodate
a bus or large truck.
There is a theatre owned parking lot beyond
this parking space, and parking is available
on the street alongside the theater. Arrangements
must be made in advance to use these spaces.
Either will permit a truck or bus to be parked
within 25 feet or so of the backstage loading
door. There is no shore power.
- RiggingTop
Height from the stage floor to grid is approximately
50 feet, with 48 feet being the maximum height
to which scenery can be flown. Primary rigging
is T-bar counterweight-rigging sets manufactured
by Tiffin Studios, with 4 cable lines per set.
Each set has a maximum rated capacity of 1000
pounds. The locking rail and control lines are
located stage right at floor level. The hemp
running lines were replaced in 1999 with synthetic
running lines. There are 28 line sets total.
Battens are 44 feet long, schedule 80, and 1½-inch
diameter pipe. Only experienced fly operators
are allowed to handle this system.
In addition to the counterweight lines, there
are 3 hemp sets operated from a fly gallery
platform 30 feet above the stage floor, stage
left. Each of these sets is rated at 300 pounds
maximum load. These lines are used for the three
borders. The travel on these hemp lines is limited
and only experienced fly persons are allowed
to operate this system.
- Stage CurtainsTop
In 2011 the main curtain, the legs, traveler,
(and the traveler track,) upstage full width
black curtain, and the borders were installed
new. The basic stage curtains, used for framing
the stage, are black velour. There are 4 sets
of legs and borders (when you count the open
traveler as first leg and the raised main curtain
as first border) plus 2 full width drops, the
downstage traveler, and the main curtain. The
deep rust colored main curtain is guillotine-style
with a center overlap opening. The normal trim
height is 16 feet. The normal hanging plot is
as follows.
| |
-3” |
Foot Lights – under
steel grate |
| |
-1’ |
Thrust |
| |
0’-0” |
Plaster Line |
| 1 |
0’-9” |
Main Curtain - Guillotine |
| 2 |
2’-0” |
#1 Electric – 24 Circuits |
| 3 |
3’-0” |
Open |
| 4 |
3’-9” |
#1 Leg – Olio Traveler
Black |
| 5 |
4’-6” |
Scope Movie Screen |
| H1 |
5’-0” |
Black Border – Rope
Line Stage Left |
| 6 |
7’-0” |
#2 Electric – 12 Circuits |
| 7 |
7’-9” |
#2 Black Legs |
| 8 |
8’-3” |
Open |
| 9 |
8’-9” |
Open |
| 10 |
9’-3” |
Full Stage Black |
| 11 |
10’-0” |
Historic Drop - Vaudeville |
| 12 |
10’-6” |
Open |
| H2 |
11’-0” |
Black Border – Rope
Line Stage Left |
| 13 |
12’-0” |
#3 Electric – 12 Circuits |
| 14 |
13’-0” |
#3 Black Legs |
| 15 |
13’-6” |
Historic Drop– Street
Scene |
| 16 |
14’-3” |
Open |
| 17 |
15’-0” |
Red Drop |
| 18 |
15’-6” |
Open |
| 19 |
16’-0” |
Open |
| H3 |
16’-6” |
Black Border – Rope
Line Stage Left |
| 20 |
17’-6” |
#4 Electric – Cyc
Lights |
| 21 |
18’-6” |
#4 Black Legs |
| 22 |
19’-0” |
Breeze Point Drop (may be
removed) |
| 23 |
19’-9” |
Open |
| 24 |
20’-9” |
Open |
| 25 |
21’-6” |
Open |
| 26 |
22'-3” |
Library Room drop (may be
removed) |
| 27 |
23’-0” |
White Cyc |
| 28 |
24’-0” |
Full Stage Black |
| |
27’-0” |
Upstage Wall |
The borders are on a hemp and sand fly system.
They can be trimmed but cannot be brought to
stage level. The theater management does not
want the cyc nor the historic drops moved due
to their age and would appreciate plots designed
around them. The Scope movie screen cannot be
moved.
- Stage LightingTop
At the present we are upgrading our stage lighting.
It would be best to call our technical director
(contact information at end of these technical
listings) to find out if the equipment listed
below is still current or if it will change
by your event.
There are four on-stage electrics, mounted permanently
on counter-weighted line sets 2, 6, 13, and
20. There are 24 circuits on the number one
electric and 12 each on the other three. There
are two floor pockets and two upstage wall boxes
surrounding the playing area. There are also
two floor pockets with Edison receptacles, 110
AC.
The dimmers are Strand Century CD80 dimmers.
They are 2 dimmers per module at 2.4K each,
with 96 dimmers available. Two modules have
one dim and one non-dim circuit. The two non-dim
circuits are set to the upstage wall, but they
may be moved to any location. They are wired
as a dimmer per circuit system with pigtails
on the four onstage battens and sockets on the
two wall positions and the booth wall.
The lighting control board is an ETC Element
usually located in a booth at the rear of the
balcony. Dimmers are soft patchable and cues
may be set.
The following lighting instruments are available:
Front of House:
8 total ETC Source Four Profile 19° ellipsoids
575 watt with Ocean Optic Sea Changers (4
per boom) and
8 Altman 6 x 16 ellipsoids 750 watt (4 per
boom) separately circuited and mounted on
pipe booms on the walls at each side of the
balcony.
8 total (4 on each circuit) ETC Source Four
19° ellipsoids 575 watt on two circuits
mounted on the ceiling in front of the booth
wall.
Two Lycian short throw follow spots located
in booth at the rear of the balcony.
Hanging in the standard plot on the four
electrics are the following additional instruments:
5 each Strand Century Iris Cyc Lights 3 x
500 watt mounted on the fourth electric.
10 Ocean Optics Sea Changer Wash 4 ch. color
XG units.
6 each Strand Century Fresnelite1000 watt
6 inch fresnels.
6 each 65Q 6 inch Altman 750 watt fresnels.
8 each 75Q 8 inch Altman 1000 watt fresnels.
Some hanging in standard plot and some
stored are these remaining instruments:
22 each 360Q 6 x 9 Altman 750 watt ellipsoids.
24 each 360Q 6 x 12 Altman 750 watt ellipsoids.
24 each 360Q 6 x 16 Altman 750 watt ellipsoids.
6 ETC Source Four Profile 36° ellipsoids.
31 each 1000 watt wide pars.
The standard lighting plot is loosely divided
into 9 areas. The Sea Changers allow for a myriad
of colors coming as top light over the general
stage areas and/or from the front into the downstage
area.
The stage is down lit warm (R02) with fresnels.
6 each 1000 watt 6" on #1, 8 each 1000 watt
8" on #2 and 8 each 750 watt on #3. The cyc
is lit red (R124), amber (R20). and blue (R80).
Pipe end side light is set on all four electrics.
Center specials are set on #1 and additional specials
are hung on both #1 and #2.
Our light booth is located at the back of the
balcony. The two follow spots, the usual placement
of the light board, the Clear-Com main console,
a small secondary sound mixer, and a large film
projector with platters are located here. In an
adjoining room reside the sound amps and patch
bay.
- House Light ControlTop
All auditorium house lights are on a keypad
system. They are located in the light booth,
backstage stage right wall and lobby area. There
are settings for Movie, Full House, Half House,
and Performance.
- Sound System
Top
Our sound system was upgraded in 2010. The 48
channel Yamaha M7CL-48 digital mixer is mounted
in a balcony booth with the amp rack and patch
bay located in a balcony top-rear room. There
is a hard-wired snake going to front of stage,
stage left and right, and upstage left and right.
It terminates at a patch bay in the sound booth
and an additional patch bay in the amplifier
room itself to accommodate needed patching.
There are three main speaker arrays that cover
the auditorium area. The first is a Wideline
10 rigged over the proscenium to cover the balcony
area. The remaining two L'Acoustics ARCs are
on either side of the proscenium and fill the
orchestra seating on the main floor of the theater
auditorium in addition to an under balcony fill
system installed in 2004 consisting of 16 Electro-Voice
EVID 8.2c.
One QSC PLX 1104 amplifier powers the proscenium-mounted
balcony speaker array. Two QSC PL340 amplifiers
power the left and right main auditorium speaker
arrays. A Crown DC-300A2 amplifier powers the
two monitor sends. Monitor mix one is downstage
on both sides and mix two is upstage left and
right. There are four EAW SM129zi monitor wedge
speakers available for onstage use.
There is a wireless system in the theatre. One
eight channel Shure U Series and one 8 channel
Shure ULX with distribution antennae systems.
Both systems have distribution amps and cover
the whole theatre. All 16 transmitters are equipped
lapel mics. There is one wireless handheld mic.
There are 5 Shure SM58 mics, 3 Shure SM57 mics,
1 Crown PZM mic, 4 Audio Technica boundary mics,
and 3 choral mics. A variety of cables and stands
are available.
The lighting booth has an independent sound
feed of the house system with its own volume
control.
The front of house console area is located in
the center of the balcony just behind the loge
section. It has a full view of the stage and
a full aural view of the main clusters. Playback
is available through a Sony CD/Minidisc combination
unit.
The "secondary" front of house area
is comprised of a Mackie DFX6 mixer mounted
on the wall next to the lighting console to
be operated by the board operator. This mixer
has complete accessibility to all snake lines
and wireless microphones. This mixer can feed
the main rig, the front fills, and monitors.
The DFX6 is limited to four channels of operation.
There is a Fender Passport portable Public Address
system that can be used.
- Intercommunication
SystemTop
The theatre is equipped with a Clear-Com 2-channel
intercom system. Though most stations can be
switched to either A or B channels, we usually
keep A channel feeding the box-office, and the
lighting booth main console. The B channel feeds
the lighting booth (2), the sound booth, the
pit, stage manager's table, fly rail, stage
left, upper stage left pin rail, and back of
house area. There are a total of 8 headsets
for use at these stations.
- Assisted
Listening DevicesTop
We have 15 Sennheiser infrared monaural headset
receivers for the use of our hearing-impaired
audience members. The emitter panel is located
at an organ loft on house left.
- Emergency Telephone
NumbersTop
Emergency telephone numbers are posted on the
bulletin board backstage and in the box-office.
They are:
- Ambulance 723-3550
- Hospital 723-3300
- Police 723-2700
- Fire 723-4200 or 723-7100
- Emergencies 911
- Rules and RegulationsTop
One rule we enforce strictly is the prohibition
of smoking in the theatre. This is an over 130
year old building with wooden floors, gridiron,
and roof beams and would be very susceptible
to fire.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Technical Director is Barb Crowley. Please contact
her at
Barb Crowley
countryhome@atlanticbb.net
814-723-6564 home phone
814-688-1590 cell phone and text
1132 Quaker Hill Road
Warren, PA 16365
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