The meticulous framing work on the curved section of the exterior continues!

The crew is working hard to complete all of the sections of the roof, so it may look like they're working backwards since there's no first-floor framing in place here yet. Have no fear, though; that mighty curving beam and the nearby columns are holding it all up nicely.

On the inside, the second-floor Stage Support Office is taking shape, and it will be a very useful space for production meetings, board committee meetings or small events. There will be three large windows that will provide a nice view of Times Boulevard facing east.

Elsewhere, the Swing Stage work (water proofing and plastering) continues on the east side of the building. (below) You can just barely see the Swing Stage rigging on the right; it's been shifted north as the crew finishes the east wall.

Lauren Evans, who some of you may know as our Assistant Director of Education, is also one of our very best stage managers. Today, she got her first peak at the new Technical Booth and the view she'll have of the stage. I think she liked it! When a show is up and running, the stage manager is the "big boss", and while Lauren always runs a tight ship on her shows, she is an unfailingly good-natured person. Hopefully, all of the utility and comfort we're building into the Booth will make her job a bit easier from now on.

In her Education Dept. role, Lauren will also help oversee the use of the new Classroom for our after-school classes and summer camps.

Coming up soon: the completion of framing and the arrival of...BRICKS.

As an addendum to last week's post, here are some photos of the curving beam being installed (last Saturday morning) and how it looks at the end of this week.

This part of the building has been deceptively complicated to bring about, and many of the decisions about how to do the work had to be made in the field. We wanted to recreate the distinctive curve, but we needed to completely reorganize its structure and what we were going to use it for - for example, a new stair and exit doors instead of the glass block and built-in bench that used to be there. Add in the need to accommodate parts of the Ovations Building that couldn't be moved (an electrical conduit and a roof drain), and it gets tricky. Luckily, we have a very resourceful team (especially our superintendent Chris Davis, who is a miracle worker) and now we're ready for the final exterior framing of our project to start next week. The white brick has been matched and - hopefully - someone driving by the theater someday soon won't realize that this section of the building has undergone such serious surgery!

Elsewhere, the crew has been concentrating on waterproofing the second-floor exterior walls in preparation for plastering and the eventual completion of the roof.

As I've mentioned before, I've really enjoyed taking photos from the same vantage points around the building as the project has progressed. Here are some shots of the West Lobby looking north as it has been transformed over the last few months.

And many more changes to come!

Finally, I love the above photo. It shows new steel intersecting with an old brick wall; new wood and metal framing in place, ready to be sheet rocked. This is the re-purposing of a funny old building and making it strong for the future. It may cost a bit more or take longer to build, but we wanted a unique building to match the unique theater that is Main Street Theater's trademark.

Clear skies this week have allowed our crew(s) to get a lot of work done! This morning we had separate groups of workers on the roof, in the auditorium, in the back of the building and right in front - with a crane. If I had to summarize what's going on in this flurry of activity, I would say it is about "stairs and structure and stages".

STAIRS
Besides the two narrow stairs up into the old, windowless Technical Booth, the few stairs we could ever have on our sets in our low-ceilinged auditorium, or the old metal curving stair on the front of the building that went up to the former apartment space, stairs have never really been a big part of Main Street Theater.

That has changed!

(above, the Back Stair up to the Classroom/Rehearsal Room. The door to the
Women's Restroom is on the right)

(above, the Front Stair that will lead from the Technical Booth area down to a new dedicated exit door)

STRUCTURE:

As I've mentioned previously, the "curved section" of the façade had to be completely taken down during demolition because of its structural deficiencies. This area of the building started out as an alley between two buildings and had always felt a bit "homemade". In the re-imagined building, we need this section to be in tip-top shape to contain the new Stage Support Office on the second floor, the new Front Stair, and the two new exit doors leading out to Times Boulevard. So, some new steel was needed.

(above, how the building looked until 2012 and, below, after the façade was renovated and the big blue sign was built in preparation for our capital campaign)

 

(above, the crane has just let go of one of the new steel columns; below, a custom-made beam that will be part of the reconstructed "curved section".)

STAGES:
Rather than the stage in the auditorium (or our friends over at Stages Repertory Theatre!), I'm referring to the "Swing Stage" machinery that is up on the roof (on the left, below)

To waterproof and plaster the new, higher east exterior wall of the building -- and since we cannot access our neighbor's roof -- the crew will perform their work on a window-washing-like rigging called a Swing Stage that will be suspended over the side of the building next week.

Incidentally, very soon - sometime this summer - this big expanse of roof will be covered with solar panels, courtesy of Green Mountain Energy's Sun Club and our installer, 512Solar. Their amazing $100,000 gift will help MST keep its energy costs down for years to come.

Finally, some very special folks got to visit the construction site this week:

(below, Director of Audience Services & Company Manager Andrew Ruthven surveys the new Concessions and Will-Call area in the Lobby)

(below, MST's Technical Director Mark Roberts gets a peek at the building's new roof. The trusses under our new roof will also support the new pipe grid over the playing area down below. Mark will be suspending a lot of lights and equipment from that grid)

(below, Becky introduces Shannon Emerick, the Director of Marketing & Development, to the new double-height volume of the auditorium and the second-floor Classroom/Rehearsal Room)

(below, Main Street Theater's co-founder and Executive Artistic Director gets a feel for her new domain from the stage floor and from the Technical Booth's stage window)

Getting to see Becky's life's work evolve into a sturdy and beautiful theater built for the future is just about the best show in town.