Acoustical Problems Of The Stratford (Ontario) Permanent Shakespearean Theater

After three very successful years, the authorities of the Stratford (Ontario) Shakespearean Festival are planning to replace the unique theater tent with a permanent structure. The Festival's original home is an interesting mixture of Greek amphitheatre, Elizabethan stage, and present-day circus tent, and the new building will retain nearly all of these features, including a seating capacity of around 2000. With no proscenium arch, an “acting angle” of over 180°, circular banks of seats centered on the middle of the stage, and a small gallery, the new design presents a number of interesting and unusual acoustical problems, such as ensuring high intelligibility in sections of the audience on which an actor has turned his back. The location of an orchestra of reasonable size so that it will not interfere with the pageantry of the productions is also a matter of some difficulty. This paper details the solutions proposed for the building which is scheduled for completion before the 1957 Festival Season. It is hoped that a later paper may discuss the results achieved.