Performance Space in Mumbai : Auditorium Guidelines for Theatrewallahs

Ramu Ramanathan | Exclusive, Murmurings from Mumbai | June 29, 2007 at 10:20 am

Bombay’s first theatre was called the Bombay Amateur Theatre, it came to existence in 1776. During the days of the old Bombay Gujarati, Parsi and Urdu plays, there was a phenomenon of the times; an long tin board in front of the rows of the pit class which would be stamped on by the audience to create a din, this was the audience’s way of demanding an encore.

Bangwadi
the famous theatre off Princess
Street incorporated dwellings of performers and a company kitchen. The atmosphere was of a labyrinth of lanes leading up to the auditorium. Then there were soft sounds of music, theatre books for sale. All this added to the experience of seeing a play.

Some of Mumbai’s, grand old theatres like the Royal Opera House and Capitol Cinema (today) have survived as building today through the vagaries of time, trend and fad and real estate prices. These theatres began by staging plays and musical-dramas but switched to films once cinema became a crowd puller. A few theatres which were once drama or play-houses still exist in the city, and they are a nostalgic memory of the past through their quaint architecture, frescoes, stage prosceniums and the fading velvet curtains. In the vicinity of Falkland Road there are half a dozen theatres or movie halls, which were once the stage for plays. They stand within the radius of roughly half a kilometer, forming an unusual cluster in the city’s infamous red light district. Some of the locals call it Pilla House, a distortion of Play House. Some of the movie houses even today can stage a play.

Balcony theatres required the actor on stage to look upwards or at least provide the illusion of doing so. Or else the audience in the balcony would feel left out.
Tata Theatre, NCPA brought to Mumbai’s theatre a sense of the monumental ambience and a ceremonious outlook. Tejpal theatre has served as a bastion for both, the mainstream and the offbeat theatre. It is creditable for its acoustics and the sense of intimacy it engendered. Even today, most Gujarati plays stage their premier shows, here. For which there is a special invited audiences of regular premier-wallahs.

Convex and irregular surfaces aid sound diffusion. Domes, vaults and other large surfaces may cause acoustic problems. Higher ceiling for longer reverberation time as required for concerts; typical hall volume: 20.5 m3 – 35 m3 / audience seat. Lower ceiling for shorter reverberation time as required for drama, speech; typical hall volume: 7.5 m3 –14 m3 / audience seat. In halls used for concerts, the stage and audience seating is treated as one volume.

Theatres
with one balcony give better sight lines than multiple balconies. The balcony overhang proportion of depth: Height recommended for concerts is 1:1, for opera & drama it is 2:1

Basic
List of Theatres in Mumbai

Name	Shivaji Mandir	Damodar Hall	Chhabildas High School	Gadkari Rangayatan	Homi Bhabha
Seating Capacity ground floor balcony *Total	687 345 1032	545 258 803	200 max.	750 280 1030	1036
Size of Stage opening depth *height	32’ 36’ 21’	32’ 40’ 38’	50’ 30’ 20’	42’ 38’ 30’	39’ 40’ 45’
Proscenium Height	14’	14’	12’	20’	18’
Wings available	10 nos	8 nos	10 nos	12 nos	3X2 nos
Size of Orchestra Pit	5’4” X 12’9”	10’ X 6’	NA	20’ X 22’	NA Apron Stage available
Available Acting Are in Sight line	38’6” X 8’6”	32’ X 20’	30’ X 30’	16’	-
Position of Cat Walk	NA	NA	NA	NA	3 available
Type of Stage	Fix	Fix	Fix	Fix	Fix
Green Rooms	2 nos	2 nos	1 nos	2 nos	-
Lights * Flood * Dimmer * Spots * Solar * Halogen	3X1000W 4 9X500W 2X1000W	6X500W 12 8X500W 2X2000W 2X1000W	3X500W 3X2/4Kw 6X500W	11X500W 4+24X500W 2X100W	250 – 500W 30 12X1000W
Sound mikes speakers *amplifiers	6 6 1	7 4 3	2	12 6	100 6 channels plenty
Other Notes			NT1

Name	Balgandharva Rang Mandir, Pune	Nehru Centre	Rang Bhawan	Balmohan High School	Bhaidas Magandas Sabhagrah
Seating Capacity ground floor balcony *Total	814	938	2100	460	1200
Size of Stage opening depth *height	40’ 28’ 35’	50’ 34.5’ 19’	35’ 30’ 31’	18’ 16’ 18’	42’ 27’ 30’
Proscenium Height	14’	19’	15’	12’	14’
Wings available	12 nos	4 nos	10 nos	6 nos
Size of Orchestra Pit	-	NA	30’ X 32’	NA	10 nos
Available Acting Area in Sight line	14’ X 29’	625 and 1550 sq. ft.	35’ X 13.5’	12’ X 18’	19’
Position of Cat Walk	-	1 on either side	NA	NA	-
Type of Stage	Fix	Fix	Fix	Fix	Fix
Green Rooms	-	4 nos	3 nos	1 nos	4 nos
Lights * Flood * Dimmer * Spots * Solar * Halogen	5X500W 3X6Kw 4X500W	34X500W 35X2Kw 510X2Kw 10X1Kw 30X650W	4X500W 4X2Kw 8X4Kw 4+12X500W 2X2000W	4X500W	4X500W 8X4Kw 10X500Kw
Sound mikes speakers *amplifiers	5 6 1	20 in 12 Ch. Multiple Sys 7	6 6 2	-	6 3 2
Other Notes		Motorized Cinema Screen

Chabbildas
was an experimental theatre. The seating arrangement and stage was flexible. The stage was at ground level and the stage lights and wings were make-shift. Seating arrangements involved a few chairs and bhartiya baithak. Behind the artificial stage there was a fixed proscenium stage, which was very small and were used for very small or intimate plays involving one-two characters. In spite of all the adversity, some of the most creative work on the modern Indian theatre was staged, here.

(Data:
Compiled with the assistance of architecture students of Kamala Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture)

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5 Comments

Raj says:

June 29, 2007 at 12:49 pm

Bhari Resarch dude!! I admire that but fuck plays when you can watch movies with added glitz for less!!!!!! ;)
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atray says:

June 29, 2007 at 1:24 pm

heard that “Shivaji mandir” theater firmly shows three Marathi play everyday, which is great if they follow such tradition for preserving great Bombay Theater that started back in 1776.
Ramu this basic guideline will be rewarding since am doing a workshop now will promptly look at ceilings and even overhang proportion of height: depth..masterji will be surprised..:)
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Ramu Ramanathan says:

June 29, 2007 at 5:53 pm

Yes, Shivaji Mandir is the Mecca of Marathi Theatre.

Till recently, there were 4 (sometimes 5 shows) in a day. Each show of a different play. Standing in the wings and watching play one conclude and play two being set-up was amazing. Like an assembly line.

Always nice to razzle dazzle the Masterji. :-D Happy workshopping!
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t! says:

July 3, 2007 at 9:40 am

@ Raj – How can you compare movies to theatre? The experiences of both are so different, like having to choose between candy and cake. Both are sweet, both are delicious, and both make you happy at different times for different reasons.

And, there are times when I need a piece of well-created cake to fill my needs; a silver-foil lined piece of barfi is glitzy on the outside, but not always as fulfilling as a well crafted, layered cake…
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oz says:

July 3, 2007 at 10:49 am

I didn’t notice Raj’s comment… well what next? Forget reading because they’ll be made into movies one day and have all the glitz and glamor that doesn’t exist in the book. It’s tragic to see if this is the thought process of the educated gentry.
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