Dorothy Jemison Day Theatre
Alabama School of Fine Arts
Birmingham, Alabama
Project Type: New Construction
Seat Count: 500
Opening: April 2012
Construction Cost: $10 Million
Architect: LIVE Design Group
Theatre Consultant: Theatre Projects Group
AD Scope: Acoustics, Audio, Video
Rated one of the top High Schools in the entire country, the school constructed a 19,212-SF multi-purpose performing arts facility to support the theatre, dance and music programs. The facility is also available to many of Birmingham's art's groups that do not have a home of their own in which to perform.
The facility features a 500-seat theatre with a fully-rigged stage house and state-of-the-art performance systems (lighting, audio and video). While first and foremost a theatre, the design includes some unique elements that accommodate music without any compromise to its support of theatrical productions. This includes an acoustically transparent zone in the wall separating the stage house from the audience chamber above the proscenium. The volume above the ceiling and below the roof can be coupled to the room volume below by a simple mechanism that removes some of the ceiling elements. Adjustable acoustics panels and curtains were also provided to allow easy adjustment of the room's liveness in order to accommodate the broad range of programming and performance genres anticipated.
