BY SUSANNAH PATTON Northwest Arkansas Times
In the midst of a long-range plan that will determine the best location for future facilities, Walton Arts Center officials are not turning their backs on the existing performing space: the 1,200-seat Baum Walker Hall in Fayetteville.
Terri Trotter, WAC interim president and CEO, said planning for the future does not exclude the current facility.
“Baum Walker Hall is a mainstay of those plans,” she said.
And to prove it, the center is investing more than $300,000 in backstage and technical upgrades.
“We’ve made a concentrated effort over the past 18 months to focus on the backstage and technical equipment,” Trotter said.
The most visible of the upgrades is the new stage floor, which crews are in the process of installing.
Jesse Adams, head carpenter at the Walton Arts Center, said the stage has held up fairly well considering 17 seasons of Broadway shows and dance performances. But nearly every show that has used the stage has screwed set pieces directly into the deck.
“After years of lagging into the floor, it starts to look like Swiss cheese,” he said.
All the holes make it difficult to handle the setups of some productions.
While installing a new floor, which consists of layers of plywood and fiberglass, crews are also putting in cable troughs so electrical cords no longer have to stretch across the surface of the stage but can be hidden out of site.
There is also a new orchestra pit lift to replace the lift that was installed when the performance hall was built in 1992. Three new 2000-watt spotlights were also added to the hall.
Upgrades that will immediately be noticed by patrons include the addition of five television monitors in the balcony and main lobbies. This will allow patrons who arrive late to see and hear what’s happening on stage while waiting to enter, Trotter said.
New equipment will allow concessions to sell a greater variety of beverages, she said, and computer scanners will allow patrons to purchase items with debit and credit cards.
The upgrades will support the performances at Baum Walker Hall, Trotter said, while three additional facilities are being considered for the future.
The Arts Consulting Group, which is conducting a three-phase feasibility study for the center, recommended the addition of a 2,200-seat performance hall, a 600-seat flexible space and a 100-seat black box theater to meet growing audience demand. The group is still evaluating various locations to put the new facilities, including the existing site as well as property in Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville.
Meanwhile, Fayetteville officials are negotiating a contract with Signet Development to construct a hotel, retail and commercial space, and two parking decks on city-owned land adjacent to the arts center.
Mayor Dan Coody said the city is trying to develop a plan where the Walton Arts Center could expand as it needs to “in a way that benefits both projects.”
“The Walton Arts Center is not going to go away,” Coody said. “We want to make sure the expansion happens here.”
ANDY SHUPE Northwest Arkansas Times Jesse Adams, head carpenter for the Walton Arts Center, explains the construction of the suspended surface of the stage in Baum Walker Hall during a tour of the facility Monday as work continues to replace the stage floor.
Publication:Northwest Arkansas Times; Date:Aug 5, 2008
