Moser Theatre
The Moser Theatre is a multipurpose space housing a studio theatre found within Wadham College. The room itself is shared between WADS (the college drama society), the badminton club, lectures and a number of other college societies. WADS manage the theatre during term, with a theatre manager being a student at Wadham.
The capacity of the theatre is about 113, and it is a relatively simple venue to work in, comparable to the BT, though due to the grid height, it is slightly more complex to work in. The theatre’s main formation is end on, however productions in thrust, in the round and also in promenade are also possible, with extra seating being built on rostra as needed.
As this space is shared there are limited times you may use the room during your show week, however these times are ample for most shows. Also when you are not in the room you must clear the space. Thankfully adjacent to the space is the Moser Theatre store which may be used by companies to store all your props, scenery and costumes. This is comparable to the BT, where due to the double bill set up you have limited time.
This store also contains a large amount of scenery and flats that may be used in the theatre. As items are hired to other venues please contact the theatre manager moser.theatre@googlemail.com as soon as possible and no later than 2 weeks prior to your show stating what you need. A full inventory is in the set hire part of the theatre’s website.
The theatre has a website at http://wads.wadham.ox.ac.uk/moser/ and a good theatre manual which is designed to help you, so please read it! This is available from the website, along with dimensions, tech specs, grid plans and manuals for the lighting board.
Lighting
The Moser has a simple grid structure of 5 bars, which limits where you can place lights. Each bar has 12 sockets on it and there are also two sockets at floor level. The theatre owns floor stands and thus some floor lighting is possible. Access to the grid is via scaffold tower, which whilst taking longer to put up and down, is quick to use once up.
The lantern collection is small but sufficient for the space. As all the lanterns were brought at the same time all the different types of lantern are the same model, which makes lighting design easy. Two minim floods provide house lights. If doing a double bill or a show in promenade you may want to consider hiring extra lanterns. There is a general rig sheet available from the website which is a design that will work for most shows, and can be used as a starting point by your LD.
The theatre has 24 channels of 2.4kW dimming, which is usually ample. There are at current no direct non-dims, though the dimmers can be configured to act as them and always hot sockets can be provided from the 13amp supply in the dimmer room. There are 3 DMX sockets located around the room, one of which is at grid level.
Lighting control can either be provided by a Zero88 Illusion 120 or a Zero88 Sirius 24. The Illusion is a computerised board and is similar to using a PC. It is different to the other boards in Oxford’s theatres, but is easy to pick up. A copy of the manual is available for download from the Moser Theatre’s website. The Illusion 120 is a DMX board and thus can control scrollers, moving lights etc. if they are brought into the venue. The Sirius 24 is an analogue 2 state memory board and is thus very simple to use, as the Illusion is normally used ask the theatre manager before your get in if you wish to use this desk.
Sound
The Moser has a 16 channel mixing desk (Spirit M8) and a MD, CD and Casette player for playback of sound effects and music. There are 2 speakers, 1 amp and 1 equaliser, although there are tie lines for up to 3 groups of speakers and amps. The M8 is capable of outputting 3 groups.
The venue has 2 dynamic microphones which may be used and there are tie lines from the stage to the top of the seating and to the control booth. However there is no further processing equipment, thus more complicated shows may wish to hire in extra processing equipment.
The sound board may be used in the control room, or if better sound control is required then it can be moved to the top of the seating. This looses 3-4 seats. In this configuration you also need a separate sound op, and the sound equipment must be moved to the dimmer room each night. If this is required this should be done at the get in.
Staging
The stage is flat on the floor at one end of the building (when in end on configuration) with the seating sloping down to the stage. There is some flooring in the store, and any flooring you use must be taped securely using dance floor tape.
Crew Structure
The crew structure for the Moser Theatre is comparable to the BT. A common example may be as follows:
Production Manager (PM)
Set Designer
Lighting Designer (LD)
Costume Designer
Stage Manager (SM)
LX Op – may be done by LD
Sound OP – only if sound is being run from the seating
Theatre Technician / Management
This is a student appointed by Wadham to look after the space. They will be present to give you an induction to the space for about the 1st hour of your in and then will be on call if there are problems. Help them to help you by being on time and providing them with as much information as possible. Remember they are a student too and have their own tutorials / shows to do.
Typical Schedule
The PM is responsible for creating a schedule both for pre-production and production week. The creation of such a schedule can really help get-ins to run to time, and mean you run into less unexpected problems later on. The schedules given below are meant to be a guide. They are the sort of time scales that have been found through experience to work well. Obviously, things vary depending on the complexity of the show, but they are a good starting point.
Pre-Production Week
Time |
Job |
| By The Bid |
|
| 3 Weeks Pre Show Week |
|
| 3 Weeks Pre Show Week |
|
| 3 Weeks Pre Show Week |
|
Production Week
This is a suggested schedule for a week run, one night or shorter runs may differ, so contact the theatre manager for advice. Some shows open on the Wednesday giving the Tuesday evening as extra set up time.
Sunday:
| 3.00 | Crew Call |
| 3.00 – 4.00 | Induction with the theatre manager Evacuation procedure Set Use of all the technical equipment |
| 4.00 | Props Call |
| 4.00 -7.00 | LX Rig & Focus Finish any set construction |
| 7.00 – 7.30 | DINNER |
| 7.30 – 9.30 | LX Plot |
| 10.30 | Tools down, you must leave by 10.30pm |
Monday:
| 9.00 | Cast and crew call outside The Moser Theatre |
| 10.30 – 1.00 | Technical Rehearsal |
| 1.00 – 2.00 | LUNCH |
| 2.00 – 5.00 | Dress Rehearsal |
| 5.00 – 6.00 | Tools down and completely clear the room. |
Tuesday – Friday:
| 6.00 | Cast and crew call | |
| 6.00 – 6.20 | Cast and Crew notes | |
| 6.20 – 6.40 | Warm-up | |
| 7.00 | HOUSE OPENS | |
| 7.30 + | Performance |
Saturday:
| 6.00 | Cast and crew call |
| 6.15 – 6.30 | Notes |
| 6.30 – 6.45 | Warm-up |
| 7.00 | HOUSE OPENS |
| 7.30 + | Performance |
| 10.00 – 11.00 | Get-out |
The Moser Theatre is a really nice small space in Oxford, it does have it’s limitations, but providing you work within these it is a nice venue to work in and can prove very versatile. Remember, as with all venues it is important here to create good schedules and stick to them, as time has a habit of disappearing very quickly. Finally, look at the theatre’s website http://wads.wadham.ox.ac.uk/moser/ if you have not already, the pages on set hire and the page for current users are the most relevant and if you have questions contact the theatre manager at moser.theatre@googlemail.com
MR
02.07.03
