Page 147 - Demo

It%u2019s Dust and Demolition at BrooklynA r ^ H n m y a #n v U M V I l l j V Ii i n ri v i u g %u00bb i v i vI n e i ir am a u i v I 1 1 %u00ab |l - I ^ Ai lC k a u f f U l I V f Vn a n%u25a0 iBY NANCY FLOWERSTheatergoers will benefit from more than they can see when the Brooklyn Academy opens this fall for the 1978-79 season. During these hot days of August the interior of the beautiful 1907 building is thick with the plaster dust of renovation.According to Judith Daykin, General Manager of BAM, the application of a $2,385,000 building grant will expand the facilities of the building to adapt it better to the ever-increasing cultural activities which have made the Brooklyn Academy one of the country%u2019s leading performing arts centers.The first stage of renovation, to be completed this October, includes a ventilating system for the Playhouse and the Opera House. Workmen are lifting huge ducts into place above the pierced dome of the Opera House. The two theaters have lacked ventilating systems since the original water-cooled ventilation, undoubtedly the latest thing in its own day, became inoperable many years ago.Backstage at the Playhouse, walls are torn out and floors hang suspended in mid air as the dressing rooms undergo complete redesign and modernization. As John Howlett of the Promotion Department points out, %u201c This is the first time any renovation has been done at the Academy with actors in mind.%u201d No longer with antiquated plumbing and broken plaster in the dressing rooms cause embarrassment when distinguished foreign theater companies %u2014 like London%u2019s Young Vic%u2014 play at BAM.The conversion of the former Music Hall to the full-theater Playhouse, begun in 1974, will be .completed with the installation of a counter-weighted system of files and the enlargement of the backstage area.With improved soundproofing in the Opera House and Playhouse,1 the only street sirens the audience will hear in the future will be part of the show.New lighting systems for the Opera House and the Playhouse will be computerized to allow the lighting sequences for several different shows to be %u201c stored%u201d and called up automatically, a great convenience when three different plays may be performed in a single day.All these improvements will be ready for the 1978-79 season. Only the Fourth Theater %u2014 the former home of Chelsea Theater Center %u2014 will remain dark for another year, as a two-story vertical extension is added to the building at the back. The extension won%u2019t alter the classical lines of the original building since the new floors won%u2019t be visible from street level. The space will house rehearsal halls, an %u201c inhouse%u201d canteen, and administrative offices. As Judith Daykin points out, the Academy is now a fourtheater center and more space for the activities of organization and production are urgently needed.Among other improvements that are underway is the rebuilding of the St. Felix Street entrance with a ramp for wheelchairs. Renovated restrooms will also provide facilitiesIt isn%u2019t pretty now, but with any luck, the now at BAM will produce a sounder, smootherkind of interior renovation and rehab going on structure eventually.for the handicapped. The lobby will be repainted and indirect lighting added to supplement the magnificent chandeliers.Seeing the Brooklyn Academy virtually humming with behind-thescenes activity, it%u2019s hard to believe that it was less than a year ago thatdisaster struck as a burst water main flooded the theaters and caused a million and a half dollars worth of damage. That Labor Day flood damage was repaired in record time, in part by the city and in part with money provided through a massive fund-raising appeal, sothat it was possible for BAM to present a full season. Luckily, it turned out that none of the public works funds had to be applied toward flood repairs. So as soon as the season ended, the new work started. And the new season will go on.We%u2019re celebrating theGrand Opening of the Newly RemodeledFulton Street B u r g e r Kingf o r 3 B ig%u201cW E BELIEVE IN BROOKLYN%u201d Days!CUTTING C D %u00ae Jyou're Invited s U T S b e 2 \Aug. M a t 10:30 a.m.FREE PRIZES! ^ sEvery hour on (5erf^ ucreleSratfonP we'll be& i.no rsp re ? i ^ ^ o . e d g a meaandtoys* all children distrib2 S S King lobby h o , e ^ug 24 at 10:30 a.m. %u2014 **Fr I e D R A W IN G ! r___. _____ _ rrHorinq in con * --------- email bag of ,iies > inA for *INPERSON!See The Burger King, and His Marvelous Magical Tricks, Here in Person, Aug. 24,10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.The Kids Will Love It.junction with$250 gift certificates, compieting yo^rone for a boy. P%u00ae?e%u00a3 h00i wardrobe Win children%u2019s b a ^ s e n o ^ ^ ^ Aug. 26ning nam!?r.wnurchase necessary %u25a0 %u2022 %u2022b>.!,fem.veN?oPbUeChheretow in. -------I 1U I I k %u2022 *----B R O U M -in buy we'llS S T t T i K u - b . . . . %u00ab %u2022 %u00ab * *2 9 0 j a s s s s s - _BURGERU I M AC O M E J O IN T H E F U N A T ...4 2 7 FULTON STREET in the Heart of Downtown BrooklynThursday, August 17,1978