Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, The Otto M. Budig Theate in Ohio by GBBN Architects Inc.

Article source: GBBN Architects Inc.

A Contemporary Theater In An Historic Community Connects Audiences To The Exhilaration Of Live Performance.

The Otto M. Budig Theater, home to the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (CSC), sits on a small but tall urban site along a historic arts corridor in Over-the-Rhine, one of Cincinnati’s oldest neighborhoods.

Image Courtesy © Brad Feinknopf

• Architects: GBBN Architects Inc.
• Project: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, The Otto M. Budig Theater
• Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
• Photography: Brad Feinknopf, Mikki Schaffner, Josh Beeman
• Project team: Matthew Schottelkotte, Steven Kenat, Chad Burke, Steve Karoly, Elizabeth Schmidt, Mary Jo Minerich, Joe Schwab, Phil Babinec
• Theater Planners: Schuler Shook
• Acoustician: Kierkegaard Associates
• Structural Engineer: Schaefer
• Civil Engineer Bayer Becker: Bayer Becker

Image Courtesy © Brad Feinknopf

• MEP: Heapy Engineering
• Contractor: Messer
• Area (square meters or square foot): 24, 640
• Completion Year: 2017

Image Courtesy © Brad Feinknopf

Image Courtesy © Mikki Schaffner

CSC shows have always been intimate; now that intimacy has been further enhanced with the latest technology and a comfortable, acoustically rich house. Capacity increased from 150 to 250 seats that hug the flexible thrust stage, all within six rows of the action. This allows audiences and actors to engage and energize each other.

Thirty-eight steps, one for each of William Shakespeare’s plays, ascend to a second-floor rehearsal and event space overlooking the bustling southwest corner of Washington Park. Pedestrians who look up may catch a sneak peek of swordplay or a soliloquy. Pendant lights hanging from a deep blue ceiling suggest starlight and Elizabethan-era open-air performances.

Image Courtesy © Brad Feinknopf

Image Courtesy © Brad Feinknopf

Materials reflect CSC’s integrity and personality, with a twist: Reclaimed wood harkens back to the original Globe Theatre; embedded mirror fragments sparkle and enliven the concrete floor; fabrication marks on locally crafted rolled steel are left visible a constant reminder of Shakespeare’s richly drawn but “flawed” characters that come to life in every performance.

Expansive lobby windows reveal pre-performance buzz around the bar. The connections to a vibrant neighborhood, the intimacy of the performance space, and the use of materials in unique ways heightens the creative energy performers and patrons bring to live theater. The Cincinnati Shakespeare experience now extends from the moment you arrive through last call after the show.

Image Courtesy © Brad Feinknopf

Image Courtesy © Brad Feinknopf

Image Courtesy © Brad Feinknopf

Image Courtesy © Josh Beeman

Image Courtesy © Josh Beeman

Image Courtesy © Josh Beeman

Image Courtesy © Josh Beeman

Image Courtesy © Josh Beeman

Image Courtesy © GBBN Architects Inc.

Image Courtesy © GBBN Architects Inc.

Image Courtesy © GBBN Architects Inc.

Image Courtesy © GBBN Architects Inc.

Tags: Cincinnati, Ohio

Categories: Bar, Hall, Theater

This entry was posted on Monday, May 4th, 2020 at 9:45 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.