When Theatre Crafts was launched in 1967, the word “venue” had one meaning: theatre. Forty years later, “venue” encompasses retail centers, themed entertainment projects, houses of worship — pretty much anything with a touch of the theatrical. The consultants engaged in the field have found their places under the expanding umbrella concept of venue design. Ted Ohl, partner in Bronx, NY-based design/build company Pook Diemont & Ohl (PDO), laughingly recalls a moment of crisis when the firm, which celebrates its 25th anniversary next month, was just starting up. “I hung up the phone and realized that I'd called the last person I knew who ran a theatre, the last person we could do some work for.”

Pook, Diemont, & Ohl integrated and installed lifts, wagons, and overhead rigging (engineered and manufactured by JR Clancy) in the Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York.

PDO still does theatre, including new systems work for Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, which is itself nearly 40 years old. But like other consultants who started in the footlights, it has branched out into casinos, corporate projects, and megachurches. The very nature of the work is changing as theatre fans out. Bettina Buckley, the producer and chief effects coordinator of special effects design and consulting firm WOW!Works in Clermont, FL, says she has added a new role to her consultancy, which is working on the multifaceted Northland Church complex in Longwood, FL. “We're the interpreter, bringing different worlds together, trying, for example, to tell the theatrical team what the engineering group is attempting to say, or what the acousticians are trying to say. There are so many disciplines now, and so many pieces of the puzzle that need to be fit together.”

Adds Heather McAvoy, principal consultant of Landry & Bogan Theatre Consultants in Mountain View, CA, “As the technologies used in live performance become more and more varied and complex, consulting firms need more specialized knowledge in a greater variety of technological areas. Fortunately, in the Information Age, knowledge is a mouse click away and part of being a good consultant has always been and always will be about knowing where to find information quickly, as opposed to just knowing everything.”

The basic client need, Ohl says, remains the same: “They want someone to come in and solve their problem.” What is always changing, however, are the business environment and the technology and its application, and here the future is uncharted territory.

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Where the business of show business is concerned, “The typical consultant bid process and contractor relationship is kind of old school,” says Mike Cusick, president of Clifton Park, NY-based Specialized Audio-Visual Inc. (SAVI). “It's still done a lot on very large jobs. I'm seeing more design-build as the systems get more intricate and more complicated. The technology drives a lot of this: We're seeing more sophisticated intercom systems, the introduction of digital video, and so much that can be done over fiber. Owners and venue operators aren't afraid anymore to embrace design/build situations, and there's a need for a more seamless solution from sophisticated customers with high expectations.”

Finding that clientele will be part of the future. “Small construction companies are finding it tougher to stay in business. The large construction companies have made it their business, and I guess you can't blame them for it, to create contracts and insurance situations that push all liability and responsibility downhill, closer and closer to the people who are implementing the work, like ourselves. So you can't keep doing things the way you've always done them and expect to follow the market. What's key for us, and for everyone else, is spotting specialized niche opportunities that are coming up,” says Ohl, citing as one example multiple-use function rooms within large church projects. “Technology is changing substantially in the lighting and audio area, and some in our major area, rigging — but people aren't really interested in spending $100,000 on a hoist that talks to you. We have to be very quick on our feet and flexible to spot where there are needs for new products and applications.”