Rigging pipes are dead-hung on new steel beams that were threaded though the old roof trusses, with some hemp rigging from the steel for scenic pieces. “They have the capability to add a counterweight motorized system in the future; the support system is there,” says Hensley. With pipes placed 10“ apart over the entire stage, the rigging is more flexible than a pipe grid. “The pipes can slide out of the way, upstage or downstage, to hang things above them, like a chandelier or a sign or a scenic piece,” says Heuring. Grand Stage Company in Chicago provided the rigging and soft goods.

To add flexibility to the space, the theatre consultants added penetrations as cable pass-throughs. “They are like planned holes in the wall filled with fire-stop pillows, which look like pieces of a life jacket,” says Hensley. “This doesn't change the rating of the wall, so you can still run a cable through it to back stage, the loading dock, or to the catwalk system.”

Sound reinforcement is generally used in the space only for musicals such as The Snow Queen, which was performed during the winter holidays, or for special effects. “This goes hand-in-hand with the sense of intimacy, and we didn't want to have amplified voices. We do very well with just the spoken voice and are very happy with the acoustics,” says Heuring. The audio and projection gear was specified by Cline & Associates, a Chicago-based company, with Eric Seifert sub-contracted to handle the acoustics. “Fabrics and other treatments help create an acoustically warm space in a 100-year-old brick building,” adds Heuring.

The sound gear includes a generous wireless microphone package donated by Shure, which is located just north of Chicago. The remaining sound equipment, supplied by Chicago's Plus One Audio + Video, ranges from a Yamaha M7CL32 CH digital mixing console to loudspeakers by EAW, Electro-Voice, and Atlas, amplifiers by Electro-Voice and Crown, and a Tascam RW2000 cassette deck. An assisted-listening system is by Sennheiser, with the communications system by Clear-Com. Projection playback is via a Sony PLX-41 LCD projector.

“The neighborhood is glad to see that the theatre has been renovated,” says Shook. “They had watched The Biograph decline into very bad condition.” Now audiences can flock to the theatre once again and experience the new plays that Victory Gardens champions. An example of this is the final play of the 2006-2007 season, I Sailed With Magellan, which closed on July 15. “A very good show, and they used every element available to them,” says Hensley.

The set for I Sailed With Magellan was meant to mimic Lake Michigan. “We created a rock detail around the edge of the trap for the big scene at the lake,” says Heuring. “We knew that a big pool under the stage was not going to happen in terms of cost and weight, as there were other effects in the show. We couldn't shoot the entire budget on a pool.”

Instead, the 4.5'-deep pit in the stage was used to mimic swimming and floating. “We added some water from below for effect,” Heuring continues. “And we used a rig that makes it look like an actor is floating on his back and put different types of padding on the bottom of the pit so it looks like the actors are bobbing up and down. It was not our intention to fool anyone that there was water in there. The play is a memory piece, and what you remember from a day at the lake is the guy splashing water at you or spitting water at you. It turned out great.”

Next season promises more innovative productions with four world premieres — The Defiant Muse by Nicholas A. Patricca, A Big Blue Nail by Carlyle Brown, Four Places by Joel Drake Johnson, and Relatively Close by James Sherman, plus the Chicago premiere of A Park In Our House by Pulitzer Prize-winner Nilo Cruz, as well as Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen.