AV Case Study: The Round Performing Arts Theatre
The Round is a suburban performing arts centre with an AV design that’s in good shape.
26 February 2025
Text:/ Christopher Holder
Whitehorse City Council in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne knew it needed to replace its aging Whitehorse Centre, bit the bullet, and fully funded the necessary $78m investment to create a new landmark venue for its community. It’s a good-looking, state-of-the-art complex with a 626-seat Theatre, a black box Studio for 203 with retractable seating bank, large public foyer, full Function Centre, Creative Spaces and an outdoor amphitheatre to service a diverse range of stakeholders. In other words, it’s a true community centre, catering to top-level touring acts, primary school dance groups, and everything in between.
Stage is Set: There are some 43 lines of rigging over the stage with four motorised lighting bars. A good lighting spec includes 14 x ShowPro R3 compact movers for versatility (“they’re light enough such that we don’t need to remove them when a client wants to add their own movers”) and Prolights EclProfile CT Plus profiles, powered by LSC Gen VI dimmers.
ALL SQUARE
The project design team includes BKK Architects, KTA Architects, Whitehorse technical staff, and Schuler Shook theatre consultants. With a significant Australian team and decades of theatre experience in the US and elsewhere, Schuler Shook knows how to listen to a client’s needs, knows where pinch points typically exist, and knows how to keep half an eye to the future so a venue like The Round isn’t blindsided by unforeseen technical or practical demands on its facilities.
The design has all the hallmarks of a well-conceived theatre. Take a browse through its online tech spec and there’s plenty to reassure even the most demanding technical producer: 43 lines of rigging over the stage with four motorised lighting bars; a good lighting spec, including 14 x ShowPro R3 compact movers for versatility, powered by LSC Gen VI dimmers; the FOH lighting (with Prolights EclProfiles leading the charge) is easily accessed via catwalks that permit the techs to walk without stooping – always a luxury; there’s a well-spec’ed stage manager’s console; a ClearCom comms package; paging back to the dressing rooms; the loading dock has ample corridor space for straight forward bumping in/out; all backed up with a futureproof complement of Cat6, fibreoptic cabling and tielines.
For Jack Dahlqvist, Senior Consultant, Venues and Technical Services at Schuler Shook, it’s about making the experience of theatre as friction-free as possible for staff and patrons: “At Schuler Shook, we’re theatre enthusiasts with diverse experiences across different types of venues and roles. When we engage with a client, we leverage this collective knowledge while respecting the venue staff’s deep understanding of their space. We propose enhancements based on past projects and emerging trends while aligning with the venue’s unique requirements.
“Our aim is to offer infrastructure that supports future upgrades, ensuring venues remain functional and adaptable. We emphasise compatibility and avoid closed systems to facilitate easy integration and expansion, tailoring solutions to current and future needs.” Sounds wise.
d&b Array Processing provides the one-touch electronic reconfiguring of the PA when the orchestra pit or orchestra stage extension is deployed.
GIVEN A LIFT
The orchestra lift/pit is a significant part of the theatre design and has implications for the loudspeaker system. When activated, the automated system occupies the first three rows of the seating area, accommodates up to 28 musicians plus conductor, and can either sink 1400mm below the seating area or 1000mm above. It’s a fantastic feature and caters well to one of the theatre’s principal use-cases, namely musical theatre.
When The Round isn’t staging pro or amateur musical theatre productions it’s hosting predominantly amplified events – rock concerts, dance concerts, spoken presentations and the like.
Any PA in The Round would need a high degree of uniformity in the coverage, and be able to accommodate the different modes around whether the orchestra pit was in play or not.
YES TO Y SERIES
Left/right arrays of d&b Audiotechnik Y-Series handle the loudspeaker duties of The Round. Each array is six elements deep (4 x Y8, 2 x Y12), each with two flown Y Series cardioid subwoofers. d&b 40D and 20D amps provide the power and DSP. The system uses d&b’s Array Processing, which not only more precisely matches the dispersion pattern of the PA to the dimensions of the room, but also takes care of the one-touch electronic reconfiguring of the PA when the orchestra pit or orchestra stage extension is deployed – keeping FOH sound away from sensitive orchestra microphones. Thanks to the Array Processing, The Round tech team can leave the PA alone – no need for manual handling and reconfiguration. d&b 44S front fills are built flush into the stage and the stage extension. Rounding out the d&b package are 8 x d&b audiotechnik Max2 stage monitors.
Technical Supervisor, Cameron Canobie, was quick to answer the call to return to the Whitehorse precinct when The Round came back on line. Cam is an audio guy first, but has enjoyed working with the full suite of high quality lighting and vision gear that’s gone into The Round: “Y-Series has been a great choice. It is physically the right size for this venue and provides excellent tonality and control from front to back. In my measurements I’ve found only about a half dB difference from the centre of the auditorium to my mix position. This means we can mix with confidence, knowing we’re hearing what patrons are hearing, which is perfect from an audio engineering perspective. Performance-wise, it’s exceptional, and supports both the touring acts and the theatre’s needs.”
Each d&b array is six elements deep (4 x Y8, 2 x Y12), each with two flown Y Series cardioid subwoofers.
HEARING IS BELIEVING
The in-house hearing augmentation system includes a Listen Technologies system with induction loop and 24 receivers.
Jack Dahlqvist: “Often hearing augmentation is seen as a compliance add-on. Schuler Shook seeks to engage with venue teams to understand how their previous systems worked and tailor requirements based on their patrons. Elderly patrons might prefer simpler, more discreet systems like T-coil. For larger spaces, we offer RF systems with beltpacks for multiple uses like audio description and translation. For smaller rooms, we typically recommend loop systems for ease of use. In foyers, where infrared systems aren’t viable due to daylight interference, hearing loops or wi-fi systems are preferable. The goal is to provide flexible, low-latency solutions that meet diverse needs, from traditional T-coil to modern wi-fi technologies like Auracast – which I’m excited to see in action. That said, we’ve all got to be careful about latency in a live setting. Something like 30ms latency for heavily encoded/decoded audio is a deal breaker in music theatre, for example.”
The bio booth houses the lighting control (with a MA Lighting Grand MA3 Light CRV directing traffic) and streaming/switching positions alongside a chunky 20,000-lumen Panasonic PT-RQ25KE, 3-chip DLP 4K laser projector.
Mercifully, the audio mix position is in the theatre and not sequestered up and away in a booth. An Allen & Heath dLive S7000 mixing console was an obvious choice. Not only is it increasingly rider-friendly, it provides continuity for the in-house techs who were accustomed to the previous A&H iLive of the old Whitehorse Theatre. Cameron Canobie is a fan: “I love the flexibility – I can easily reconfigure the console to work in the way I want; I love the ease of patching; and I’m a fan of the processing and plug-in package.”
ROUND A WHILE
Technology moves apace and building in longevity is inevitably part good judgement and part guesswork. But The Round has given the AV design its best shot at staying fit for purpose for many years to come. d&b’s Y Series is no spring chicken but remains current and impressive thanks to Array Processing. From a structured cabling point of view, Schuler Shook makes a point of insisting on giving budget to more Cat6 and fibreoptic than the current design needs, to ensure future updates can be more easily accommodated.
“We specify top-tier, scalable products known for their ease of programming and reconfiguration,” comments Jack Dahlqvist. “Schuler Shook favours network-based systems for their flexibility and ability to grow with the venue. This includes using switches that support various transport protocols like Dante and AVB, ensuring future compatibility.
“Like I mentioned earlier, we avoid closed systems, preferring products with wide compatibility and integration options. For instance, systems like Q-SYS offer an extensive array of plugins for various technologies, allowing centralised control and flexibility.”
Looks like the City of Whitehorse will be enjoying many decades of use from The Round thanks to sound planning and investment.
The Round: theround.com.au
Schuler Shook: schulershook.com.au
Ci Group (Integrator): thecigroup.com.au
ITE (Staging & Automation): ite.net.au
NAS (d&b audiotechnik): nas.solutions
Technical Audio Group (Allen & Heath, Q-SYS): tag.com.au
Jands (Listen Technologies): listentech.com
Tech Supervisor, Cameron Canobie, at work at The Round’s Allen & Heath DLive mixing console.
RESPONSES