The Purple Rose Theater

After many years on the stage and screen, Daniels decided to move back to his roots in Michigan. With that move, he wanted to start a professional theatre company in the midwest that would allow area actors, playwrights, designers, etc. the opportunity to ply their craft and hone their skills.

In 1991, Daniels bought an old bus garage in the town of Chelsea with this dream in mind, and in the fall of that year the Purple Rose Theatre opened. In 1999, a full renovation of the non-profit theatre was accomplished thanks to donation efforts, costing over two million dollars to complete.

The theatre is configured in the round with a seating capacity of 168. The sound system includes a Yamaha 01V console, four (4) Community CSX-35 speakers, Bose speakers above the stage area, four (4) Tascam 801R dual mini-disc player/recorders and a few DSP’s. There are two (2) hanging microphones above the stage area.

The Chelsea community supports several retirement communities. After the renovations, Master Electrician Gary Ciarkowski received many requests for auditory assistance equipment. He approached Advanced Lighting and Sound for a solution.

Advanced decided that a Listen system would be the ideal solution for the venue. The LT-800 Stationary Transmitter was specified for the theatre, along with ten LR-300 Digital Receivers with headsets. The transmitter resides in the sound booth, with the antenna remoted within the theatre proper. Since its installation and implementation, the Listen system has performed admirably. “I’m impressed with the system’s fidelity and reliability,” Gary said. “And our patrons couldn’t be more pleased!”

You can learn more about the Purple Rose Theatre by going to their website at: www.purplerosetheatre.org

Article written by: Greg D. Koss, Systems Integration/Engineering, Advanced Lighting & Sound, Troy, MI.