Atlantic Threater Stage 2
The award-winning Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway theater founded by William H. Macy and David Mamet. In 2005, the company sought CWB Architects’ expertise in designing a new performance space on Manhattan’s West 16th Street. Intended for use as a second stage for student productions, the Stage 2 building houses additional rehearsal spaces available for rental to outside companies.
Located in a sub sub-basement sixty to seventy feet below street level, the 99-seat theater is an intimate space encased in concrete block that provides full acoustic isolation, preventing outside noise from seeping into the performance space and vice versa. A grid was installed below the 24-foot ceiling to accommodate elaborate lighting systems and the technicians who operate them. An existing loading dock and freight elevator, traces of the building’s Port Authority history, were converted into a lofty lobby and large lift that transports theater-goers down to the performance space below.
PROJECT INFO
LOCATION | Chelsea, Manhattan
SIZE | 11000 sf
YEAR COMPLETE | 2008
SCOPE | Design and construction of a new performance space within a sub sub-basement level space incorporating an existing loading dock and freight elevator.
CREDITS
PARTNER IN CHARGE | Brendan Coburn
PROJECT TEAM | Jesse Fearins
INTERIOR DESIGN | Erin Fearins
THEATER CONSULTANTS | Fisher Dachs Associates
ARCHITECT-OF-RECORD | Spector Group
MEP | AKF Engineers
CONTRACTOR | Sweet Construction Corp.
PHOTOGRAPHER | Catherine Tighe



