Meyer Sound News : Intiman Theater

Intiman Theater

Considered a "work in progress" by technical staff and consultants, the Intiman system received its first self-powered upgrade in mid-1999. Loudspeakers were provided by Dansound of Seattle. The UPA-1Ps are used as the main L-R house system.

Founded in 1972 in suburban Seattle, the Intiman Theater (the name means "intimate" in Swedish) resided in four different venues before coming to its current Seattle Center Playhouse location in 1987. The Playhouse was originally built as a roadshow venue for touring performances coming to the Seattle World Fair in 1962. Constructed in an astonishing 54 days and considered a temporary structure, the Playhouse housed the Seattle Repertory Theater for many years until that organization moved to a new facility only about 100 yards distant in the mid-80's. Before moving into the vacated Playhouse, Intiman enlisted help from the city to undertake a $1.2 million renovation which, among other things, reduced the seating from 895 to 424 in a more steeply raked auditorium with a modified thrust stage. The Intiman presents a six-play season from May to December, plus an annual off-subscription Christmas show.

User Comments

David Milligan, Production Manager

"Two years ago we were still using some old A-7s, which could have been here since 1962 for all I know. They were just not doing the job, particularly for our holiday gospel music show, Black Nativity, where we had a band and vocalists with mics. When we put in the UPAs, the difference was night and day. They fill the whole space beautifully. With the old system, it always felt like the sound never quite made it to your ears, you were always straining to hear."

"One of the big problems with the old system was the low level hiss and buzz, the residual noise from the amplifiers. With the UPAs, the background is dead quiet. You can fade a recorded sound right down to nothing, and everything stays clear with no noise at all."

Joe Swartz, Sound Engineer

"They put the UPAs in here about a month before I was hired as sound engineer, but I had worked here in other tech jobs and filled in on sound. The difference was amazing. The sound designers for the shows have really noticed the difference, and are extremely pleased about what they hear in this room."

"Our plan is to continue upgrading with more Meyer Self-Powered loudspeaker systems. Our next priority is replacing the old loudspeakers at the back and sides with new Meyer UPM-1P boxes, which we hope to have in for next season."

December, 2000