Lancaster Country Day School Gardner Theatre

Lancaster Country Day School is an independent, college-preparatory school for preschool through 12th grade students, approximately 80 miles west of Philadelphia. In 2017, the school hired design firms Centerbrook and Murray Associates Architects to design the new Gardner Theatre, a $13 million investment in the school’s performing arts programming. Acentech provided acoustics and audiovisual system design for this flexible, 580-seat theater.

The Gardner Theatre includes all of the amenities of a professional theatre, including a full-sized stage, fly space, orchestra pit, variable acoustics, and state-of-the-art audiovisual and lighting systems, giving students the opportunity to learn about the different elements that go into theatrical productions.

Acentech’s team collaborated with the architects and theater designers (Nextstage Design) to ensure the room acoustics would be spacious and resonant for music, yet clear and supportive for drama and other uses. The generous height, balanced proportions, and carefully angled acoustical reflectors at side walls and overhead provide acoustical support for a range of programming: from spoken word, jazz ensembles and chorus, to full symphony orchestra performances. A system of draperies allows users to vary the room’s reverberation to suit their needs, and rigged stage reflectors and curtains allow elegant changeover between drama and music performances.

Acentech’s audiovisual consultants designed systems that include speech reinforcement, performance playback, production communications, video displays, audiovisual system controls, and ADA-compliant assistive listening.

The Gardner is not only a professional-caliber resource for the 600+ students at Lancaster Country Day, it is also a beautifully-designed, collaborative resource for the wider community.