Wadsworth Auditorium Technologies

Welcome

Please review these details before reaching out with specific questions about your performance. 

Ian Hildreth
Technical Director
CIT, SUNY Geneseo 

Booking Information

Event Setup Request

image of wadsworth aud stage

Floor Plan

floor plan

Technical Specifications

Technical Specifications

SUNY Geneseo — Venue specifications, stage dimensions, load-in procedures, and facility guidelines for production teams and visiting artists.

Welcome to the Wadsworth Auditorium technical overview page.

Use the navigation list on the right to jump directly to specific venue dimensions, rigging limits, or venue rules.

view of entrances outside wadsworth auditorium

Venue & Seating Summary

Load-In & Access

Stage & Proscenium Dimensions

Fly System, Rigging & Soft Goods

Acoustic Shell & Backstage Facilities

Critical Venue Policies

Venue & Seating Summary

Specification Detail
Total Seating Capacity 938 (Orchestra: 687 | Balcony: 256)
Box Office Phone 585-245-5873 or 1-800-525-2070
Stage Surface Suspended edge-grain pine (painted black)
Communications Production Intercom main-station (SR); up to 7 comm stations available (FOH, SR, SL, Fly Rail)

Load-In & Access

  • Location: Southwest corner of the auditorium (viewed from Visitors Circle).
  • Loading Dock: No loading dock available.
  • Door Dimensions: 4' 6" W × 6' 9" H
  • Path to Stage: Equipment must be ramped or carried up a short incline, through house aisles (2' 9" narrowest width), and lifted 3' 6" onto the stage.
  • Available Equipment: One ramp (12' L × 28" W).
  • Accessibility: Wheelchair elevator available (accommodates cases up to 5' in length).

Stage & Proscenium Dimensions

Location / Feature Measurement
Proscenium Width & Height 32' 8" W × 20' 2" H
Stage Width (Wall-to-Wall) 46' 0"
Stage Height Above House Floor 3' 7"
Grid Height 29' 0"
Plaster Line to Back Wall 30' 0" (22' 0" usable depth when Orchestra Shell is stored)
Plaster Line to Stage Edge 10' 0" (15' 6" to pit cover edge)
Removable Pit Cover Depth 5' 6"
Wing Clearance SR: 10' 0" wide (9' 0" overhead clearance)
SL: 9' 0" wide (7' 4" overhead clearance)
Orchestra Pit 13' 0" × 35' 0" (Stage overhangs pit by 7' 6". Cover stores in 5' x 5' sections)

Fly System, Rigging & Soft Goods

  • Fly System: 25 double-purchase counterweight lines (16 currently available).
  • Weight Capacity:
    • Electrics: 400 lbs max limit.
    • Regular Battens: 500 lbs max limit (due to arbor capacity).
    • Available Counterweights: 5,625 lbs total (225 weights available).
  • Battens: Average length of 40' 0".
  • House Curtain: Red velour traveler (manually operated from Stage Right).
  • Masking: 2 sets of black velour legs, 4 black velour borders.

Acoustic Shell & Backstage Facilities

Acoustic Shell

Custom shell with 7 tower sections (occupies 12' 6" × 10' 0" floor area). When not in use, towers store against the upstage wall (reduces stage depth by approx. 6'). Includes 4 overhead ceiling "clouds" hung from battens that fold vertically and fly to the grid.

Dressing Rooms

  • Stage Left: 2 rooms (Capacity: 2 people each).
  • Downstairs: 2 rooms (Capacity: 8–10 people each).
  • Amenities: All rooms feature makeup lights, mirrors, sinks, and lavatories. (Coin-operated laundromat located 1 block from the auditorium).

Critical Venue Policies

🚫 Pyrotechnics Prohibited: The use of any pyrotechnics is strictly prohibited inside Wadsworth Auditorium.

⚠️ Smoke Detector Sensitivity: The house is equipped with an extremely sensitive smoke detection system. Coordinate all fog or haze machine usage with technical staff well in advance.

 

Lighting

Lighting

System & Control

  • Control Boards: ETC Ion & ETC Express 125 (Location: Control booth at rear of balcony)
  • Dimmers: 96 Sensor Dimmers (2.4kW capacity each; circuit-per-dimmer)
  • Connectors: 20A / 250V Grounded Stage Pin

Table of Contents

Wadsworth Stage and Plot Images (click to expand)

On-Stage Electric Positions

Position Batten # Distance from Plasterline Circuits / Notes
1st Electric* #3 3′ 1″ 16 circuits, 32 connectors (some circuits repeat)
2nd Electric #8 8′ 3″ Standard position
3rd Electric* #14 13′ 10″ Standard position
4th Electric #21 19′ 1″ Standard position

*Weight Capacity Warning: 1st Electric and 3rd Electric are rigged with tandem battens for hanging instruments. Arbor capacity limits additional weight to a maximum of 400 lbs.


Other Architectural Positions

  • Front of House (FOH) Ceiling Coves: 20 circuits total
    • Center Cove: 14 circuits
    • Left Cove: 3 circuits
    • Right Cove: 3 circuits
  • Tormentor Positions: 6 circuits available Stage Right (SR) and 6 circuits Stage Left (SL)
  • Gallery Positions: 4 circuits per gallery (can be cabled to booms or battens)

Note: Venue does not have box booms or a balcony rail.


FOH Cove Dimensions

Cove Position Distance from Proscenium* Height Above Stage Floor Length
Center Cove 39′ 9″ 20′ 10″ 23′ 0″
Left Cove 45′ 3″ 20′ 10″ 7′ 0″
Right Cove 45′ 3″ 20′ 10″ 7′ 0″

*Measured diagonally at an angle from cove to stage floor at plasterline. (Coves are 26′ 6″ from proscenium when measured strictly horizontally).


Lighting Inventory & Equipment

Qty Instrument Specs / Lamp
12 Source Four Ellipsoidal (19°) 575 W
24 Source Four Ellipsoidal (26°) 575 W
4 Source Four Ellipsoidal (36°) 575 W
24 Source Four PAR 575 W (with Wide Flood Lenses)
24 Source Four PARNel 575 W
1–2 Altman Comet Followspot 360 W (1 in inventory, 2 available)

Rental Note: Additional instruments can be rented locally if required for production.

Sound Power & Stage Equipment

 

Use the links on the right to navigate directly to technical specifications for audio systems, power drops, and orchestra shell dimensions.

1. Audio System & Front of House

Note: The primary mixing station is permanently located in the balcony and cannot be relocated.

Category Equipment / Details
PA / Speaker Mains
  • Line Array: JBL VerTec VRX932LA-1 (3 cabinets per side, dead hung)
  • Subwoofers: JBL VRX918S (1 subwoofer per side)
  • Front Fills: Community V2-6 (x4)
Amplification & Processing
  • Mains & Subs Power: QSC PowerLight PL380 amps (x2 for house, x1 for subs)
  • Front Fills Power: QSC PLX 1802
  • System DSP: DBX DriveRack 260
  • Power Distro: Furman PS-8RII Power Sequencer/Distro
Consoles & Signal Distribution
  • Mixing Console: Roland M-480 V-Mixer (Balcony position)
  • Digital Stage Boxes: Roland Digital Snake S-1608 (x2)
  • Analog Snakes: 24-channel analog snake (Balcony to Stage), plus assorted analog sub-snakes
Monitors & Stage Gear
  • Electro-Voice (EV) Eliminator Wedge Monitors (x2)*
  • Assorted mic stands, XLR cables, and audio adapters
Microphones & Playback
  • Wireless: Shure QLX-D Wireless Systems (x2), Shure SLX Wireless System (x1)*
  • Wired Mics: Shure Beta 58A, Shure Beta 57A, Audio-Technica Pro Series Condensers
  • Playback: Dual CD player / Aux (3.5mm/iPod) input connection
Comms & Assistive Listening
  • Intercom: Production Intercom (PI) system with 7 beltpacks
  • Accessibility: Listen Technologies Assistive Listening System

*Note: House inventory can be augmented via external rentals upon request.

2. Power Supply

  • Company Switch: 100 A per leg, 120/208V, 3-Phase, 5-Wire with Cam-Lok connectors.
  • Location: Upstage Right (USR).
  • Protection: Equipped with dedicated house circuit breakers.

3. Orchestra Shell Specifications

A custom acoustical orchestra shell is available on-site:

  • Components: 7 interlocking tower sections.
  • In-Use Footprint: Occupies approximately 12' 6" × 10' 0" of stage floor area.
  • Storage Footprint: When stored flat against the upstage wall, it reduces total available stage depth by approximately 6' 0".
Rigging

Rigging

WADSWORTH AUDITORIUM LINESETS*

* 400 lbs. limit on electrics, 500 lbs. on other battens

**Main curtain also serves as the fire curtain; therefore, it is dead-hung in front of the valance. The fire curtain is rigged with a JR Clancy Sure-Guard system.

Lineset Distance from Plasterline Batten Info Notes
0 0'-6" Main Deadhung traveler, doubles as firecurtain
1 1'-0" Valance  
2 1'-10" Projection Screen Deadhung, motorized, front projection only
3 3'-1" 1st Electric  
4 4'-1"   !st Elec. 
5 5'-1"   Legs 1
6 6'-1" Sound Cloud 1  
7 7'-1"   2nd Elec-Movers
8 8'-4" 2nd Electric  
9 9'-1"    
10 10'-1"   3rd Elec-Wash
11 11'-1" Sound Cloud 2  
12 12'-1"    
13 13'-1"   4th Elec-Movers
14 13'-10" 3rd Electric  
15 14'-10"   Legs 2
16 16'-2" Sound Cloud 3  
17 17'-2"   5th Elec-Wash
18 19'-10"   Legs for framing projection
19 20'-6" 4th Electric  
20 22'-6"   Cyc
21 23'-1" Sound Cloud 4  
22 24'-6"    
23 25'-4" NA Unavailable: 
24 26-0" NA Unavailable: 
25   NA Unavailable: 

 

Still Need Help?

Ask CIT! 📞 (585) 245-5588 | 📧 Email | 💬 Chat | 📝 Submit a Request and we'll be happy to assist you.