Celebrating the backstage language of theater in a high-tech performance space
The Voxel is an amazing black box theater and cultural tech lab in Baltimore. Our team developed a comprehensive experiential design and brand identity for the theater, including signage, murals, wayfinding, and artistic lighting.
The words behind the scenes
The Voxel Theater is also a classroom and test kitchen for QLab, the industry-standard theater tech software developed by Baltimore’s Figure 53. QLab’s behind-the-scenes technology powers Broadway shows, sporting events, and thousands of theater productions around the world.
Our design for the space turns stage cues into kinetic poetry that winds through the building. This hidden backstage language of theater is transported from the places it typically lives — tech sheets, stage managers’ headsets, and computer scripts — into the lobby and other public spaces of the theater.
In the lobby and restrooms, a hand-painted mural brings this “back of house” language to the foreground. The cues mix spoken, written, and computer languages, reflecting the interplay of people and technology in contemporary theater.
Black cast-concrete letters on black brick gives The Voxel’s signage a distinct, tactile quality. Sculptural and graceful during the day, at night the letters cast fittingly dramatic shadows across the brick facade.
Architecture becomes part of the stage
Techniques and systems inspired by stage lighting extend the theatrical experience though the lobby and onto the street. Since The Voxel is a performance space and theater tech lab, we wanted to give technical directors full control over the experience. Fully-programmable lighting in the vestibule and on the building facade along with speakers above the entryway add drama to The Voxel’s street presence. We imagined these built-in features as tools for a director to start setting the scene — even before their audience steps through the doors.
We collaborated with architects Ziger/Snead to develop a lighting approach that transforms the building after dark, the woven stainless steel screen glittering magically when lit from below.
