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As we start the New Year, we are pleased to recount the happenings in 2008 and what we have in store for 2009.

We’ve expanded our offices and brought in two more talents for a total staff of eight:

Bruce Veenstra joined us having spent the previous 13 years with the Tony Award winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre where he served in many capacities that gave him a rather comprehensive background for theatre consulting. For more about Bruce’s pedigree, read his bio.

Alex Senchak joined us after four years working with one of the forefathers of theatre consulting, George Izenhour. One of Alex’s responsibilities was cataloging the entirety of the famous Izenhour collection of drawings for placement in a library archive. He also has a theatre lighting background and production management experience from Lincoln Center and elsewhere.

Ben Peoples, the first one to join Adam when he established The Shalleck Collaborative in 2003, has moved back to Pittsburgh. Because he’s been integral to the practice he continues his work with us through the seamless use of technology, and will help support work we do in the East.

You can learn about the rest of us on the bios page.

In the “spreading the gospel� category, Adam published an article on theatre design in the 4^th quarter issue of the California AIA’s arcCA magazine, which you can download here. In July of ’08 Adam was part of a panel on project commissioning at the first North America Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference in New York City. In March of ’09 he’ll appear on a panel on educational performing arts facility design at the US Institute for Theatre Technology Conference in Cincinnati.

Come one, come all: For those interested in the planning of spaces for education you can also catch Adam’s one-man show in May at the 2009 AIA National Convention – a 90 minute seminar called “Performing Arts Facilities for Schools: Auditoria and What’s Behind Curtain #1 (#F83). The session will count for AIA continuing education Heath, Safety and Welfare credit.

Adam was invited to be on the VA Tech School of Architecture + Design Advisory Board. Having maintained regular contact through guest lecturing over the years, he is glad to live up to his alma mater’s motto “Ut Prosim� – That I May Serve, in helping to maintain the College’s top ranking nationally.

Project-wise, a lot has been going on this past year or so:

We’ve completed substantial improvements to the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge, CO, and the Oakland Fox Theatre opened as a popular entertainment venue managed by Another Planet. The Ocotillo Theatre in Artesia, NM was adapted from an empty box into the proscenium-style theatre, and a cabaret opened for CA Musical Theatre called the Cosmopolitan at 10^th and K in Sacramento.

We’ve got several projects under construction including the 1,800 seat Shanghai Cultural Square theatre, the Columbia Theatre renovation in Longview, WA, the new home for Freight and Salvage in Berkeley and the JPOP Cinema in San Francisco’s Japan Town.

After successful bidding, construction began on one of our most comprehensive projects: the Visual and Performing Arts Center at Folsom Lake College, which is within the Los Rios Community College District in the Sacramento area. It includes an 850-seat theatre that will serve the region as a professionally operated PAC as well as the College and District, which amended the state budget with local funds. The 90,000 sf building also includes a visual arts gallery, a 200-seat drama studio theatre, a 100-seat recital hall, rehearsal spaces for drama and music, theatre production and education shops, classrooms and administrative space. You can view images of the project on our projects page.

The second phase of the American River College, also for the Los Rios District, with a studio theatre and music education and rehearsal spaces is being built, as are theatre and education facilities at Pierce College in Puyallup, WA, and at American Canyon HS near Napa.

The University of Oregon new studio space called the Miller Theatre is complete, as well improvements to the Robinson Theatre that in the gracious words of the University Planning Associate “We already knew how amazing the (Miller) would be, but the change in the Robinson is one of those jaw dropping ‘oh my God’ experiences. It’s already being transformational for recruiting, morale etc.�

We’ve refit equipment at the Bob Boldrick Theatre in Carson City, NV, done more work at Shasta College in Redding, CA and more planning for further improvements at The Hult Center in Eugene, OR. Construction continues at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, and De Anza College’s new 400-seat multi-use theatre opened in March of ’09.

We completed a large renovation and expansion project for the theatre and broadcast departments at Modesto Jr. College and a new studio theatre for Victor Valley College.

We are nearly complete with DSA approval for the Performing Arts Center at the City College of San Francisco. For this project we joined in collaboration with Theatre Projects Consultants as part of the team headed by LMN Architects, with Tom Eliot Fisch architects and Jaffe Holden Acoustics.

We’re in design for the CA African American Museum in LA, and among the wave of master planning and feasibility studies, we have been working on the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts (formerly the Luther Burbank Center) in Santa Rosa, CA; and the city of Glenwood Springs, CO.

In the Portland area we’ve completed planning work for the Hollywood Theatre, Lewis & Clark College, and are moving forward with improvements there at the Flanagan Chapel and also to Lincoln Hall at Portland State University.

We are pleased to be finishing details for the Exploratorium relocation in San Francisco, for the historic renovation of the Merced Theatre, the Carnegie Arts Center, and Adam returns to Nanaimo, BC for a phase II multi-use studio at the Port Theatre.

Yet more schools: We’re in or nearing the end of design for Pasadena City College, Yuba College, the Red Rocks, Carmel, DeAnza, Christian Brothers, and Campbell Hall High Schools, Elmhurst Middle School, and after completing a district-wide master plan, we are in design for the first four theatres at high schools in the San Mateo UHSD.

Our AV services are booming: besides work on many of our theatres, we’ve done or are doing work for the San Jose Civic Auditorium, Network Appliance, King School of Law at UC Davis, Fairfield Arts Center, Solano College, and Mayfair Community Center, Mexican Heritage Plaza Theatre, the Memorial Stadium in Napa, Arc Pavilion at UC Davis, among others.