The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) organised yesterday a media-guided tour at the Black Box Theatre of the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) in Nape, during which CCM Acting Head Lei Lo Heng told reporters that the new three-storey theatre, with a total area of 3,110 square metres, has been designed with a special emphasis on “practicality and functionality”.
Lei said the building space is fully utilised to hold two theatres, namely Box I and Box II, and a multi-purpose room, with a freight lift connecting to a loading and unloading area, as well as four lifting points which can be used to lift and install large pieces of theatrical scenery to a height.
According to Lei, Box I is equipped with a tension net composed of steel cables that are intersected horizontally and vertically, which can be used to meet different performance requirements with the use of ropes and grids as the position of the theatrical scenery and lighting there is not restricted, while Box II, which has been designed with floor-to-ceiling windows and can be transformed into an after-performance stage in the all-black environment, has a rigging system that can move along the rails on the ceiling, providing flexible and adjustable lifting points for performing groups to set their stage. The building also includes other supporting facilities such as a multi-functional rehearsal room, dressing rooms, an actors’ bar, makeup rooms, and a multifunctional room.
The audience areas of the two theatres are movable and can be adapted to the stage design, Lei said.
Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) Acting Head Lei Lo Heng (third from right) introduces the set-up of the new Black Box Theatre during yesterday’s guided tour for the media at one of the two theatres – Black Box I – in Nape. – Photo: Yuki Lei
