Acoustician made sound a priority

The theater has 10 dressing rooms.
By GUY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- How acoustically perfect is Ford Family Recital Hall?
During a tour of the facility two weeks ago, a crew was laying carpet in the Flad Pavilion, creating a din. But after I walked through the doors into the theater portion, an all-encompassing hush was astonishingly obvious. You could hear a nail drop.
Sound-absorbing panels line the walls. "We worked with an acoustician," said Patricia Syak, director of the Youngstown Symphony Society, which operates the building.
The stage floor is made of hardwood to assure the purity of sound from the musical instruments. "Some instruments, like a cello, touch the floor, so we needed to use a material that resonates sound," said Syak.
The semicircular theater is paneled in wood and has light-green carpeting.
Backstage
Ford Theater has 10 dressing rooms, which can also be used by artists performing at Powers. Several of the rooms have private bathrooms.
The green room -- a large dressing area and lounge for V.I.P. performers -- has a balcony that overlooks Commerce Street.
A large storage area, equipped with a garage door and hydraulic loading dock lift, will make it easier for large touring productions coming to Powers to unload and store equipment.
A glass-enclosed alleyway runs between the buildings, creating an interesting space. Because of the enclosure, the former exterior brick wall of Powers, with a fire escape running up its side, has become an interior wall.
The Powers and Ford theaters are connected in two places: The backstage areas are united by a second-level bridge that runs through the enclosed alleyway, while the pavilion connects to Powers' grand lobby.
Pavilion
The Flad Pavilion portion of the structure is airy and light, with a high ceiling and walls made entirely of glass. A grand staircase leads to the theater balcony.
A crowning touch is the giant mobile that hangs in the space. Created by architect Gary Balog, who designed the building, and his daughter, Rachel, it represents the four notes that begin Beethoven's Fifth Symphony -- the ominous "dun-dun-dun-DAAAA." They're known as the four most famous notes in music.
A cloak room, bar area and lavatories are also in the pavilion, with the Overture restaurant behind a glass wall toward the front.