The Octagon, Blount Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Montgomery, Alabama, USA

The Octagon is the smaller of the two theaters within the Carolyn Blount Theatre complex, home to the nationally acclaimed Alabama Shakespeare Festival since 1985. Carolyn Blount Theatre houses two theaters: the Festival Stage, and the Octagon. Ancillary spaces for the theaters include an actor's green room, dressing rooms, two rehearsal rooms, and prop, costume, scenery, and sound and lighting shops.

The Octagon is a flat floor flexible theater that can accommodate up to 225 seats. This auditorium can be arranged in thrust and arena formats, and can be cleared of its traditional seating for productions staged in experimental formats. It is also used for musical recitals and student theatrical productions. Seating in this space is arranged on castered telescoping risers in order to achieve flexibility in staging arrangements.

Alabama Shakespeare Festival operates year-round, producing fourteen world-class productions annually, including three works of William Shakespeare. In addition classics of the stage - works by playwrights such as Moliére, George Bernard Shaw, Anton Chekhov, Tennessee Williams, Thornton Wilder, and Eugene O'Neill - along with musicals and new works commissioned by the Festival.

Artec provided Design and Planning services covering Auditorium Design, Facility Planning, Specialized Performance Equipment Systems Design and Background Noise and Vibration Control consulting for this facility. Architect of Carolyn Blount Theatre is Blount/Pittman.