Camelot Special Events & Tents, Inc.

Setting up the chairs: Typical rental chairs are 1 ½ feet wide by 1 ½ feet long. A chair row plus a walking aisle between the chair rows should be a minimum of three feet. This will allow a 1 ½ foot walking aisle. Any less than this and it becomes difficult for your guests to move in and out of the rows of seats (especially with other guests seated). Any more than this and the seating in the room will not be maximized – even a one inch increase in the walking aisle will decrease your room's capacity by one or two rows (this is 60 to 120 chairs less in a room with four blocks of chairs that are 15 seats wide each). Supervisor's Responsibility: Once you have a drawing to work from and a crew to help, you are ready to start the chair installation. Find the center of the room and measure out a center aisle (a 6 foot aisle is a typical size). If you have a large procession (more than 2 abreast) moving up the center aisle, you may need a wider aisle. Start at the front of the ...

Designing an Optimal Chair Layout: The most important part of the chair layout is not the chairs themselves - it is the aisles. If the aisles are not planned properly, your guests will spend a lot of time waiting to get into their seats, delaying the start of the performance. Safety is always important, so the access aisles should also allow your guests to get out of the room quickly. Row Aisles: When planning the layout for an audience, it is important to allow enough room between rows of chairs for guests to enter and exit the rows before and after a lecture or performance. The absolute minimum is eighteen inches. Any less than this and you could have major problems with moving the audience in and out of the space in a timely fashion. The amount of chairs in the row should be no more than fifteen. Your guests in the center of the row will then have to walk only ten or twelve feet to get out of the row. Middle Aisles: Center Aisles, Side Aisles & Lateral Aisles The other pl...