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Beefing up the Bovard
The old counterweight system was demolished and replaced with BT Lite winches for hoisting lighting and scenery bars. The system is controlled by a Solo G3 handheld console and a wall-mounted touchscreen Preset Station and comprises a total of 23 winches, two variable-speed curtain machines, a handline traveller and track, and a variable-speed, 1-ton chain motor. Brandon Operchuck, director of performance venues, was closely involved with the installation of the new power flying system. ‘The Bovard Auditorium had a very tight schedule and elements of the renovation needed to stay on a strict schedule. Stage Technologies maintained the schedule with great precision and hit all targeted goals of installation. The friendly professionalism of the engineers and riggers created a great working relationship with my student staff who ultimately act as the operators of the system. They take the time to explain not just what they are doing but why.’ Since reopening with its brand new rigging system, the theatre has hosted instrumental ensembles, numerous drama productions, traditional Chinese dance and a variety of lectures. |
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Nomad takes another bow down under
Stage Technologies was contracted by Jands to provide control for the 58-axis power flying system in the 575-seat, multi-purpose venue for music, dance, and theatre. The solution comprised high-power Maxis SI control cabinets, 2 portable Nomad desks and one Solo handheld controller all with Chameleon technology, along with a wall-mounted Preset Station. The first shows to use the new cutting-edge control system took place during the Perth International Arts Festival in February and the theatre's head flyman, Boyd Midgley, was the first to try out the new automation system. 'The Nomad has an amazing interface and Chameleon is a great platform for making shows clean cut,' he says. 'The ability to move multiple bars safely and effectively is a great attribute and the result is a flyman's dream, as the movements are perfect every time. This technology enables our shows to contribute to a really versatile programme within the State Theatre Centre.' The combination of the portable Nomad 'laptop' style desk with complementary handheld Solos has proven enormously successful in venues such as London's Royal Opera House and Royal Festival Hall, and KÀ by Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. Nomads have been used in performances in over a dozen countries across the world, not including their popular use in cruise ship automation systems and in countless rental shows, and they are also used for stage control at the Melbourne Theatre Company’s Sumner Theatre and the Sydney Theatre in Walsh Bay. |
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There's no place like the London Palladium
It’s a highly-technical show, arguably the most automated production currently on the West End circuit and Stage Technologies and Delstar Engineering were chosen to design, supply and install the control elements and stage mechanics of the show. The schedule was tight with a phased installation and the pressure was on from the beginning, keeping the production team on their toes. The mechanical equipment included 18 counterweight assists, six BigTow winches for lighting ladders, two BigTows and counterweights for the Wizard’s Chamber and five BigTows for a curved cyc. The onstage performer flying scenes use two Stage Technologies lift-and-traverse rigs for the monkey flights, Dorothy’s kidnap and the various entrances and exits of the witches. Downstage of the safety curtain, a Stage Technologies front-of-house bridle is used to fly a monkey nearly 20 metres down from the dome of the Palladium. The easy-install control kit comes on long-term hire from our rental team and is a mix of newly-manufactured and off-the-shelf hire equipment. Eight plug-and-play AU:tour 6 drives are used for the bulk of the system with Illusionist and Acrobat∙G6 desk control. Three additional motor control cabinets provide special control for the lifts and revolves, including a large-capacity cabinet for the revolves and a bespoke unit for control of Dorothy’s flying house. There are a total of five revolves in the show – the inner ‘yin/yang’ lifting drum revolve, the LED-topped Yellow Brick Road, the tilting frame that the Yellow Brick Road rests on, an outer ring revolve, and the integral revolve of the flying house. Delstar specially manufactured the revolves, the showdeck steelwork, and the flying house steelwork and mechanics at their factory in Suffolk. |
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Putting skills in the right hands
Stage Technologies is a strong supporter of the National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural Skills in the UK and the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for technical theatrehave now been released. Alex Hitchcock, our training development manager, worked on the draft version of the guidelines as part of the NOS development working group that included major industry stakeholders. It is hoped that these standards will provide invaluable benchmarks against which to measure employee skills as well as a reference for training and continued professional development. In Las Vegas our general manager, Gemma Guy, and her team are offering automation workshops in conjunction with USITT and experts from other technical disciplines. The Elite Training Weekend at the Cirque du Soleil Training Center for eight lucky student technicians will take place in May. Our 2011 training programmes are devised to consider the needs of different market sectors, allowing trainees to learn core competencies in automation skills as well as techniques and methods of delivery that may need to be flexible depending on the nature of a production. For example, the operation of an arena tour and its touring requirements will be very similar (and yet very different) from the techniques and requirements of presenting a Wagnerian Opera, a play performed on a touring repertory circuit or a major pop concert tour. Look out for our next introductory courses on automation and operator programming in London with discounts for ABTT members, coming soon! Additional courses are also being run in Macau, Las Vegas and Hong Kong. For further information please contact our training department. |
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Stage Technologies recently handed over a brand-new automated rigging system and control for the Bovard Auditorium at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The Bovard Auditorium is the largest performance venue on campus and is used for musical performances, seminars, university meetings, and as a rental space for corporate events.
Home of the Black Swan and Perth Theatre companies, and located inside the $100 million State Theatre Centre, the Heath Ledger Theatre is one of Australia’s newest purpose-built theatres.
There’s been a flurry of press excitement and reviewsas the long-awaited production of The Wizard of Oz has finally arrived in the West End, thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group.
Lighting, sound and technical management have always been within the entertainment industry’s existing training frameworks but the field of automation is a relatively new arrival on the scene. Whilst there are significant skills which are shared with these existing technical disciplines, there is a growing awareness worldwide that automation calls for additional special skills. The Stage Technologies Group is active in education and training initiatives to make sure this new discipline receives recognition in its own right.