LONDON — Stage Electrics supplied and installed lighting gear and also provided stage engineering for the newly-built Caryl Churchill Theatre at Royal Holloway University here.
More details from Stage Electrics (www.stage-electrics.co.uk):
Affiliated to the University of London, Royal Holloway University prides itself on its reputation for having one of the UK’s leading drama and theatre departments with an international reputation for the quality of its research in many different aspects of drama, theatre and performance studies.
The Caryl Churchill Theatre, which opens this month, replaces the University’s pre-existing 30-year old black box ‘Studio Theatre’ with a new, flexible, future-proof facility that also incorporates two large rehearsal studios, dressing rooms, a workshop and a new foyer.
Its new auditorium offers an increased seating capacity of 178 seats arranged around three sides of the auditorium and over two levels, with a third level entirely dedicated to technical operations and control.
Stage Electrics was appointed by builders Morgan Sindall to supply and install the infrastructure elements as specified by theatre consultants, Theatreplan. These include all dimming solutions, house and working lights, DMX distribution, cabling and customised facilities panels.
Theatreplan’s John Whitaker worked closely with Sean Brennan of Royal Holloway University and the Stage Electrics’ team of design and commercial manager, Mark Larcombe and technical project manager, Martin Woodage, to establish the best solutions for each element and deliver a theatre that was functional, flexible and future-proof.
Lighting Infrastructure
New dimming solutions were chosen for the production lighting in the form of two ESR24 ETC Sensor dimmer racks with 38 dual 2.5kW/3kW dimmer modules and ten dual 2.5kW/3kW non-dim modules.
“We chose the Sensor dimmers because they appear to be one of the best products on the market in terms of functionality,” says Brennan. “I had worked with them at a previous venue and was impressed by their reliability as well as the back-up and support offered by ETC. The department had been using an Ion desk for a number of years and ETC makes quality products that are industry standard, so installing Sensors seemed the most obvious route to follow.”
To handle the DMX distribution Stage Electrics installed 19” rack-mounted Swisson 10 DMX splitter and merger boxes. DMX patches have been provided to allow the use of multiple desks throughout the venue and guarantee the system’s future longevity.
Stage Electrics supplied full house lighting and working light systems, which include 12 iLight Ican 10A dimmers operated from push button control panels and touch screens located around the venue.
All customized lighting, audio and video facilities panels were manufactured in-house by Stage Electrics and labeled according to requirements at each location. In addition, architects Foster Wilson specified a precise RAL color for the panels throughout the whole building to ensure uniformity, which Stage Electrics was able to match because the company’s in-house manufacturing capabilities allows complete control of every step of the fabrication process.
Stage Engineering
Stage Electrics supplied two sections of motorised Prolyte truss to form a grid that covers the whole front-of-house roof resulting in an extremely flexible performance area. Each truss is supplied with double purchase suspension mechanisms complete with eight Loadguard chain hoists from Lift Turn Move (LTM), customized chain diversion assemblies, all rigging accessories and a cable tray located within the truss.
An IGUS Energy chain cable management system was added to the truss grid sections complete with cables and chain collecting ‘baskets’. The control system includes fixed wiring to the chain hoists, a motor control cabinet and a control pendant.
All parts and assemblies were tested in-house by Stage Electrics before installation.
Stage Electrics installed a mono rail system for rigging and hanging scenery. This consists of three customized mono rails, mounted on rollers and Loadguard chain hoists, suspended over the stage and central performing areas. The rails can be configured for end-on or lateral performances and have been designed to allow further additions in future.
Stage Electrics added a finishing touch with the provision of two curtains on Triple E curtain tracks within the main house, one behind and one opposite the retractable seating, and a further set of curtains in each of the two rehearsal studios adjacent to the main auditorium.
“We were pleased that Stage Electrics won the technical outfitting contract,” says Brennan. “We have used them for equipment purchases over the years and have always been satisfied by the level of service we have received. Stage Electrics are a large national company but they maintain a personal approach. They were communicative and helpful throughout the building and commissioning process and encouraged us to phone with any questions or concerns. There was some hard value engineering on this and I was impressed by the various options and alternatives they brought to the table.
“The college and department are extremely satisfied with the technical installation in the theatre which is neat, intuitive and functional. The Caryl Churchill Theatre has become the flagship venue within the department offering a level of flexibility and user interface that makes the building a pleasure to work in for researchers, students, academics and technicians.”
