Sight & Sound, a Christian theatre company founded in Pennsylvania’s Amish country in the mid-1970s by Glenn and Shirley Eshelman, has been entertaining audiences and spreading the story of the Bible ever since.
Over the decades, the theatre company has accumulated a long and storied history of its own. After staging their inaugural production, The Wonder of it All, on a stage rented from Lancaster Bible College, the original Sight & Sound Auditorium opened in Ronks, PA in 1976.
A larger Sight & Sound Entertainment Centre followed, in March 1991. There, productions included The Eternal Flame, The Joys of Christmas and Noah. But in January 1997, right after the launch of a new Christmas production, The Miracle of Christmas, the theatrical company suddenly needed a miracle itself. The big new venue, not yet quite six years old, along with most of the sets and costumes, was destroyed by fire.
» Regrouping and Expanding
Regrouping in the original Sight & Sound Auditorium, now called the Living Waters Theatre, the theatre company didn’t let that major setback deter future growth. Instead, they prepared for their boldest move yet — to a new 2,069-seat venue, the Millennium Theatre, which opened with a production of Noah on Sept. 1, 1998. (The venue also served as a template of sorts for Sight & Sound’s expansion into Branson, MO in 2008).
Now ranked as one of the top tourist destinations in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County, part of the draw for Sight & Sound’s Millennium Theatre is undoubtedly the sights and sounds that can be achieved thanks to the venue itself. The Millennium Theatre features a 300-foot-long, wrap-around stage, providing performers with more than double the acting area of New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.
With the latest musical version of Noah featuring 60 live animals, 100 animatronic animals and a cast of 52 along with 11 set elements that depict the Ark’s interior, all that space gets utilized. Even with the 18,000 square foot main stage flanked by 2,000 square feet of stage space on both sides of the venue, the production’s cast makes use of the audience aisles for up-close action and impact.
» Time for an Upgrade
Unlike its ill-fated predecessor, Sight & Sound’s Millennium Theatre cruised past the six-year mark and is still going strong at age 14. Even so, with elaborate productions staged before some 800,000 visitors a year, and with new technologies promising labor-saving efficiencies, Sight & Sound figured the Millennium Theatre’s rigging and control system was due for an upgrade.
“The thought for the new system really started around four years ago,” says Sight & Sound’s Glen Broderson. “The project really started to pick up around spring of 2012.” Broderson collaborated with Sight & Sound’s Edgar Davis, and they turned to Mountain Productions, Columbus McKinnon (CM) and Motion Laboratories for a rigging solution that included new motors and control.
The theater’s old grid system was configured as one unit. Whenever maintenance was required on any part, the entire 18,000-square-foot mother grid needed to come down as one piece. The old truss grid was removed and replaced with seven rows of 115-foot truss with eight motors for each. Now, only the parts of the rig that need attention can be lowered, reducing the manpower needed for ongoing maintenance. The new system is expected to streamline the workflow required for major show changeovers as well.
Along with CM’s Lodestar D8 double-brake chain hoists (16 1-ton Model L, 48 1/2 ton Model F), the new rigging system makes use of 56 CM Prostar chain hoists. These 500 lb.-capacity motors are lighter-duty but quieter and more compact than the heavier-duty Model L and F D8s.
» An “Intelligent” System
The new rigging system isn’t all about truss, new motors and chain, notes Mountain Production’s Marty Wesstrom, who met with Broderson, Davis and others on the upgrade project. “They were looking for an ‘intelligent’ system,” he says.
That’s where the new motor control and load monitoring system from Motion Labs came in. Complete with a PLC touchscreen system interface that lets Sight & Sound staffers deploy presets programmed by the crew from Motion Labs, the venue’s riggers can raise and lower the rig with computerized precision. “With the new system, going from a 40 foot to a 30 foot trim is just a push of a few buttons,” says Sight & Sound’s Broderson.
“We visited the theater and had multiple meetings with the production staff in order to understand exactly what they needed and were looking for,” Wesstrom says. “They were very thorough and well-versed on the equipment,” he adds.
Along with the initial planning of the project, Mountain Productions played a key role coordinating and fulfilling the order, and prepping all the hoists before they arrived on site. This meant applying upper and lower hooks, installing Motion Labs’ encoders, fitting correct cable tails, setting specific limits to the hoists and preparing each chain before the hoists were delivered. “This resulted in much less work for the client once they received their system,” Wesstrom says.
Wesstrom adds that the Motion Labs’ Soft*Limit System “fit perfectly” with what the theater required, and the new rigging system was “exactly what the theater was looking for.”
Sight & Sound Millennium Theatre Rigging Gear List:
48 CM Lodestar D8 1/2 ton Model F 75’ lifts w/chain bags
3,696’ CM Stargrade 1/4” chain
16 CM Lodestar D8 1 ton Model L 75’ lifts w/chain bags
1,248’ CM Stargrade 5/16” chain
56 CM Prostar (500 lb. capacity) 75’ lifts w/chain bags
4,312’ CM Prostar chain
56 Encoders for Soft*Limit System
3 16-channel install controllers
1 8-channel install controller
1 56-channel install controller
1 PLC control box
1 230V single phase power conditioner for PLC system
1 HMI Touch Screen operating system w/15” display
56 Load*Cell encoder boxes
7 Encoder hubs
7 8-Channel Cellmate hubs (2 ton)
7 Cellmate displays, (2 ton)
56 2-Ton Load*Cells
2 8 Channel Load*Cell data boxes (truss mounted)
2 2-Ton displays
10 2-Ton Load*Cells
5,040’ P-14 fly cable
Soft*Limit System Features
Companies using Motion Labs’ Soft*Limit and Load*Cell monitoring system cite a variety of benefits, including:
• Built-in redundant e-stop circuitry with the ability to reset at the control panel
• Remote hand-held capability with e-stop and warning indicators available
• Auto stops as soft limits
• Individual or group based Encoder limits
• Lockout programming for QPO
• Remote e-stop placement
• Self leveling capability
• Ability to monitor position, movement and E-stop
