THE WOODLANDS, TX — The John Cooper School’s new performing arts center includes a main theatre, a smaller black box theatre and ETC lighting equipment. Performing arts chair Joseph DeMonico noted that the desire to “provide equipment that will allow students to train with ease later at the college level” was a factor in accepting the recommendation for ETC gear from Bill Conner Associates of Oak Park, Ill., which provide the design for the two venues.
The school selected an ETC Ion lighting console with dual touchscreen displays and ETC RFU (Remote Focus Units) to provide theatrical control of the lighting system in both the main theatre and black box venues, with ETC Sensor+ dimming, ETC Unison architectural lighting control, and ETC Source Four lighting fixtures.
“It goes without saying that ETC is preferred by many lighting designers,” said Bill Conner of Bill Conner Associates. “The school’s theatrical representative during the planning process has a substantial amount of lighting experience on many levels, including professional theater, and wanted a robust and flexible system, including automated-fixture control capability.”
“ETC sold us on their company and their product,” DeMonico added. “Their guidance was key in helping us decide which console to use.” The school introducing a Technical Theater track into the curricula in 2009, and the Ion console is expected to play a key role as students learn to program lighting cues.
In addition, 750 feet of iColor Cove MX Powercore cove lighting was installed to enhance the appearance of the house seating area in the main theatre. This is controlled by CK’s Light System Manager, which can also be triggered by the ETC Unison architectural control system.
“We love our Ion lighting console,” said DeMonico. “It is intuitive and provides immense latitude in the design and function of our lighting system. We use an Ion in both the Main Stage and our black-box venues. Our students and faculty are already very comfortable operating the system. The ETC Remote Focus Unit is also unbelievably efficient. We have only scratched the surface as to its total capabilities but it is head and shoulders over what is found in many professional venues. We are very fortunate.”
For more information, please visit www.etcconnect.com.
