MELBOURNE, Australia — The Melbourne Theatre opened after 15 years of planning and a $55 million investment. Home to the Melbourne Theatre Company, the MTC Theatre houses two performance spaces, foyer areas with bars, a café and two VIP function rooms. Designed by ARM (Ashton Raggart McDougall) to appear as an array of three dimensional white cubes and rectangles set against a black background, the building includes an architectural lighting scheme that makes the most of its visual appeal at night.
Within, the theatre offers the 500+ seat Sumner Theatre and the smaller, multi-purpose Lawler Studio. Jands Pty Ltd provided the technical gear, working with project managers Major Projects Victoria and builders Bovis Lend Lease, and also subcontractors Rutledge Engineering for the audio and video and Showtrek for major elements of the stage engineering.
The brief developed by MTC staff included requirements such as a modular stage floor, an adjustable proscenium and power flying. Jands supplied all staging, lighting and audio.
Jands also manufactured and installed 64 Jands SP650 Servo high-speed 650-kilogram capacity drum hoists driven by a Stage Technologies Nomad control system. A triple Serapid motorized stage lift was also installed as well as an ETC IES dimming system.
“Jands was the sole contractor for the technical equipment for the MTC; all stage engineering, lighting, power flying and related equipment passed through their Melbourne offices,” noted Craig Gamble, theatre development manager. “Jands also managed their own subcontractors,” Gamble added, “to ensure quality and scheduling was maintained.”
Jands modeled much of its installation on solutions the company had provided for the Sydney Theatre, which stages many of the same productions as the Melbourne Theatre.
Among its other innovations, the Sumner Theatre has a single-raked seating plan without balcony with sight lines to the stage from all seats, an adjustable proscenium arch, a modular stage floor suitable for heavy loads such as heavy elevated work platforms or forklifts, an ETC IES matrix dimming system with ETC control and dressing rooms for up to 22 cast members.
Although the theatre is a traditional proscenium arch, it is not required to have a fire curtain or a drencher system. This has enabled the creation of a fully adjustable proscenium arch that can be fully closed or opened out to 16 meters wide by 9 meters high, or anywhere in between. The modular stage floor was also designed by MTC and built by Showtek to allow for traps and other under-stage activities.
The Lawler Studio, painted red instead of black, also operates as a rehearsal room or function space. For that space, Jands delivered and installed an ASM chain motor flown truss grid, dimmers and drapes.
The building features a separate dimmer room housing an ETC IES Matrix dimming system, also installed by the Jands team. ETC’s Eos and Ion lighting consoles are used for control.
For more information, please visit www.jands.com.au
