ARTSCAPE EXTENDS ARTISTIC SCOPE
The Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town's Foreshore area is in the process of upgrading the lighting facilities of its three theatre spaces. The centre was originally established in 1971 as the Nico Malan and was renamed Artscape in 2001 under the aegis of the provincial administration.
With its close proximity to Cape Town's central business district, the new International Convention Centre and the V & A Waterfront, Artscape is ideally situated to serve the Cape's performing arts, film, tourism, entertainment, conference and exhibition industries.
Covering an area of some 14 000 square meters, the Artscape complex consists of a fully equipped Opera House, seating 1 487, a Theatre Auditorium seating 540, the smaller Arena theatre seating 140, a piazza, gardens, rehearsal rooms and ample parking.
It is a prominent feature of the Cape Town cultural scene with thousands of top acts and actors entertaining hundreds of thousands of people over the last four decades.
Towards the end of 2012 the complex received funding to upgrade the lighting rigs of the theatre spaces.
Artscape's Senior Lighting Technician, Nicholas Tilney, says there were two objectives with the upgrade: "Firstly, our Martin Mac 2000s, which were installed in 2000 and 2004, were getting old. Secondly, all three the venues at the Centre are getting busier and we needed a system with a quicker turnaround time." With more shows and with shorter runs it is essential that time spent setting up and focusing be kept to a minimum. Nicholas and the rest of the crew had a discussion and came up with a list of equipment that would cut down the time they spent focusing lights by half. "We feel we came up with a list that matched good quality with the versatility and flexibility that is essential to our multi-discipline venue" says Nicholas.
The Artscape crew's decision was to stick with Martin Professional products because of the incredible service the Mac 2000s had given over more than a decade. This meant they turned to Electrosonic SA's Robbi Nassi to guide them through the process. "Electrosonic SA was an automatic choice," says Nicholas "Their service – and that includes back-up, spares, and especially training – is superb, I can't fault them".
The upgrade was planned to take place in two phases. The first phase was the delivery and installation of 15 Martin Mac III's. The second phase included an additional 9 Mac III's and 24 Mac 700s. This does not mean the Mac 2000s are being thrown out: "After 12 years they are still great, we've given them lots of love and attention and they have given us fantastic service, and they will for a while yet" says Nicholas.
Included in phase two were 2 Robert Juliat Follow-spots. "The rig already contained a number of RJ Victor 1800 watt Follow-spots, but we're adding two RJ Lucys" said Electrosonic SA's Robbi Nassi, "they're world-renowned for their superb optics".
Artscape had previously acquired a Compulite Vector Red lighting desk and subsequently added Blue and Violet desks to control their lighting rig. "We feel there was no need to upgrade them as they are still sufficient to drive all three venues in Artscape" said Robbi.
For Nicholas the most attractive element of the Mac III is its zoom capability. "It has the widest zoom on any unit I have ever seen and is extremely useful for our venue," he explains. Another attribute Nicholas appreciates is that the shutter module that can be added to the lamp is included in the initial offering and does not have to be purchased separately. The 1500 watt output is also impressive. "No other moving head that I know of has that high a lamp rating" he says.
At the time of going to press both phases of the new rig installation had not been completed, and only a once-off concert had been presented. Nicholas is looking forward to setting up for a production with a long run. "We don't fully appreciate yet what the features can do for us. We'll learn as we go," he laughs, "We can't wait to use them to their full capacity in a full artistic environment".
Next time you're in Cape Town, make the effort to catch a production at the Artscape and experience the benefit of a state of the art lighting rig in a world class South African entertainment venue.
