History of Filene Center@Wolf Trap Lighting Control

[dramatech]

In 1976, I worked on the Metropolitan Opera production of "Aida" (or how ever it is spelled) at the "Wolf trap farm park" in Northern Virginia. The theater had a SkKirpan system that used CRT displays. There was a permanent focus remote backstage that you could bring up the channels using a light stylus and touching that channel on the CRT. When I mentioned that I had never seen one before, The Met crew acted like I was from Mars, and that there were many of them on Broadway. For the time it appeared to be just about the most advanced system I had ever seen. The theater burned down a few years later and when rebuilt, It used a totally different system. ( I don't remember what it was).

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by dramatech

...The theater had a Skirpan system that used CRT displays. There was a permanent focus remote backstage that you could bring up the channels using a light stylus and touching that channel on the CRT. When I mentioned that I had never seen one before, The Met crew acted like I was from Mars, and that there were many of them on Broadway. ...

I hope it will make you feel better, 32 years later, that you were in the right and "the Met crew" was wrong. You saw the only major, and highest profile, installation of the Skirpan AutoCue system. I don't think it was ever used on a Broadway show, as only a few were ever built or sold, though they were advertised heavily in the trade mags at the time. When Filene Center was rebuilt after the 1982 fire, a Strand-Century Light Palette was installed.

[soundlight]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

When Filene Center was rebuilt after the 1982 fire, a Strand-Century Light Palette was installed.

And now houses a networked, full-size GMA.

Article here.

They had been renting GMAs for the past year or two from the company that I work for now if the need a console with the power of the GMA.

[derekleffew]

Okay, since it was brought up. Some guessing/speculation involved.

1971- opens with Ward-Leonard 10 scene preset console
1973?-Thorn/Kliegl Q-File
1975-Skirpan AutoCue installed
1982-building destroyed by fire
1985-Filene Center II opens with Strand Light Palette II/III?
1992?-ETC Obsession installed
2008-MA Lighting grandMA installed

[soundlight]

If any sound people happen through here, the Filene Center has a Digico SD7. Lighting and sound upgrades were made at basically the same time.

[VeeDubTDI]

Excellent thread! I live about 15 minutes from Wolf Trap, so this is cool info. I went on their backstage tour a few years ago, which included the follow spot booth and a quick peek of the backstage part of the lighting system (not FOH, unfortunately).

[dramatech]

At the time that they had the Skirpan lighting board, they had two Malachie sound boards, One mixed the under roof sound and the other one mixed the back lawn sound. The main audioman was a personal friend and and got me on work calls a few times. My spelling of Malachie might be way off, as I only heard the name and never saw it spelled out. I personally had never heard of it, but at that time Theater was not my main job, just an occasional gig.

[SteveB]

The Skirpan Auto-Cue was copied by Electronics Diversified, who branded it as the LS-8.

It was this console that was used on Broadway on A Chorus Line. I believe this was the only show that used the LS8, as EDI was promptly sued by Skirpan, with EDI losing, thus the LS-8 was taken off the market.

That pretty much opend a big door for Strand and the Multi-Q became a big hit. beoing followed in '79 by Light Palette.

Steve B.

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by SteveB

... The Skirpan Auto-Cue was copied by Electronics Diversified, who branded it as the LS-8. ...

This is contradictory to Gordon Pearlman's account of the the evolution of the LS-8, as it appears in Linda Essig's book, The Speed of Light; as well as on this neato PDF poster. (Ten points to the first who can identify the CB member. ALL employees of ETC, other lighting manufacturers, and SteveB, are ineligible.)

[beltsvillecrucib]

Somewhere after 92, however, they must have tossed the Obsessions and got a trio of 550i's. The last time I was there was probably 2004 and they still had them. Must have just recently switched over to the MA. Does their rep now have movers? Last time I was there it was all conventional with some scrollers on the high sides and booms.