With the schedule you have, I would focus my attention towards the concerts. So in general we are talking about a single color
wash with atleast top and front light.
In a very
broad generalization, I would most likely take what
conventional lekos I had already with the dimmers and move those to my front light. If possible, I would shoot for at least 16 zones (four rows of four zones) with a SL and SR
fixture for a total of 32 fixtures, ideally on 16 circuits. If there is anything left, maybe a couple specials for a
conductor or soloists.
For the top light, I would consider looking into
LED strip lights. No lamping, no gelling, no dimmers....and they make great work lights for rehearsals and builds. As a bonus, they make perfect
cyc lights,
foot lights, side booms,
effect lights,
etc,
etc,
etc.....come
theatre season. Great multitaskers, and although the initial sticker can be a
bit pricey, make sure your comparing to the price of larger copper for distribution and dimming, aside from the fact that you are eliminating up to 10 other fixtures with once
purchase.
As to quality, TBH the quality that even the bargain end of "pro"
LED lines are fantastic compared to even 5 years ago. The higher end Chauvet and Elation stuff may not be as "perfect" as the new
ETC stuff, but esp in a situation where the gear is going to be taken care of and not moved around the country on a daily basis, its alright. And frankly, in an educational environment, I would rather have 10 fixtures that weren't quite perfectly color matched, over having 1 thats spot on. No
point in having toys if you don'd have enough to make good creative decisions as well. Stay away from Ali Babba and all that stuff...Get a brand name piece of gear and decent cables, and you will be fine. What kills most LEDs is lack of PM. Maintain your gear. Most people forget about fixtures unless they stop working, so with a
conventional you knew you were always atleast touching it for lamp changes. And, theres no moving parts! Make sure you get up to all your fixtures on a regular basis. Eventually, you will know your cycle depending on how dirty your space is. The last rock club I was PM for, I had monthly work calls to clean fans and filters in all the electronics back
stage. and with 5-7 shows a week in a filthy enviroment, they needed it. But in the theaters I work at, once or twice a year is generally fine. But if those fans get filthy, the lights will die. $5000 or $5, doesnt matter. Same goes for everything else. Those sensor dimmers are dust magnets. Pull your cards out and blow them out and clean your rack doors out ever now and then.
Just remember as your talking to vendors and doing your research, think about next time. Buy stuff that you may need to grow into a
bit. Yes, you may look at some strip lights and say "how can I use 24 fixtures that all need 48 channels" right now, but when you move into a better control surface, your options will get even bigger with what you already have. Esp already having a Sensor rack for your dimmers, start considering if you want to move towards
ETC for your control. (I would) Keep an eye out on used stuff to as much as you can. Places like usedlighting and the like are always trying to move over
stock of conventionals and dimmers that they are phasing out of tours, but are perfectly fine and maintained by great
road staff generally. Have you talked to the ulility companies at all yet either? Atleast in NYS there are alot of incentives for public buildings to go greener, and
stage houses are notoriously not green. Theres quite a
bit of money floating around out there that may help you go
LED as well. (try to work the
house lights in as well. They love that stuff)
Sidenote, what
theatre are we discussing? I seem to remember coming through Denver to a couple school theatres with dance tours over the years.