I try to
build in lots of flexibility to my rep
plot. 11 areas (3, 5, 3 - odd shaped
stage &
thrust) plus 8 open ellipsoidals on the
FOH catwalk to use for whatever. Then 12 ellipsoidals in the alcoves that are completely flexible in their use and four
Torm positions with 3 fixtures each. I also have a rack of Source Fours ready to be hung, yet they still move something off the rep
plot. You can lead a horse to water...
@Les You can lead a whore to culture but you can't make her think. (I believe that's a Dorothy Parker quote)
I'd like to pass along a technique the Stratford Festival's lighting designers came up with in the late 1970's.
At the time the Festival had three venues;
The main
stage at the time was a
thrust wrapping around 220 degrees, I believe the Festival only wraps 180 degrees these days.
The Avon which was a
proscenium venue.
The Tom Patterson / Third
Stage which was a civic Kiwanis badminton court during the winter and the Festival's third
venue between approximately May and October.
Back to rep' plots and not adjusting shutters. If you're going to finesse shutters to work with different sets in a repertory
plot then you need to wait until the next set is on
stage before you can
send the electricians up to illuminate lamps and finesse the shutters. It's one thing to change colors and possibly exchange break-up gobos while the previous set is being struck under work lights but once you're going to permit refocusing of fixtures and finessing of shutters you've pretty much got to wait until the carps have finished erecting the incoming set.
Here's the method we came up with at Stratford in the late nineteen seventies.
This was back in the days prior to Auto
Cad and plotters. Stratford commonly drafted in D and E sizes and had one of the standard print copiers utilizing masters on translucent vellum which were carefully aligned with sheets of photo-sensitive paper then rolled through a copier housing a
fluorescent UV lamp and smelling of ammonia fumes. I believe there was a liquid involved as well but I had nothing to do with the copier other than it was located about 15' outside the main door to our electronics and audio shop where I spent much of my time.
Back to how they dealt with maximizing their repertory lighting plots.
Stratford had MANY spare
gobo holders for each type of
ellipsoidal.
Junior lighting designers invested much of their time cutting rectangles of photo-sensitive drafting paper to fit precisely in spare
gobo holders. Once the set and lighting was absolutely set in stone for a given production a crew would go in for several hours insert a photo-sensitive
gobo holder into a lamp, shine a hand-held 300
watt R-40 flood in the
ellipsoidal's
lens and hold it in place for approximately 30 seconds to effectively take a photo of the specific
fixture's shutters when correctly focused for a given set. This procedure was carried out for all
FOH fixtures in all three theaters for all productions once the positions of all sets and shutters were deemed LOCKED by all the relevant designers and directors.
Every
gobo holder complete with its photo-sensitive paper was meticulously labelled with its metal handle color coded with tape for a particular production then transported to the blue print copier out side my shop where bleary eyed junior designers would meticulously cut the photo-sensitive paper with a razor sharp Xacto knife then use the photo-sensitive paper as a
pattern to chemically etch a precisely matching
gobo from thin sheet brass using the print copier and its chemicals as part of the process. The end result was for the remainder of the season every
FOH ellipsoidal in all three venues had a pile of labelled custom etched metal gobos either laying beside it or dangling from lengths of tie-line attached to it along with a pile of colors, often split or quartered. Once all the custom etched gobos were completed, all shutters were opened wide and change-over electricians could effectively refocus the various
FOH's under work lights while
props and carps were striking the previous production and erecting the next production. Granted, producing all of the custom gobos took many hours but in the end it proved to be a major time and labor saver for the remainder of the ever lengthening season.
There you go, make of the technique what you will.
EDIT: To add additional information and credits.
Chemicals and photo-resist for etching thin copper, aluminum and brass plates initially came from a range of products intended for creating small runs of custom PC (Printed
circuit) boards and were sourced from our main electronics components supplier Electrosonic Limited in Toronto.
Gil Wechsler was the Head of Lighting Design who later went on to LX design at the New York Metropolitan Opera and gave me a deluxe personally guided tour of the Met' one time when I was sitting on Broadway for a few months with 'Buddy Holly The Musical' at Broadway's Shubert.
Michael J. Whitfield was Gil's right
hand and primary assistant who I last recall seeing at the end of constructing the 11 story, 3 below grade, Four Seasons Opera and Ballet Centre in the heart of downtown Toronto, home to both Canada's National Ballet and the COC, Canadian Opera Corporation.
Harry Frehner was the junior LX designer at the time and the person who initially did all of the etching and eventually relocated to Calgary, Alberta in western Canada. I long suspected Harry departed to
escape the intense fumes of photo-etching and breathe Alberta's fresher air.
Christopher J. Wheeler was the Festival's Electronics Technologist whose schooling and shop provided the initial photo-etching concepts and chemicals.
After the technique was a proven success and time and labor saver the majority of the etching became IA work initially under the direct control of IA 357's
Neil Dennison who I believe is still active with IA 357.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard