Seeking lighting advice for dance recitals with minimum setup

[n1ist]

I provide lighting for a handful of dance recitals in my area. The studios are for younger kids, so the emphasis is on front lighting so parents can see. Unfortunately, the hall we use (a historical building) has no permanently-installed lighting other than a few downlights over the stage (one striplight a pair of fresnels, and some 4' fluorescents...), and I have very little time for loadin and setup; for some shows as little as two hours. The floorplan is shown below; proscenium height is about 20'.

In the past, I have set up two or three 6x22 Altmans (575W) on a tripod in the box seats (green area in the diagram), and a row of LED PARs as footlights, but I feel I could use a bit more front light. I would rather not set up on the main floor area since that area is filled with additional seating.

As always, I am limited in power and money... Any ideas on how to improve my lighting? Nutcracker season is rapidly approaching.

Thanks.
/mike

 

[dbaxter]

At 63' wide, you would think you had room to add some side lighting on towers or tripods. American DJ should have some inexpensive 4 light units.

 

[seanandkate]

I'm with Dave. If you could set up a tree on each side just behind the prosc arch you will get much more light. I won't be front light, but it will look much better and much brighter at about a third of the throw distance of your fronts. You could steal power from some of the less effective lights on your 1st LX if need be. Do you have the power headroom to lamp your Altmans higher? Of can you get a higher output 575w bulb for them?

 

[Judge]

What Dave and Sean said. SIde lighting is much more effective and appropriate for dance anyway, and it will be quicker to rig as well.

 

[n1ist]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll add side lighting. My only challenge with that is that the kids enter the stage from the wings on both sides, so I need to find a good location for the tripods.

As for the lekos, I can't go above 575w as my dimmer pack is just a shoebox, with a 600w per channel limit. I may look into picking up a Source 4 to get a bit more of that light out the front of the fixture.

/mike

 

[seanandkate]

You could use base plates with a vertical pipe for the side lighting trees. They're heavy, but take up a smaller footprint.