White Light Goes Top of the Class at Italia Conti
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Italia Conti is the leading performing arts college institution in Great Britain. Founded in 1911, it has since became a global leader in delivering a wide range of disciplines, with many of its graduates becoming household names. The college’s extremely high standards need to be reflected not only in its teachings but also its facilities. As a result, it recently decided to upgrade its Avondale Theatre space and approached WL to provide a range of new fixtures.
The Production and Stage Manager at Italia Conti is Amy Stevenson. She comments: “My role at the college is to work on the numerous productions across the academy; whether it’s a large-scale musical to a small studio drama. I also deal with the maintenance of our two in-house theatres, including the Avondale which seats 150 and is a great, versatile space. That said, it hadn’t been upgraded in a very long time and was struggling to keep up with the higher demands of the shows we were producing”.
Not only that but the lack of upgrade also proved to be extremely costly. Amy adds: “Due to the equipment we had being inadequate for the productions we were working on, this meant we were constantly hiring in equipment for each show; whether it was a desk, dimmers or moving lights. We reached the point where we knew we needed a more permanent arrangement as we knew the shows would simply continue to grow in ambition”.
As a result, Amy approached WL having worked with them before. She comments: “I had numerous discussions with our in-house lighting designer to discuss what we needed within the space. I then spoke to WL’s Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes who offered his advice as to what fixtures he believed would fulfil our needs as well as fall within out budget”.
WL’s Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes.
Jonathan explains: “I met with Amy to discuss her requirements for the new lighting system, and worked on a proposal to offer the most flexibility and value for money. I suggested the ETC ColorSource range as a high end yet affordable solution and we loaned some to Amy and the team to see how they responded within the space. We also suggested an electrical inspection to ensure that the theatre was completely safe prior to us providing any new fixtures”.
Following the electrical inspection, WL supplied brand-new distribution boards along with a new dimming system and hot power racks. They also supplied a range of ETC ColorSource Pars along with an ETC Ion console. Amy states: “We decided to invest in the ColorSource Pars after Jonathan demonstrated them and we were impressed by their output. Similarly, we decided to purchase the ETC Ion as we know this is industry standard; which is exactly what we want for our students”.
WL has now supplied the equipment and the space has been utilised for numerous end-of-year productions. Amy states: “The new fixtures have made an incredible difference; especially as we’re no longer limited to 200 cues for one show! The equipment has made the productions run much smoother and more efficiently, not to mention losing the lengths of socapex running from the desk to the dimmers has allowed for tidier cable runs. We are delighted with the new set-up and are extremely grateful to WL for being so helpful throughout”.
Jonathan adds: “A lot of colleges, such as Italia Conti, are training the next generation of theatre professionals so it’s important they have the latest technology; both for those on stage and behind-the-scenes. We have vast experience of working with organisations of all sizes, whether it’s Rose Bruford, Latymer Upper School or Kingston University. In each instance, we were able to work closely with the client to provide a solution bespoke to their needs; just as we’ve done on this occasion”.
Photos courtesy of Italia Conti.
Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru recently staged a Welsh-language version of Macbeth at Caerphilly Castle. This brand new, site-specific production ran last month and was the company’s first show to be performed in this historic ruin. Following its work on several other site-specific projects, White Light was asked to provide the lighting equipment on this production.
Macbeth was a promenade piece which took place in three internal spaces throughout the castle as well as transitioning through one external space. This meant that each space required rigs that needed to be connected to one another as they were each sharing various elements. Alongside this, the production was being broadcast live to 12 cinemas across Wales, meaning the lighting had to be suitable for recording.
After several discussions with the WL team, Joe and Joshua drew up their ideal kit list for the production. Joshua states: “We used the SGM P5s for a variety of internal and external washes. They offer great punch along with a decent colour range. The SGM G-Spots were ideal as these were waterproof, meaning they could sit on the castle battlements as they provided lighting through the windows. We also used Martin MAC Auras for the wash along with Chauvet COLORado for downlight”.
The show has now finished its run at Caerphilly Castle where it received critical acclaim.