The Street Theatre is Canberra’s award-winning home of live storytelling and performance, and a major investor in new theatre, music, and artists from the ACT and region. The Street Theatre commissions, develops, produces, and presents work that challenges expectation and convention, reveals untold perspectives, and talks to who we are and the world around us.
In the months leading to their purchase, they had experienced a bigger demand for LED product in their lighting rig. This demand was driven by the want to be able to respond to key moments in a performance, and being able to easily colour mix and adjust focus, allowing their operators to create lighting that could help drive a performance.
“We produced a three-month concert series early 2022, and for this series we hired in an LED lighting rig for the season,” explained James Tighe, Technical Manager. “After seeing what our lighting team were able to create with the added function of LED product, we started looking to upgrade our inventory.”
The Street Theatre, as a theatre producer, also has a commitment to sustainability in producing theatre – working more efficiently and cost effectively, in particular reducing electrical energy consumption while ensuring they engage with contemporary arts practice in lighting design.
“Being able to replace a large portion of our halogen lighting inventory with quality LED products was a driving factor in this area,” added James. “We’ve been able to remove around 30 kilowatts of power from our standard rig as we move towards a hybrid lighting model.”
James had tested other Prolights products in the venue as they look towards a complete overhaul of their lighting infrastructure and he was very impressed by the versatility and quality of the equipment, so naturally when they were looking to purchase LED pars, the VersaPar was one of the first they considered.
“The feature that ultimately placed the VersaPar over LED par product was the zoom function,” he said. “The Street Theatre creates and supports a wide range of musical and theatrical works, so we needed a precise lighting fixture that our designers could use across a range of applications. The dimming curve on the VersaPar is also a lot smoother than other products we tested, which is a great feature to have in theatrical lighting.”
James received a demo unit from Show Technology and about two hours later he had locked in an order for eight fixtures. The lamps arrived and went straight onto the bars for a new theatre work they were bumping in. The designer loved them so much by the end of bump in week, James had ordered another eight which also went straight into the design. So now they have 16 in total … so far!
“The Street Theatre produces a wide range of works from new theatre productions, to music, touring bands, and corporate events, so we needed a light that could work well in a range of applications,” remarked James. “Primarily the lights are used heavily for the live music performances we produce, allowing for more dynamic lighting to enhance the performances. However they have also been incorporated into each of the theatrical productions we have produced since we purchased the lights, complimenting what is otherwise a largely halogen rig.”
The ability to zoom was the key reason the VersaPar were selected over other LED par products, and it is a feature which has been well received by their team of designers, as it allows them to incorporate the fixture into theatrical lighting designs, where a precise and subtle lighting focus is key. The dimming curve has also been impressive according to James, especially as it is used alongside halogen lighting fixtures where LED product can often get found out. The ability to have high quality colour mixing has also been well received, and has transformed the way they are able to light performances.
“The lights have been a fantastic addition to our inventory and it’s been great to see the product being taken up so readily by our designers,” commented James. “They’ve been a strong addition to our lighting designs, and it’s been great to see how creative our lighting team can get with just a little added versatility.”
Photos
2 photos from an original theatre work we produced back in June called ‘Twenty Minutes with the Devil’ – Theatre production is our core business, and this is the first work we used the light on.
2 photos from a local Youth Circus group Warehouse Circus, and their production of ‘Elemental’ which we supported and provided a lighting design for.
3 photos of live music performances held recently, 2 from Victor Valdes, and 1 from THNDO, we provided lighting for both.
