PHOTO : DBPHOTOGRAPHICS
REOPENING GALA IN THE LORNE CARDINAL THEATRE
THE WORKSHOP
Additionally , the type of programming they offer had an impact . “ Nextfest was invented here at Theatre Network . It ’ s theatre , dance , music , video , film , everything . There ’ s 400-plus artists and 200-plus shows every year .” Previously , some of the festival was mounted at the Roxy , but they would have to use other venues as well . Now , with the multiple spaces , “ We can do the entire festival within the building , and so that was the flexibility need – to be able to move everything around in every space and share everything . That influenced a lot of our decisions .”
Peters takes Professional Lighting and Production through the spaces , which were outfitted in collaboration with Christie Lites Sales , audio consultant SoundArt ( for the Nancy Power Theatre ), and Ottawa-based lighting and theatre consultant Martin Conboy Lighting Design ( MCLD ).
In the Nancy Power Theatre , “ The grid is comprised of a catwalk system with three FOH , three on-stage positions , and a working height grid . The catwalk is 20 ft . from the deck , and
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the grid is 24 ft . from the deck . There are eight high-capacity rigging positions on stage and a trap system in the middle of the stage comprised of nine 3-ft . square plugs — nine by nine if they were all pulled .”
“ For lighting ,” he continues , “ we have an ETC ION XE console , 96 dimmers , and a hybrid of conventional and LED fixtures . We ’ re the first company in Edmonton to have the ETC Lustre 3 LED fixtures . We have Source 4 Seniors as well as some Fresnels on the conventional side , as well as ETC ColorSource LED Pars for washes and the new ColorSource Cyc fixtures for washes and ground rows . In the moving fixture department , we have Elation Fuze washes , Elation Fuze Profiles , and also some Chauvet Mavericks and Rogues .”
For audio , there ’ s an Allan & Heath Avantis console , EAW speakers , and Dante connectivity . “ So , we can easily do very complicated theatre and concerts . Our backstage and program sound and video are being run through the QSC Q-SYS system .” The theatre also boasts a pair of Panasonic 12K laser projectors .
At some point , they may look at more Dante connectivity throughout the building , Peters says : “ It ’ s set up so we can . We tried to future-proof the building , so there ’ s data everywhere between all three venues . So , in the future , that ’ s possible . But that ’ s the future – right now , the Dante system is just in the Nancy Power Theatre . It ’ s quite different than the theatre we had before the fire because it was an old movie theatre . This is more of a conventional theatre with a much higher raked audience [ floor ] and the stage on the ground .” The working height grid is a major improvement , he adds . “ I think we ’ re the only theatre in Edmonton that has such a thing . It ’ s over-designed with lots of access everywhere , lots of gateways for DMX , and lots of outlets .”
Moving on to the lower-level black box , The Lorne Cardinal Theatre , “ There ’ s a 20-ft . -high grid ,” Peters says , adding that the room is outfitted with the equipment they acquired after the fire and used in their temporary black box , rental space ; an ETC Element console and a mixture of fixtures including ETC Lustre 2 LEDs , ETC ColorSource Par LEDs , ETC ColorSource Linears , and ETC Source 4 Seniors and Juniors . “ All those lights were in The Roxy On Gateway .”
Given they ’ d already been using the gear in the rental black box , it ’ s translating perfectly to the new one . “ The space at Gateway was bigger , so we were ‘ over-teched .’ Here , it ’ s a bit different because we have a balcony , but we knew we had the gear to be as flexible as possible in this room .” In each space , there are still some gaps in terms of what ’ s been specified and what ’ s been received owing to ongoing supply chain issues , including in Lorne Cardinal , an A & H Qu Series console . “ But it will all be here by the fall ,” Peters notes .
Finally , there ’ s the rehearsal hall , a 40-seat space with minimal lighting . “ A few ColorSource pars controlled by an ETC ColorSource AV console , which I can ’ t say enough about ,” Peters says .
Meiklejohn elaborates : “ It ’ s a cool board . Scott used one on another project over Christmas to manage both lighting and audio cues for a nightly presentation at an outdoor high-end botanical space for about 40 days . It drove all the audio and lighting cues .”
“ We do have an audio console for the rehearsal room as well , and speakers ,” Peters adds , “ but there ’ s nothing permanent in that way like there is with lighting . Audio would involve rolling in speakers and a little console . But if it ’ s just playback , the AV20 can handle it , which is fantastic . On our opening weekend , we used the AV20 for lights and for playing music . It ’ s a great little board – so powerful .”
The room also has four large windows that look out over the street with front and rear projection screens that can be deployed to cover the windows and a pair of Panasonic 10K projectors that project onto those surfaces – content that can be seen both inside and from the exterior of the building .
“ The four windows are huge ,” Peters says .