Return-Path: X-Processed-By: Virex 7 on prxy.net X-Real-To: stagecraftlist [at] theatrical.net Received: by prxy.net (CommuniGate Pro PIPE 4.2.6) with PIPE id 4988257; Fri, 12 Nov 2004 03:01:15 -0800 X-ListServer: CommuniGate Pro LIST 4.2.6 List-Unsubscribe: List-ID: Message-ID: From: "Stagecraft" Sender: "Stagecraft" To: "Stagecraft" Precedence: list Subject: Stagecraft Digest #193 Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 03:00:53 -0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Disposition: inline X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.1 (2004-10-22) on prxy.net X-Spam-Status: No, score=-5.0 required=5.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.1 X-Spam-Level: X-TFF-CGPSA-Version: 1.4f2 X-prxy-Spam-Filter: Scanned For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- Stagecraft Digest, Issue #193 1. Re: The magic by "Hall, Delbert L." 2. Re: Yoke Bolts and Pan Bolts [now gel frames] by Cosmo Catalano 3. Re: The magic by "LES LIND" 4. Re: What's that light? by Steve Larson 5. Re: What's that light? by Mark O'Brien 6. Re: What's that light? by "Jeffrey E. Salzberg" 7. Re: The magic by Pat Kight 8. Re: Audio operation in the audience space (was 10 biggest mistakes) by David Marks 9. RE What light by Tom Grabowski 10. Re: RE What light by Mark O'Brien 11. Re: What's that light? by Noah Price 12. Re: RE What light by Noah Price 13. Re: RE What light by Noah Price 14. Re: The magic by "Scott Boyle" 15. Re: The magic by "Tony Deeming" 16. Re: RE What light by Mark O'Brien 17. scenic painting by Jerrard 18. Re: What's that light? by Richard Niederberg 19. Project management software by "Jared Fortney" 20. Re: Safetied gel frames (was: Yoke Bolts and Pan Bolts) by "Michael Finney" 21. Re: The magic by Pat Kight 22. Re: RE What light by "Michael Eddy" 23. Re: What's that light? by "Michael Eddy" 24. Black Box Seating by Mark Engler 25. Re: What's that light? by "Frank E. Merrill" 26. Re: The magic/ the dilemma by Shawn Palmer 27. Re: What's that light? by Richard Niederberg 28. Errata concerning Parellipspheres by "Frank E. Merrill" 29. Re: What's that light? by Richard Niederberg 30. Re: 10 biggest mistakes by FrankWood95 [at] aol.com 31. Re: Errata concerning Parellipspheres by Richard Niederberg 32. Re: Audio operation in the audience space (was 10 biggest mistakes) by FrankWood95 [at] aol.com 33. Re: Audio operation in the audience space (was 10 biggest mistakes) by "Paul Schreiner" 34. Re: What's that light? by "Occy Occy" 35. Re: The magic by "Waxler, Steve (waxlers)" 36. Re: RE What light by Noah Price 37. Re: Safetied gel frames (was: Yoke Bolts and Pan Bolts) by "Mike Rock" 38. Re: Kristi's "The Magic" by Brendan Quigley 39. Re: The magic by "Mike Rock" 40. Re: Project management software by gregg hillmar 41. Re: Kristi's "The Magic" by Wood Chip-P26398 42. Polite request by "Tony Deeming" 43. Re: Kristi's "The Magic" by "Tony Deeming" 44. Re: Polite request by David Marks 45. Re: RE What light by "Michael S. Eddy" 46. Re: Polite request by "Tony" 47. Re: RE What light by Richard Niederberg 48. Re: RE What light by "Steven J. Backus" 49. Re: Magic of Light by "Paul Guncheon" 50. Re: What's that light? by Brian Aldous 51. Re: Project management software by b d 52. Re: Project management software by Charlie Richmond 53. Re: Magic of Light by Richard Niederberg 54. Re: theatrical architecture by Richard Niederberg 55. Rigging System Standards by "James, Brian" 56. Re: Rigging System Standards by Greg Persinger 57. Re: Rigging System Standards by "James, Brian" 58. Re: Rigging System Standards by Greg Persinger *** Please update the subject line of your reply to use the subject *** line of the message you are replying to! Please only reply to *** one message subject in each reply. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: RE: The magic Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 07:35:38 -0500 Message-ID: From: "Hall, Delbert L." I have long enjoyed Kristi's posts to the list, that thought that was = very level headed and without a doubt an outstanding technician. Now I = know that she is also a great mom (the best compliment of all). Thanks = for the great post. The bad thing about this post is now I want to come see this show. On another subject... has anyone in the Cleveland area seem the new = Disney musical ON THE RECOND that opened there on Tuesday? My daughter = (17 years old) wants to see it and I am looking for a review. Thanks. -Delbert Delbert L. Hall, President Hall Associates, Inc. Phone: 423-773-HALL Web: www.flyingfx.com =20 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.786 / Virus Database: 532 - Release Date: 10/29/2004 =20 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 08:22:16 -0500 From: Cosmo Catalano Subject: Re: Yoke Bolts and Pan Bolts [now gel frames] In-reply-to: Message-id: References: Doesn't anyone use Fiberframes or some similar product? We use them exclusively and they seem to hold up well. Don't know how they would do on 5 and 10 degree Source 4s, as they can warp with heat in the larger sizes. I do know it's almost impossible to stick them into the deck, no matter how hard you throw them. They are not suitable for scoops, striplights, etc which need their frames secured in high traffic areas if the units don't have a positive clip. Nice story Kristi. Theatre is an amazing thing. Cosmo ------------------------------ Message-Id: Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 08:46:10 -0500 From: "LES LIND" Subject: Re: The magic Kristi, (snif) I hope you won't mind that I share your post with my production staff. (snif) Les Les Lind, TD NHS Dramatics Northeastern High School Manchester, PA >>> MissWisc [at] aol.com 11/11/04 1:33:09 AM >>> For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- Tonight, I took my son to see Big River at the Weidner Center in Green Bay, WI. For those not familiar with this production, it's completely signed in ASL (thanks to Linda Bove of Sesame Street fame) as well as spoken/sung. I saw it in Dallas last summer from the nose bleed section and was hoping to get closer seats this time to see more of the action. Mission accomplished. My son, not being well versed in pre- civil war US history, Mark Twain's literature, nor deaf culture, spent the ride up telling me that "by the looks of the picture, he's a hillbilly since they dress that way and wear that kind of hat." (I didn't have the heart to tell him that his own Gilley heritage is exactly that - right down to the moonshine.) And he was moping because I wasn't taking him to the design session for his Lego League team. We get to our seats and he asks, "What's this all about?" I tell him, "Just watch!" thinking that if he doesn't understand the storyline, at least he can enjoy the singing and the cool set and costumes. About 15 minutes into the show I glance over and he's deep into the action, laughing at Huck's dad and his shadow. He oohs and aahs over how the set adapts to different scenes. He starts tapping his foot, then bouncing in his seat in time to the music. Then comes the scene that tears my heart out - Jim telling about his daughter and how he realized that she'd lost her hearing. When I first read the book of Huck Finn, I cried at that part. I cried tonight too. My son noticed and gave me a little hug and whispered "It's only pretend!" By intermission he's telling me how "AWESOME" it is and how he's so glad I didn't take him to Lego league tonight but took him to the theatre instead and can we go see King & I or Les Miz when they come later this season and and and... Act 2 has a scene where the entire cast is onstage singing and signing "I've been searching in the darkness for so long, I am waiting for the light to shine!" crescendoing to triple forte loudness. Then suddenly all sound stops but the actors continue to sign. It's an amazing sight to see and "hear". For a few moments you "understand" what it's like to be deaf. After coming home from Dallas this summer, I told dozens of people what that moment felt like for me in the audience. Tonight my son leaned over just as the sound started up again and whispered "cool!" In that second I realized that he "gets" theatre. All the way home he talked about the charactors, how he was angry when the slaves where sold, what happens to someone who gets tarred and feathered, where can he get the book, how did I know he'd love the show, how did they make the coffin work, how do people learn to talk with their hands like that and so on. My friends - it's for moments like this that we do our art. Please, the next time you're faced with an egomaniacal director, apathetic administration, set piece that won't fit through the door, costume ruined by the dry cleaners, or whatever.... PLEASE remember that through stagecraft we are able to make MAGIC happen in the hearts of your audience. To give them that incredible feeling of being part of the action. To share strong emotions with a room of strangers. To experience something and be forever changed by it. Wow. I just tucked in one very tired 10 year old with a huge smile on his face. If someone on this list has connections with Big River (and I'd bet there is!) please pass this on as a letter of thanks from a greatful mom, drama teacher and theatre lover. Kristi R-C ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 08:45:17 -0500 Subject: Re: What's that light? From: Steve Larson Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Possibly EC, how about Ariel Davis? EC bought them out, I believe. You might need an exorcist to work with them. Steve on 11/10/04 9:54 PM, Noah Price at stagecraft-web [at] theprices.net wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > I'm working on the lighting portion of a school theater renovation. As > an intermediate step, I'm trying to get as much of their equipment > working as possible for a near term show. Much of it is Altman or > Century or similar familiar instruments, but one I can't identify. The > school has it in both an elipsoidal version and a fresnel version... I > put pictures on the gallery site. Can anyone tell me the manufacturer > and model? And better yet, point me to specs (beam/field angle, etc)? > > > > Thanks! > > Noah > > > ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <24428394-33EB-11D9-96F1-000393897332 [at] email.arizona.edu> Cc: marko [at] email.arizona.edu (Mark O'Brien) From: Mark O'Brien Subject: Re: What's that light? Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 07:08:20 -0700 Richard, Tell us what you really think Mark O'Brien Opera Technical Director University of Arizona, School of Music Tucson, AZ 520/621-7025 520/591-1803 Mobile On Nov 10, 2004, at 11:27 PM, Richard Niederberg wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > > --------------------------------------------------- > > Dear Noah, > Send that Electro Controls fixture back to Salt Lake City, > freight collect, ASAP. There is no cost-effective way to deal with it, > long term. I had to design multiple repertory light plots utilizing > about > 50 of these Paralipspheres in various states of repair and about 60 of > their equally inefficient and hard to maintain EC cousins for the > Garden > Theatre Festival at the Gallery Theatre in Los Angeles about 30 through > 25 years ago. You do not want to even hear about bulb > life/breakage/warped reflectors/et cetera. Trust me on this. Even a > Century Diecast Leko is superior. > /s/ Richard > >> Can anyone tell me the manufacturer and model? >> And better yet, point me to specs (beam/field angle, >> etc)? >> >> >> >> Thanks! >> >> Noah > > ________________________________________________________________ > Juno Platinum $9.95. Juno SpeedBand $14.95. > Sign up for Juno Today at http://www.juno.com! > Look for special offers at Best Buy stores. ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "Jeffrey E. Salzberg" Subject: RE: What's that light? Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 09:18:13 -0500 Message-ID: <000501c4c7f9$6c1f9610$6701a8c0 [at] Dell> In-reply-to: > > 25 years ago. You do not want to even hear about bulb > > life/breakage/warped reflectors/et cetera. You left out "weight". ------------------------------ Message-ID: <4193866A.7040404 [at] peak.org> Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 07:34:02 -0800 From: Pat Kight Subject: Re: The magic References:

In-Reply-To: Tony Deeming wrote: > That's one nail well and truly hammered on the head! > It's not always something that can be said about all performances, either by > the talent or from our tech side, but when it does, it sure means a lot. You might be surprised, though. When I'm not working a show at our community theater, I usher. And I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone coming out of the theater say they'd never been to a live play before, and were blown away by it. Regardless of whether it's one of our best productions, acting or tech-wise (and when you do 10 shows a year in an all-volunteer setting, believe me, there are some clunkers.) Even better is when I see that same person at to the next production, with a friend in tow. And best yet if they're kids or teenagers. What we do *is* magic, even when it's not perfect magic. There's something about the intimacy and immediacy of live performance that reaches even people jaded from a lifetime of big-budget Hollywood special effects. Thanks, Kristi, for the first-hand reminder. -- Pat Kight Albany (Ore.) Civic Theater kightp [at] peak.org ------------------------------ Message-ID: <4193886C.9060603 [at] davidmarks.cc> Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 10:42:36 -0500 From: David Marks Subject: Re: Audio operation in the audience space (was 10 biggest mistakes) References: Andy Leviss wrote: >And, on the "by the numbers" thing, there's still that certain thing >that only experience can teach you that prevents just any old person >from effectively running a sound design, in my book. Doing a nice clean >logarithmic fade, for example, isn't something easily taught; it's >something either you can do naturally or that comes to you with >experience. > BRAVO!!!! Nicely stated. Dave Marks, sound guy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 10:05:21 -0600 From: Tom Grabowski Subject: RE What light Message-id: <001d01c4c808$3f450d00$423c7181 [at] TGRABOWSKI> From: Noah Price Subject: What's that light? You have the pleasure of dealing with a ellipsiadal for Major Control Products. I had the pleasure 4 years ago of finally trashing an entire theatre's worth of Major fixtures as part of a renovation. I have a = catalog page from a 1981 catalog that I will forward to you in a separate = message. They do sort of throw light out the front end but it wasn't pretty. ************ Tom Grabowski University of Texas-Pan American Designer/Technical Director Communication Department Tomgrab [at] panam.edu Edinburg, Texas 78539 956/381-3588 FAX 956/318-2187 ---------------------------------------- My Inbox is protected by SPAMfighter 1445 spam mails have been blocked so far. Download free www.spamfighter.com today! ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <13CEADEA-33FC-11D9-96F1-000393897332 [at] email.arizona.edu> Cc: marko [at] email.arizona.edu (Mark O'Brien) From: Mark O'Brien Subject: Re: RE What light Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 09:09:34 -0700 What? not even an EC? Perhaps it was designed by an engineer FIRED from EC. Mark O'Brien Opera Technical Director University of Arizona, School of Music Tucson, AZ 520/621-7025 520/591-1803 Mobile On Nov 11, 2004, at 9:05 AM, Tom Grabowski wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > > --------------------------------------------------- > > From: Noah Price > Subject: What's that light? > > You have the pleasure of dealing with a ellipsiadal for Major Control > Products. I had the pleasure 4 years ago of finally trashing an entire > theatre's worth of Major fixtures as part of a renovation. I have a > catalog > page from a 1981 catalog that I will forward to you in a separate > message. > They do sort of throw light out the front end but it wasn't pretty. > > ************ > Tom Grabowski University of Texas-Pan American > Designer/Technical Director Communication Department > Tomgrab [at] panam.edu Edinburg, Texas 78539 > 956/381-3588 FAX 956/318-2187 > > ---------------------------------------- > My Inbox is protected by SPAMfighter > 1445 spam mails have been blocked so far. > Download free www.spamfighter.com today! > ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <5D7E8F9A-33FC-11D9-93C0-000A958ABBF8 [at] theprices.net> From: Noah Price Subject: Re: What's that light? Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 08:11:37 -0800 On Nov 10, 2004, at 10:27 PM, Richard Niederberg wrote: > Send that Electro Controls fixture back to Salt Lake City, > freight collect, ASAP. There is no cost-effective way to deal with it, > long term. I hadn't planned to go to the trouble of shipping them back, but I do plan to replace them :-) I'm just figuring out how well I can get light on the stage for some small shows they're doing in the fall... before the spring musical I plan to steer them into a dumpster! Thanks, Noah ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: From: Noah Price Subject: Re: RE What light Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 08:36:04 -0800 On Nov 11, 2004, at 8:05 AM, Tom Grabowski wrote: > You have the pleasure of dealing with a ellipsiadal for Major Control > Products. Thanks Tom, I knew someone would get to the bottom of this. It's no mystery they hide their identity :-) > I had the pleasure 4 years ago of finally trashing an entire > theatre's worth of Major fixtures as part of a renovation. I have a > catalog > page from a 1981 catalog that I will forward to you in a separate > message. Thanks! I'll add this to the gallery to end the mystery. > They do sort of throw light out the front end but it wasn't pretty. That's kinda what I was afraid of... Any idea how wide a blob of light I might hope to get from one? (e.g., the angle, or "kinda like a 6x9" or some similar estimate?) Thanks! Noah ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: <5992524A-3400-11D9-93C0-000A958ABBF8 [at] theprices.net> From: Noah Price Subject: Re: RE What light Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 08:40:09 -0800 On Nov 11, 2004, at 8:09 AM, Mark O'Brien wrote: > What? > > not even an EC? Perhaps it was designed by an engineer FIRED from EC. The only real reference I could find through Google was: Translated with , it only said: "Major was established in 1916, was one of oldest theater lighting system manufacturers." According to the same page, they had a year head start on Strand :-) Noah ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "Scott Boyle" Subject: RE: The magic Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 10:48:27 -0600 Organization: Carroll College Message-ID: <000001c4c80e$44ab4970$73db688c [at] cc.edu> In-Reply-To: Pat wrote: >>Even better is when I see that same person at to the next production, with a friend in tow. And best yet if they're kids or teenagers. What we do *is* magic, even when it's not perfect magic. There's something about the intimacy and immediacy of live performance that reaches even people jaded from a lifetime of big-budget Hollywood special effects.<< Several years ago while I was working at my first summer stock, I frequented the one lumber yard in town for our supplies. After several weeks dealing with the same clerk, and buying what seemed to him a lot of very illogical supplies he finally asked what I was doing with all of this stuff. I told him I was working for the theatre - he didn't even know there was one in town. So, I offered him some comps and told him to go and have a good time. The next week he was asking me all sorts of questions about this and that about the show. He bought tickets to the next show and the next season he was at every production of the season. He said he and his wife thought it was great fun. I don't know if he continued after I left, but for a while anyway we had another convert. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <00f401c4c80f$ecc9cf90$82a72ad9 [at] Tony> From: "Tony Deeming" Cc: smboyle [at] cc.edu References: Subject: Re: The magic Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 17:00:16 -0000 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Boyle" > Several years ago while I was working at my first summer stock, I > frequented the one lumber yard in town for our supplies. After several > weeks dealing with the same clerk, and buying what seemed to him a lot > of very illogical supplies he finally asked what I was doing with all of > this stuff. I told him I was working for the theatre - he didn't even > know there was one in town. So, I offered him some comps and told him > to go and have a good time. The next week he was asking me all sorts of > questions about this and that about the show. He bought tickets to the > next show and the next season he was at every production of the season. > He said he and his wife thought it was great fun. I don't know if he > continued after I left, but for a while anyway we had another convert. > > One of the biggest irritations I find with our town is the regular comment from members of the public - "Oh! I didn't know we had a theatre! And I've lived here all me life!!" We've had a theatre here since 1969, and whilst the marketing hasn't always been ideal, it's been there! Aargh! You can take a horse.... etc! 8-(( Ynot ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: Cc: marko [at] email.arizona.edu (Mark O'Brien) From: Mark O'Brien Subject: Re: RE What light Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 10:04:49 -0700 Noah, I get a 404 when I look for the pdf Mark O'Brien Opera Technical Director University of Arizona, School of Music Tucson, AZ 520/621-7025 520/591-1803 Mobile On Nov 11, 2004, at 9:36 AM, Noah Price wrote: > Thanks! I'll add this to the gallery to end the mystery. > > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 12:11:04 -0500 Subject: scenic painting From: Jerrard Message-Id: Greetings from someone new to the list. I am teaching a course in scenic painting next semester and am planning to assemble a kit of brushes for the students to purchase. I would love to know your thoughts on favourite brushes, manufacturers and suppliers (Canadian sources are particularly helpful). best, Jerrard Smith Drama University of Guelph jerrard [at] uoguelph.ca ------------------------------ Cc: stagecraft [at] jeffsalzberg.com Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 09:10:31 -0800 Subject: Re: What's that light? Message-ID: <20041111.091325.1068.1.ladesigners [at] juno.com> From: Richard Niederberg Yea, weight, too! Interestingly, with a dichotic reflectors and enough bulb clearance, somebody like ETC could have 'rescued' the design...Nope! /s/ Richard > > > 25 years ago. You do not want to even hear about bulb > > > life/breakage/warped reflectors/et cetera. > > You left out "weight". ________________________________________________________________ Juno Platinum $9.95. Juno SpeedBand $14.95. Sign up for Juno Today at http://www.juno.com! Look for special offers at Best Buy stores. ------------------------------ From: "Jared Fortney" Subject: Project management software Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 12:16:02 -0500 In-Reply-To: Message-Id: <20041111171514.PHS3360.gx6.fuse.net [at] jaredcomp> Has anyone tried using (or is using) a project management program to track production progress? I am beginning to evaluate Microsoft Project as a tool for planning and tracking a show's progress through our shop. I'd be interested in hearing about other's experience with MS Project or alternatives that people have found and liked. Thanks for any input. Jared Fortney UC/CCM ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Safetied gel frames (was: Yoke Bolts and Pan Bolts) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 09:36:59 -0800 Message-ID: From: "Michael Finney" Date: On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 "Mike Rock" wrote: <> YIKES - that's pretty scary...but, unfortunately not as uncommon as we'd wish. Care to name the park? Purely for entertainment purposes, of course! Generally speaking these days, the "risk management" department in major park systems will require safeties on any accessory as part of the General Performance Specifications issued to vendors and installers - the trick is making sure that the *operators* leave them on. (gee, can you tell I've had some unpleasant return visits to parks I've been involved in designing and building?) There's actually a reasonable rational for safeties on the accessories in this case. In order to maintain some kind of consistency throughout a park (or system), it's considered best that only a *single* Performance/Fabrication spec be used. And fixtures installed inside or adjacent to ride systems are typically subject to quite a bit of vibration (and other environmental abuse). As a result, it's not unheard of for fixtures (no matter how robust or well installed) to suffer from various kinds of failure that you wouldn't see in a regular theatre environment...some of which can result in the fixture ending up in attitudes and positions that *could* result in all sorts of bits coming off. Pesky gravity. In addition, many parks have the annoying habit of doing all of the maintenance on a facility at the same time - which can mean the ride mechanics working under the lighting crew at the same time the cleaners are powerwashing the walls. As you can imagine, the possibility for "dropped items" goes up in that environment. Not a practice any of us would probably recommend, but one that exists nevertheless...and I'd suggest that it's probably a good idea to try to mitigate the *results* of any dropped item accidents as much as possible. And requiring safeties on the color frames (and pattern holders and top hats, etc.) in all installations helps to do all of that. (assuming the spec is followed and maintained...yada, yada, yada).=20 BTW - blatantly violating the list rule about combining subjects in a post (sorry, I'm writing this from the airport and am trying to save bandwidth, as the connection is dicey): Huge "hats off" to Shawn Nolan for a wonderfully detailed post about structures and forces and how they relate to the real world. Tremendously generous of you to spend the time on that (and, speaking as an escapee from a fair number of engineering structures classes) very, very clearly written. Thanks! And Kristi - I'm with Charlie (and probably Uncle Bill - the big softie!), with a lump in my throat from your beautiful description of your son's experience at Big River. Thank you for that - and thanks for helping create the next generation of theatre audiences! Back to writing Performance Specs...grumble, grumble, grumble..... Michael Finney Thinkwell Design & Production mfinney [at] thinkwelldesign.com =20 http://www.thinkwelldesign.com =20 ------------------------------ Message-ID: <4193A4ED.7080505 [at] peak.org> Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 09:44:13 -0800 From: Pat Kight Subject: Re: The magic References:

In-Reply-To: Tony Deeming wrote: > One of the biggest irritations I find with our town is the regular comment > from members of the public - "Oh! I didn't know we had a theatre! And I've > lived here all me life!!" > We've had a theatre here since 1969, and whilst the marketing hasn't always > been ideal, it's been there! I feel your pain. We've been around since 1951 - and our building, with its big marquee prominently displaying our name and whatever shows current in great big letters, sits smack between two heavily traveled bridges that are the major "gateway" to our downtown area. We still hear people say things like, "Oh, so *that's* what that marquee thing I drive by every day is all about." On the other hand, there are businesses that have been in town just as long, and are just as prominently located, that are invisible to me until I need their services. The dilemma for all live theaters, I guess, is to persuade people that they need *our* services. -- Pat Kight kightp [at] peak.org ------------------------------ From: "Michael Eddy" Subject: RE: RE What light Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 12:45:38 -0500 Message-ID: Tom Grabowski said: >You have the pleasure of dealing with a ellipsiadal for Major Control >Products. I had the pleasure 4 years ago of finally trashing an entire >theatre's worth of Major fixtures as part of a renovation. I have a >catalog >page from a 1981 catalog that I will forward to you in a separate message. >They do sort of throw light out the front end but it wasn't pretty. I at first thought that they were EC fixtures, but should have known they were Majors. My wifes school had been a Major installation but had been upgraded. The Fresnels were still the Majors like the one in your photograph. They did put out light and were better than nothing, but that isn't saying too much. I had not seen the ellipsoidal version. Michael Eddy ------------------------------ From: "Michael Eddy" Subject: Re: What's that light? Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 12:55:12 -0500 Message-ID: Richard Niederberg said: > Send that Electro Controls fixture back to Salt Lake City, >freight collect, ASAP. There is no cost-effective way to deal with it, >long term. And who in Salt Lake would you burden with these fixtures? AFAIK, since EC was bought out by Strand in the 80's there is nothing left of EC in SLC other than ex-employees. I'm sure that SLC doesn't need the landfill! For awhile you could get EC parts from Strand, but AFAIK those days are long gone. They look like EC's fixtures in color, but the ERS is definitely not a Parellipsphere. Somewhere in my Archive O' Crappe, I have a brochure on the units. Michael Eddy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 11:58:28 -0600 From: Mark Engler Subject: Black Box Seating Message-ID: <12752953.1100174308 [at] mengler.d.umn.edu> In-Reply-To: References: I'm looking to replace our black box chairs. My only requirements at this point are that they be stackable, lock together, and are comfortable. Cost will come into the equation a little later. Any suggestions would be appreciated. thanks ____________________________________ Mark Engler Technical Director Department of Theatre University of Minnesota Duluth 218-726-8774 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 13:08:23 -0500 From: "Frank E. Merrill" Reply-To: "Frank E. Merrill" Message-ID: <1879891073.20041111130823 [at] TCON.net> Subject: Re: What's that light? In-Reply-To: References: Howdy! Wednesday, November 10, 2004, Noah Price wrote concerning identification of mysterious luminaires: NP> Can anyone tell me the manufacturer and model? Because I am slow to respond to e-mail, I note that the instrument has already been identified as one of Major's EXAL series ellipsoidals, but I thought I'd muse a little about Major, Ariel Davis, Electro Controls, and Major Control Devices on the outside chance that somebody out there would enjoy the historical wanderings. My lawyer insists I add that anything said here is my opinion and is not intended as an accolade or perjorative to any person, business or device.... The Major corporation was begun by Roscoe Major in the early 1900's. The earliest address I found for them was 4603 West Fullerton Avenue in Chicago, but they moved to newer and better facilities out in Crystal Lake Illinois in the mid 60's. When I was involved in their equipment, Father Major's sons Frank and Ross ran the operation. Interestingly, the bread and butter of their business was manufacturing reflectors for traffic signal lights, which was a natural extension of their capability to spin and hydroform aluminum reflectors and apply the highly reflective ALZAK coating found in theatrical instruments. The EXAL series of ellipsoidals and fresnels were so named because of the body panels made of extruded aluminum, sporting an anodized rather than painted surface. At the time, the design was quite advanced and, as Mr. Price experienced, they enjoy (or suffer) a long life span. Ariel Davis the man formed the Ariel Davis Manufacturing company soon after World War II, although I am at this writing too lazy to rummage around in the back room to find early documentation. One of my favorite stories about Ariel is that the design for his "Davis Dimmer" came to him in a dream one night! That dimmer was a significant step forward in that six slider taps could control six different 20 amp circuits of light from one very large autotransformer coil inside the unit. The units were very durable and we had two or three units in our rental stock for several years. Although Ariel was an imaginative and capable engineer, he was not an effective businessman and his company was sold to a management team that brought more profit out of the organization. Originally, the new owners operated under "Ariel Davis Manufacturing Company, exclusive distributors for Electro Controls" and later reversed the emphasis and ultimately dropped the references to Ariel Davis although Electro Controls continued to manufacture the Davis Dimmer and Ariel's innovative patch panel called the "Quick-Connect." I sold Electro Controls' equipment throughout the '70s and enjoyed the experience, although I frequently felt like the "Hillbilly cousin" at USITT, NAB and ATA trade shows when I saw the considerably more interesting and glitzier displays from other manufacturers in the industry. The Parellipsphere was an attempt at an entirely new luminaire, intending to combine the desirable optical characteristics of parabolic, ellipsoid and spherical reflectors while minimizing the inherent properties of each. To some the instrument was similar to the Studebaker automobiles, being simply ahead of their technology, while to others it was a dreadful pariah. Because it was a popular art form at the time, I created a string art wall hanging of the intricate optical path of light rays inside the Parellipshere but it was abandoned in one of the many subsequent relocations. The Major Corporation dissolved in the late 1970's but some of the engineers picked up some of the pieces to form Major Control Devices, hoping to develop the expanding market for electronic dimmers. The management team the operated Electro Controls sold the theatrical manufacturing operation to Major Control Devices in the early 1980's and the entire mixture was subsequently purchased by Strand a few years later. Best regards, Frank E. Merrill MERRILL STAGE EQUIPMENT Eastablished 1946 Indianapolis 317: 255 4666 Running The Bat! Natural e-mail system v3.0 mailto:Lamplighter [at] TCON.net ------------------------------ Message-ID: <4193A989.4070102 [at] northnet.net> Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 12:03:53 -0600 From: Shawn Palmer Subject: Re: The magic/ the dilemma References:

In-Reply-To: > I feel your pain. We've been around since 1951 - and our building, with > its big marquee prominently displaying our name and whatever shows > current in great big letters, sits smack between two heavily traveled > bridges that are the major "gateway" to our downtown area. We still hear > people say things like, "Oh, so *that's* what that marquee thing I drive > by every day is all about." > > On the other hand, there are businesses that have been in town just as > long, and are just as prominently located, that are invisible to me > until I need their services. > > The dilemma for all live theaters, I guess, is to persuade people that > they need *our* services. My favorite anecdote related to this dilemma: I was addressing a local Kiwanis group about our theatre troupe. We'd been located on Main Street for nine years, in a converted 80 year old movie theatre. We had a large marquee, large display spaces for upcoming shows, etc. At the end of my 45 minute presentation, I asked for questions. One of the Kiwanis stuck up his hand and said, "Oh, I've been telling everyone for a few years that your building was a strip club." Perhaps we too could use better marketing, but a strip club??? I wonder if his first clue was a poster for Dorfman's Death and the Maiden, or the poster for Bogosian's SubUrbia... or maybe Oleanna or Frankie and Johnny in the Clare de Lune? Dunno :-) Shawn Palmer Neenah, WI USA ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 10:20:51 -0800 Subject: Re: What's that light? Message-ID: <20041111.102059.1068.2.ladesigners [at] juno.com> From: Richard Niederberg Dear Michael, You are right, of course, now that I have viewed the website more closely, but the ones that I was burdened with were parallipspheres and other EC products with similar extruded 'heat sink' style sides, including 8" 1K fresnels that were small enough to be mistaken for 6" fresnels from afar. /s/ Richard > They look like EC's fixtures in color, but the ERS is definitely > not a Parellipsphere. > Michael Eddy ________________________________________________________________ Juno Platinum $9.95. Juno SpeedBand $14.95. Sign up for Juno Today at http://www.juno.com! Look for special offers at Best Buy stores. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 13:26:27 -0500 From: "Frank E. Merrill" Reply-To: "Frank E. Merrill" Message-ID: <124310454.20041111132627 [at] TCON.net> Subject: Errata concerning Parellipspheres Hello all! I apologize for having missed an error that significantly changed my earlier post about historical lighting instruments. I wrote: FM> The Parellipsphere was an attempt at an entirely new luminaire, FM> intending to combine the desirable optical characteristics of FM> parabolic, ellipsoid and spherical reflectors while minimizing the FM> inherent properties of each. What I MEANT to write was "...minimizing the inherent PROBLEMS of each." There was another note posted and I apologize for neglecting the author, but the observation was made that a few modifications to the Parellipsphere would significantly improve the unit. That is certainly the case, but the factors that caused the sale of Electro Controls to Major Control Devices and the subsequent sale to Strand are the same factors that prevented those very improvements. One might wonder why Strand did not make those improvements but it is apparent that Strand did not feel additional investment would be warranted. Best regards, Frank E. Merrill MERRILL STAGE EQUIPMENT Established 1946 Indianapolis 317: 255 4666 Running The Bat! Natural e-mail system v3.0 mailto:Lamplighter [at] TCON.net ------------------------------ Cc: Lamplighter [at] TCON.net Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 10:34:22 -0800 Subject: Re: What's that light? Message-ID: <20041111.103549.1068.3.ladesigners [at] juno.com> From: Richard Niederberg This is beginning to sound like the Stephen Skirpan [Scrimmer] story, or maybe Joe Privateer [SCR Digitrol]... /s/ Richard > Although Ariel was an imaginative and capable engineer, > he was not an effective businessman and his company > Frank E. Merrill ________________________________________________________________ Juno Platinum $9.95. Juno SpeedBand $14.95. Sign up for Juno Today at http://www.juno.com! Look for special offers at Best Buy stores. ------------------------------ From: FrankWood95 [at] aol.com Message-ID: <68.4873e2f0.2ec50c5f [at] aol.com> Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 13:41:35 EST Subject: Re: 10 biggest mistakes In a message dated 11/11/04 03:00:33 GMT Standard Time, mbenonis_lists [at] mac.com writes: > The booth is about 150-175 feet from the stage, and the audio rack is made > of lots of metal - which makes it impossible to place receivers with > antennas in it and get decent reception. We do have two antennas on the > catwalk (30 feet from the performers, I would venture to guess) that leads > to the booth audio rack, but we only have one antenna splitter for them with > four diversity outputs, which we are indeed using. That leaves seven other > mic receivers that we cannot place in the booth without an additional > antenna splitter. That may be a possible purchase for the department later > in the year - I'd have to see. > > Another issue is that we are operating mics that are both VHF (180-200 MHz, > and installed antennas are for this range) and UHF (510-530 MHz). > Therefore, we could not use the installed antennas on our new UHF systems > even if we wanted to. Yes, you do have a serious problem. It sounds as though your system was installed some time ago, when microphone usage was less common. Some theatres in London have a few Yagi antennae on the front of the booth, but nine would be a regular forest. Frank Wood ------------------------------ Cc: Lamplighter [at] TCON.net Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 10:45:04 -0800 Subject: Re: Errata concerning Parellipspheres Message-ID: <20041111.104507.1068.4.ladesigners [at] juno.com> From: Richard Niederberg Which 'Strand'? Strand-Century? Rank-Strand? Century-Strand? Some other corporate morphing? We don't have Ed Kook to ask. Tell us! /s/ Richard > the factors that caused the sale of Electro Controls > to Major Control Devices and the subsequent sale to Strand > are the same factors that prevented those very improvements. > One might wonder why Strand did not make those improvements > but it is apparent that Strand did not feel additional investment > would be warranted. > Frank E. Merrill ________________________________________________________________ Juno Platinum $9.95. Juno SpeedBand $14.95. Sign up for Juno Today at http://www.juno.com! Look for special offers at Best Buy stores. ------------------------------ From: FrankWood95 [at] aol.com Message-ID: <9f.51c63c98.2ec50f52 [at] aol.com> Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 13:54:10 EST Subject: Re: Audio operation in the audience space (was 10 biggest mistakes) In a message dated 11/11/04 04:09:14 GMT Standard Time, Andy [at] DucksEchoSound.com writes: > Alas, however, such is just not feasible on a show with reinforcement > (and, much as we'd all love perfect sounding spaces that need no > reinforcement, many of us make our living doing shows in theatres and > arenas with seat counts in the thousands, where it's just not going to > happen; even in smaller venues, some very talented and very capable > performers won't work without reinforcement now, because they know it's > a tool that allows them to express a subtlety that just isn't possible > without it--they may be fully capable of belting out to fill a huge > venue, but what happens when they want a gentle, tear-filled, choked > ballad?). I did say that. With reinforcement, you really need to be in the auditorium. But, at the same time, hundreds of opera singers can do just that. It's a skill called 'projection'. I'm no singer, but I can do it with my speaking voice, although I can't tell you how I do it. It's not shouting, it's somehow adding intensity, as in a stage whisper. Frank Wood ------------------------------ Subject: RE: Audio operation in the audience space (was 10 biggest mistakes) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 13:59:34 -0500 Message-ID: <6E497ADB607656479C24E6D7BF6B505A74AD67 [at] exchange.rmwc.edu> From: "Paul Schreiner" > > Alas, however, such is just not feasible on a show with=20 > reinforcement =20 > > (and, much as we'd all love perfect sounding spaces that need no =20 > > reinforcement, many of us make our living doing shows in=20 > theatres and =20 > > arenas with seat counts in the thousands, where it's just=20 > not going to =20 > > happen; even in smaller venues, some very talented and very=20 > capable =20 > > performers won't work without reinforcement now, because they know=20 > > it's a tool that allows them to express a subtlety that just isn't=20 > > possible without it >=20 > But, at the same time, hundreds of opera singers can do just=20 > that. It's a=20 > skill called 'projection'.=20 One problem (which we've discussed around these here parts before) is that the orchestration for modern musicals is written assuming mics will be available. Operatic composers make adjustments to the accompaniment for the voice when they feel it's necessary, and they usually have the experience to be pretty good judges of that. But the same does not hold true for most post-R&H musical theatre... ------------------------------ From: "Occy Occy" Cc: Lamplighter [at] TCON.net Subject: Re: What's that light? Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 11:36:02 -0800 Message-ID: Boy now I feeling young... >For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see >--------------------------------------------------- > >Howdy! > >Wednesday, November 10, 2004, Noah Price wrote concerning >identification of mysterious luminaires: > >NP> Can anyone tell me the manufacturer and model? > >Because I am slow to respond to e-mail, I note that the instrument has >already been identified as one of Major's EXAL series ellipsoidals, >but I thought I'd muse a little about Major, Ariel Davis, Electro >Controls, and Major Control Devices on the outside chance that >somebody out there would enjoy the historical wanderings. > >My lawyer insists I add that anything said here is my opinion and is >not intended as an accolade or perjorative to any person, business or >device.... > >The Major corporation was begun by Roscoe Major in the early 1900's. >The earliest address I found for them was 4603 West Fullerton Avenue >in Chicago, but they moved to newer and better facilities out in >Crystal Lake Illinois in the mid 60's. When I was involved in their >equipment, Father Major's sons Frank and Ross ran the operation. >Interestingly, the bread and butter of their business was >manufacturing reflectors for traffic signal lights, which was a >natural extension of their capability to spin and hydroform aluminum >reflectors and apply the highly reflective ALZAK coating found in >theatrical instruments. > >The EXAL series of ellipsoidals and fresnels were so named because of >the body panels made of extruded aluminum, sporting an anodized rather >than painted surface. At the time, the design was quite advanced and, >as Mr. Price experienced, they enjoy (or suffer) a long life span. > >Ariel Davis the man formed the Ariel Davis Manufacturing company soon >after World War II, although I am at this writing too lazy to rummage >around in the back room to find early documentation. One of my >favorite stories about Ariel is that the design for his "Davis Dimmer" >came to him in a dream one night! That dimmer was a significant step >forward in that six slider taps could control six different 20 amp >circuits of light from one very large autotransformer coil inside the >unit. The units were very durable and we had two or three units in our >rental stock for several years. Although Ariel was an imaginative and >capable engineer, he was not an effective businessman and his company >was sold to a management team that brought more profit out of the >organization. Originally, the new owners operated under "Ariel Davis >Manufacturing Company, exclusive distributors for Electro Controls" >and later reversed the emphasis and ultimately dropped the references >to Ariel Davis although Electro Controls continued to manufacture the >Davis Dimmer and Ariel's innovative patch panel called the >"Quick-Connect." > >I sold Electro Controls' equipment throughout the '70s and enjoyed the >experience, although I frequently felt like the "Hillbilly cousin" at >USITT, NAB and ATA trade shows when I saw the considerably more >interesting and glitzier displays from other manufacturers in the >industry. > >The Parellipsphere was an attempt at an entirely new luminaire, >intending to combine the desirable optical characteristics of >parabolic, ellipsoid and spherical reflectors while minimizing the >inherent properties of each. To some the instrument was similar to >the Studebaker automobiles, being simply ahead of their technology, >while to others it was a dreadful pariah. Because it was a popular art >form at the time, I created a string art wall hanging of the intricate >optical path of light rays inside the Parellipshere but it was >abandoned in one of the many subsequent relocations. > >The Major Corporation dissolved in the late 1970's but some of the >engineers picked up some of the pieces to form Major Control Devices, >hoping to develop the expanding market for electronic dimmers. The >management team the operated Electro Controls sold the theatrical >manufacturing operation to Major Control Devices in the early 1980's >and the entire mixture was subsequently purchased by Strand a few >years later. > > >Best regards, > Frank E. Merrill > MERRILL STAGE EQUIPMENT > Eastablished 1946 > Indianapolis > 317: 255 4666 > > Running The Bat! Natural e-mail system v3.0 > mailto:Lamplighter [at] TCON.net > > _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <886EF25AF8BEF64EB89A820EF84064FF0A3838DD [at] UCMAIL4> From: "Waxler, Steve (waxlers)" Subject: RE: The magic Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 16:33:56 -0500 Kristi, I always knew you were a special lady. Steve Waxler Technical Director College Conservatory of Music University of Cincinnati ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: From: Noah Price Subject: Re: RE What light Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 14:33:03 -0800 On Nov 11, 2004, at 9:04 AM, Mark O'Brien wrote: > I get a 404 when I look for the pdf Whoops, that'll teach me not to verify the link. Try now! On Nov 11, 2004, at 9:45 AM, Michael Eddy wrote: > I had not seen the ellipsoidal version. I can get you a great deal if you'd like one :-) Thanks, Noah ------------------------------ Message-ID: <007b01c4c83e$cbcc7c00$80fea8c0 [at] Fred> From: "Mike Rock" References: Subject: Re: Safetied gel frames (was: Yoke Bolts and Pan Bolts) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 16:35:50 -0600 It wasn't the rat it was the bunny, and it was local (near Wisconsin). Sorry I have a twisted thing for trivia. Mike Rock ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <1E8F9806-3432-11D9-BE00-003065555B26 [at] earthlink.net> From: Brendan Quigley Subject: Re: Kristi's "The Magic" Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 16:36:24 -0600 heythere Kristi ... so your message has been forwarded to the Head Electrician for the show. On Nov 11, 2004, at 5:00 AM, Stagecraft wrote: > From: MissWisc [at] aol.com > Message-ID: <157.43647700.2ec461a5 [at] aol.com> > Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 01:33:09 EST > Subject: The magic > > Tonight, I took my son to see Big River at the Weidner Center in Green > Bay, > WI. For those not familiar with this production, it's completely > signed in ASL > (thanks to Linda Bove of Sesame Street fame) as well as spoken/sung. I > saw it > in Dallas last summer from the nose bleed section and was hoping to > get closer > seats this time to see more of the action. Mission accomplished. > I just tucked in one very tired 10 year old with a huge smile on his > face. If > someone on this list has connections with Big River (and I'd bet there > is!) > please pass this on as a letter of thanks from a greatful mom, drama > teacher > and theatre lover. > > Kristi R-C Kind Regards, Brendan C. Quigley Vari*Lite Technician/Electrician WICKED - A New Broadway Musical ------------------------------ Message-ID: <00b101c4c83f$43c7f810$80fea8c0 [at] Fred> From: "Mike Rock" References: Subject: Re: The magic Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 16:39:11 -0600 That basicly sums up the whole speach I get before opening night for every show. No one notices that cue 94 was a little off they just wonder how that gaint plant is moving. Mike Rock ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: From: gregg hillmar Subject: Re: Project management software Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 17:40:37 -0500 On Nov 11, 2004, at 12:16 PM, Jared Fortney wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > > --------------------------------------------------- > > Has anyone tried using (or is using) a project management program to > track > production progress? I am beginning to evaluate Microsoft Project as > a tool > for planning and tracking a show's progress through our shop. I'd be > interested in hearing about other's experience with MS Project or > alternatives that people have found and liked. Thanks for any input. > > Jared Fortney > UC/CCM I made a breif foray into using MS Project a few years ago while working as a production manager. I found it cumbersome, stubborn, and convinced that it knew a theatre schedule better than I did... My wife (no longer in the theatre biz, alas) is a certified project manager for a rather large corporation and also can not stand MS Project for similar reasons. It is hard to operate, difficult to understand and the links it makes do not intuitively make sense. She uses other software to do what she needs done, having abandoned MSP. Of course YMMV. g. _____________________ gregg hillmar scenic & lighting design portfolio & life as we know it: http://www.hillmardesign.com "Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like no one's watching." Satchel Paige ------------------------------ Message-ID: From: Wood Chip-P26398 Subject: RE: Kristi's "The Magic" Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 15:56:00 -0700 Saw this on Broadway and dreaded going because the signed shows I have seen in the past, the signer(s) distracted from the flow of the show. This is NOTHING like that. MAGIC time. Please go see it. Something new and wonderful. The cast was mixed, deaf and hearing, but I saw the deaf actors "sing". From: MissWisc [at] aol.com > Tonight, I took my son to see Big River at the Weidner Center in Green ------------------------------ Message-ID: <015501c4c842$6a962cc0$82a72ad9 [at] Tony> From: "Tony Deeming" References:

Subject: Polite request Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 23:01:42 -0000 Here's a little request: (And I'm sure it's not the first time!) Can everyone replying to posts/threads whatever please try to retain just a smidgeon of the item you're actually replying to so we can keep a little context when reading said replies? I don't keep, as a matter of housekeeping, all messages on the list - if I did I'd have thousands of e-mails sitting clogging up the folder here.This means that if someone posts without some reference, it's darned hard to sometimes see what the devil they're on about, especially if time has passed since the original topic was raised. Cheers all Ynot ------------------------------ Message-ID: <015e01c4c842$d580a0b0$82a72ad9 [at] Tony> From: "Tony Deeming" References: Subject: Re: Kristi's "The Magic" Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 23:04:41 -0000 From: "Wood Chip-P26398" > > Saw this on Broadway and dreaded going because the signed shows I have seen in the past, the signer(s) distracted from the flow of the show. This is NOTHING like that. MAGIC time. Please go see it. Something new and wonderful. The cast was mixed, deaf and hearing, but I saw the deaf actors "sing". > > From: MissWisc [at] aol.com > > Tonight, I took my son to see Big River at the Weidner Center in Green > One of the best signed shows I've seen was (IIRC) the Beauty and the Beast mini-show at Disney in Florida a few years back. There were two signers, one taking the male 'parts' the other the females. They were REALLY getting into the spirit of the show and acted as much (if not more!) than those on stage! The surprising thing was that it didn't detract from the performance, though that may have been cos the kids have had the video on the goggle box soooo many times I didn't need to concentrate on the storyline etc, but it was pretty good either way!! Ynot ------------------------------ Message-ID: <4193F275.6030001 [at] davidmarks.cc> Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 18:15:01 -0500 From: David Marks Subject: Re: Polite request References:

Tony Deeming wrote: >Here's a lit > No problem! Does this help?? Dave Marks, resident wiseguy ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "Michael S. Eddy" Subject: RE: RE What light Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 18:24:35 -0500 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Noah Price wrote: >On Nov 11, 2004, at 9:45 AM, Michael Eddy wrote: >> I had not seen the ellipsoidal version. >I can get you a great deal if you'd like one :-) Saw right, but no thanks. If I bring one more piece of theatrical history home, my darling wife has threatened to club me to death with it. In other words, I have enough anchors. Michael Eddy ------------------------------ Message-ID: <017e01c4c845$f9514cd0$82a72ad9 [at] Tony> From: "Tony" References:

Subject: Re: Polite request Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 23:27:10 -0000 ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Marks" To: "Stagecraft" Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2004 11:15 PM Subject: Re: Polite request > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > Tony Deeming wrote: > > >Here's a lit > > > > No problem! Does this help?? > > Dave Marks, resident wiseguy > > > 8-))) Smart-A!! Ynot ------------------------------ Cc: mseddy2900 [at] hotmail.com Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 15:30:25 -0800 Subject: Re: RE What light Message-ID: <20041111.153030.1068.6.ladesigners [at] juno.com> From: Richard Niederberg Does this mean that you don't want a Berkey Beam, or that you already have one? /s/ Richard > If I bring one more piece of theatrical history home, > my darling wife has threatened to club me to death > with it. In other words, I have enough anchors. > Michael Eddy ________________________________________________________________ Juno Platinum $9.95. Juno SpeedBand $14.95. Sign up for Juno Today at http://www.juno.com! Look for special offers at Best Buy stores. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 16:40:10 -0700 (MST) From: "Steven J. Backus" Subject: Re: RE What light In-Reply-To: Your message of Thu, 11 Nov 2004 09:09:34 -0700 Message-ID: "Mark O'Brien" writes: > not even an EC? Perhaps it was designed by an engineer FIRED from EC. I can't resist this. I was an engineer fired by EC in 1982. Actually "laid off" would be the correct term. Electro Controls was going downhill fast in those days, I was the last hired so the first to be let go. Yes, we all know they built their share of crap, but they did let their engineers play! We had a stock room where you could check out any group of parts they made and put them together for fun projects.. Remember those plastic laminated labels they put on everything? For a small bribe the lady who made them would make some for you. I created push button controllers for my Atari 2600 (think asteroids). Damn, now I really feel old. Steve ------------------------------ Message-ID: <000701c4c861$593672e0$0202a8c0 [at] MyLastPC> From: "Paul Guncheon" References: Subject: Re: Magic of Light Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 16:43:09 -1000 Shameless plug... I have listed a first edition of "The Magic of Light" on eBay... no reserve. #4503685770 Laters, Paul "You'll never trick Ishmael" Tom said foolishly. (yup, another original) ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: From: Brian Aldous Subject: Re: What's that light? Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 22:50:28 -0500 Wow! I have seen these bad boys before. I was working as M.E. / ALD for a summer outfit called NY Stage & Film, using the Powerhouse theatre at Vassar College in the summer of 1988. Because the designer was Don Holder, I was of course using every available unit and then some. I found a mouldering pile these buried in storage and did my best to get them rolling. As I recall, the ellipsoidals were not worth the bother, but the fresnels turned out to be pretty good - bright, nice fields (better than a ParNel ? who can say.) The manufacturer was in fact Major Controls (as the cut sheet you posted indicates), long defunct even then. Their schtick was an early form of distributed dimming. The idea was to place a dimmer on the yoke of each unit. You were supposed to run 120v AC AND a control cable (3-pin xlr) to each unit. I don't recall the nature of the controller - it had been replaced by a Colotran Prestige 2000 (!) shortly before I arrived. Now, maybe Major got ElectroControls to actually manufacture the units (as suggested by others) but that does not ring a bell with me. Surely there is someone on this list older in the lighting biz than myself who recalls these? At least I hope so. Anyway, i would suggest scrapping the lekos and salvaging the fresnels, although you might want to be careful with the asbestos leads on them. BA Brian Aldous Lighting Design brian [at] tany.com On Nov 11, 2004, at 6:00 AM, Stagecraft wrote: > ------------------------------ > > Message-Id: <02500363-338D-11D9-838E-000A958ABBF8 [at] theprices.net> > From: Noah Price > Subject: What's that light? > Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 18:54:30 -0800 > > I'm working on the lighting portion of a school theater renovation. As > an intermediate step, I'm trying to get as much of their equipment > working as possible for a near term show. Much of it is Altman or > Century or similar familiar instruments, but one I can't identify. The > school has it in both an elipsoidal version and a fresnel version... I > put pictures on the gallery site. Can anyone tell me the manufacturer > and model? And better yet, point me to specs (beam/field angle, etc)? > > > > Thanks! > > Noah > > ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20041112041648.36956.qmail [at] web20428.mail.yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:16:48 -0800 (PST) From: b d Subject: Re: Project management software In-Reply-To: --- Jared Fortney wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > > --------------------------------------------------- > > Has anyone tried using (or is using) a project > management program to track > production progress? I am beginning to evaluate > Microsoft Project as a tool > for planning and tracking a show's progress through > our shop. I'd be > interested in hearing about other's experience with > MS Project or > alternatives that people have found and liked. > Thanks for any input. > > Jared Fortney > UC/CCM > > Jared, We here at Meadow Brook theatre are currently using a web based system that we are quite happy with. There are obviously problems with a web based system such as: Everyone must have easy access to a computer with internet access. That access should be broadband. Also, web based systems force people to start doing things in a way that they may not be use to. This can cause "growing pains". However, once that is overcome, the effect on perofrmance will be quite noticeable. Anyway, back to your question. There are many OPEN SOURCE systems that would probably suite you just fine. A knowledge of serverside scripting would be helpful, but not a necessity. Some of them are: phpgroupware egroupware dotproject moregroupware and on, and on... The above are all open source and under the GPL license. Most, if not all are available through sourceforge.net. If you have any specific questions, e-mail me off list at either my yahoo address or: bdambacher [at] mbtheatre.com Brian __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 04:31:45 +0000 (GMT) From: Charlie Richmond Subject: Re: Project management software In-Reply-To: Message-ID: References: On Thu, 11 Nov 2004, b d wrote: > We here at Meadow Brook theatre are currently using > a web based system that we are quite happy with. There I'd be curious to know the url for this system... Charlie ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:32:46 -0800 Subject: Re: Magic of Light Message-ID: <20041111.203253.2880.1.ladesigners [at] juno.com> From: Richard Niederberg Dear Paul, So, you are going to make some poor list member go through what I did to mentally to justify to myself the spending of well over $100 plus shipping for the book, just as I did when I bought a copy of 'The Magic of Light' from you a few years ago. It remains my most expensive acquisition in the 1000-title personal theatrical research library that I have assembled and maintained over the last 35 years. Fortunately, the successful bidder will also get over the aforementioned distress and/or angst once they open the book, just as I did. Good luck on your sale, and next time, please provide me with advance notice of your offering for resale any other rare theatrical design books that I might not already have! /s/ Richard > I have listed a first edition of "The Magic of Light" > on eBay... no reserve. #4503685770 > Laters, > Paul ________________________________________________________________ Juno Platinum $9.95. Juno SpeedBand $14.95. Sign up for Juno Today at http://www.juno.com! Look for special offers at Best Buy stores. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 21:13:52 -0800 Subject: Re: theatrical architecture Message-ID: <20041111.211357.2880.2.ladesigners [at] juno.com> From: Richard Niederberg On Amazon.com, 'Theater Design' is $205.80 and 'Theater Technology' is $245 plus shipping, plus a small surcharge, not counting tax... /s/ Richard > From an educational/historical perspective, > George Izenour's massive tome "Theater Design" > has long been a reference. This is sometimes > hard to find, but was reprinted in the 90s, and most university > libraries have a copy. ISBN 0-07-032086-1 > The companion volume "Theatre Technology" is not as > applicable. ISBN 0-07-032039-X > Paul Masck ________________________________________________________________ Juno Platinum $9.95. Juno SpeedBand $14.95. Sign up for Juno Today at http://www.juno.com! Look for special offers at Best Buy stores. ------------------------------ Subject: Rigging System Standards Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 03:02:48 -0500 Message-ID: <89DE71075FCD6E44A4D117FBFBBD801C04D3EC91 [at] fangorn.cc.vt.edu> From: "James, Brian" Does anybody know if there are counter weight rigging system standards = or guidelines published any where by anybody? I went to the USITT website and ETSA and did not see anything, I could = have over looked them though. Any help is appreciated! ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 02:11:13 -0600 Subject: Re: Rigging System Standards From: Greg Persinger Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Brian, Bill Sapsis or Delbert Hall can correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that the standard for a counterweight rigging system is published by the systems manufacturer based on the systems components. Having said that try J.R. Clancy's website as they have several good guides on their systems. I think it is www.jrclancy.com As a side note Sapsis Rigging installed a counterweighted system I speced about a month or so ago. They did an excellent job with Billy Williams as the lead. I would highly recommend them. (Bill please send my check for the plug to...) Greg Persinger Vivid Illumination Greg [at] Vividillumination.com ------------------------------ Subject: RE: Rigging System Standards Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 03:13:42 -0500 Message-ID: <89DE71075FCD6E44A4D117FBFBBD801C04D3EC92 [at] fangorn.cc.vt.edu> From: "James, Brian" That seemed to be what I was finding...... hard to make a state bid with = that though.=20 Thank you!! -----Original Message----- From: Stagecraft [mailto:stagecraft [at] theatrical.net]On Behalf Of Greg Persinger Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 3:11 AM To: Stagecraft Subject: Re: Rigging System Standards For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- Brian, Bill Sapsis or Delbert Hall can correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that the standard for a counterweight rigging system is published by the systems manufacturer based on the systems components. Having said that try J.R. Clancy's website as they have several good = guides on their systems. I think it is www.jrclancy.com As a side note Sapsis Rigging installed a counterweighted system I = speced about a month or so ago. They did an excellent job with Billy Williams = as the lead. I would highly recommend them. (Bill please send my check for = the plug to...) Greg Persinger Vivid Illumination Greg [at] Vividillumination.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 02:27:48 -0600 Subject: Re: Rigging System Standards From: Greg Persinger Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Just what you want, a rigging system installed by the lowest bidder! :-0 I think Clancy has a rigging spec for bid purposes. Greg Persinger Vivid Illumination Greg [at] Vividillumination.com ------------------------------ End of Stagecraft Digest #193 *****************************