With a history starting as far back as 1911, this theatre has gone from strength to strength in its performance facilities – it has a permanent revolving stage allowing innovative and flexible delivery of scenes. The skilled back-stage team re-created the London of the 1850’s with considerable attention to detail and a real treat for the audience’s eye.

Considerable investment has also been made in the important areas of stage sound and lighting. The theatre has the advantage of having Paul Holt as their Technical Director. As well as being a New Mills’ resident, born and bred and part of NMAODS since a teenager in the early 1980’s, Paul is the Managing Director of PG Stage, theatre facilities specialists based in Manchester. “From the continued support of the New Mills’ and district community and hard work of the members, we have been able to invest in both the stage lighting and sound systems to compliment and enhance the performances. At PG Stage, we have been working closely with some of the largest theatres in the UK since 1985. New Mills Art Theatre gets just as much attention as any of our professional clients making the audience experience what feels like a truly professional performance.”

Paul and PG Stage look forward to supporting the New Mills Art Theatre next production of an Aladdin Pantomine at the end of January put on by the Friends of the Art Theatre.

This highlights an astounding increase of more than 100% on last year.

Chairman of Lighting Science Group commented, “Surpassing the $100 million order mark this year is not only a significant achievement for our company, but for the entire LED lighting industry.”

The company announced that their LED products are being used in all manner of industries. This includes the International Space Station right through to the Time Square ball through to LED stage lighting in theatres in London and Ney York. Cities all across the globe are also using LED technology. Even homes are switching to LED technologies instead of traditional tungsten bulbs and lighting methods.

But why the massive surge in interest?

LED technology delivers substantial savings to people because they last longer, give off a bright light, and use less energy. This means they don’t get as hot as traditional lighting methods, a benefit that end users value as it means that the stage area is less hot for actors and staff in the theatre, as well as being safer on the whole.

LED stands for Light emitting diode. They were introduced as a practical lighting component back in 1962. An LED releases energy in the form of photons, and the subsequent effect is called electroluminescence. Infra-red LEDs are used in remote controls which are used for products like TVs, DVD players, alarm clocks and so on.

LEDs are designed to operate on no more than 30-60mW of electrical power. They are beneficial because they can emit high lighting brightness. They are more efficient per watt than regular incandescent bulbs which is a great benefit to any company that needs to use a large volume of lighting products in their business – like a hairdressing salon or a museum.

LEDs can come in various light colours, from red to blue to green and so on. They can be quite small in size, sometimes smaller than 2mm. They are sued for circuit boards and many electronic engineers will be highly familiar with their use within a circuit board. LEDs can be dimmed by lowering the current, and they are unlikely to fail suddenly like traditional bulbs. They have a long lifetime; a report suggests this could be up to 50,000 hours of use.

The first benefit of this kind of lighting is low power consumption. Unlike other traditional tungsten bulbs, LED lighting emits less heat and uses less power, with only a slight decrease in brightness. This means the bulbs don’t get boiling hot like other traditional light bulbs. This also makes it more cost effective to run in the long term as less electricity is needed to light the bulbs and keep them running.

A second benefit is the colour effects that can be achieved through LED lighting. Unlike traditional bulbs you are not limited to a set number of colours based on colour gels and manual changes. With LED lights, you can gain a whole range of colours and they can be controlled from a control station so you don’t even have to move out of your seat. This is beneficial for any production that wants to prompt a “wow” factor from its audience. Colours can create a great atmosphere and interesting symbolism on a stage, as well as projecting an ideal ambience for the audience.

A final benefit of LED stage lighting is that the LED lights are very lightweight and easy to install. During LED lighting installation, the engineer will be able to add the compact LED packages to any kind of surrounding, ideal in exhibitions where tidy and neat looking lighting is important for small spaces. They are also portable so they can work flexibly to your specific requirements on the day.

LED lighting is a good choice for any space that is considering replacing its old and inefficient lighting systems with newer, more flexible and cost effective ones. You can even combine the LED lighting with your existing tungsten bulbs to get the best of both worlds, and this can be managed from one control system making life easier for you and enables you to be as creative as you like with your lighting.

Based in Canterbury, the Marlow Theatre has finally received the face lift it deserves, totally a £2.6million refurbishment.

Plans to  tear down the old theatre have been on the council’s agenda for many years, making the refurbishment of the Marlow long awaited.

In 2009, when the council voted for the refurbishment project to go ahead they also purchased the car showroom next door so they could spill out into this extra space. Not only this, but the old building was planned to be flattened completely.

Theatre Director Mark Everett commented, “The old building was falling to pieces around us, and up to the last minute it was by no means certain which way the vote would go. We’d have made the old building work somehow – the one thing all theatres have is unlimited supplies of gaffer tape and black emulsion. But this is a dream come true.”

The theatre was opened by Prince Edward on October 4th and the year’s programme has since been announced. Shows scheduled to be performed in the new theatre include The Nutcracker, Peppa Pig, Henry V and the Winter’s Tale, Grease the musical, and other big hit shows. It is expected to be very popular over the Christmas season as many people want to experience the new theatre building first hand.

The refurbishment includes new stage lighting systems, a state of the art theatre sound system and a general face lift to include new seats, a new stage, and new theatre curtains and stage curtains.

The project was expected to be finished earlier than it actually was. The organiser said that they intended to invite people to come and have a look around the new Marlow Theatre two weeks before shows started, but they simply ran out of time and were still drilling and hammering right up to the wire.

The theatre is said to look modern, amongst the medieval buildings across the street. The theatre can be viewed and fills an entire window from the cathedral.

Photos courtesy of Tim Stubbings

PG stage have worked with community centres and schools across the country designing installing and maintaining:

• Portable staging systems
• Stage and theatre lighting systems
• Stage lighting control systems
• LED stage lighting
• Theatre AV systems
• Theatre sound systems
• Stage and theatre curtain and track systems

To receive a free quote for school, university or theatre staging system call us now on 0161 830 0303 or email info@pgstage.co.uk

PG Stage recently carried out some improvements to the stage lighting at Bury Met Theatre. The brief was to replace the lighting grid over the stage and add some new lighting barrels to the front of house area.

The existing support structure is replaced with bespoke manufactured internally wired lighting barrels along with plain alloy tubes to form a rigid grid. A total of 110 lighting circuits along with a DMX network have been wired back to the control area where two Phillips wallrack and a special Wieland patch bay are fitted. This set up will allow all socket outlets to be either dimmed for production lighting or non-dimmed to support house lighting, moving heads and the like.

Following the support grid installation PG Stage re installed the theatres other equipment including tracks and drapes and masking legs to their original position ensuring the theatre could carry on as previous.

The installation was carried out in such a way as to accommodate the theatres summer programme with two fortnight blocks at each end of the season with as little interruption to the day to day working of the venue as much as possible.

Testimonial:

“From the initial site survey right through to the installation, PG stage were helpful, professional and efficient. The installation was carried out at a time that suited us and all of the work was done to an excellent standard and to schedule. The system is now being used on a daily basis for Concerts and theatre events. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend PG Stage installations.”
Chris McClung Technical Manager Bury Met Theatre

The drapes were delivered within three working days as asked for by the theatre.

http://www.oldvictheatre.com/index.php

1. Mamma Mia! This musical is one of the feel good sensations of the decade. After the film was released, more and more people wanted to book and see this fabulous show. The show is set in Greece, where the young girl main character is on a quest to find out who is her real dad before her wedding. The songs are really fun and many of the audience members get up to dance!

2. Jersey Boys. This is a great show with all of the songs from Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It details their rise to fame and their subsequent fall. This is one for the adults as there is quite a bit of swearing, but still an exciting show to attend and with great acoustics. The favourite parts are where the mimic old footage of the real Frankie Valli on the big screen.

3. Catz. This comes on and off of the West end but is always a show stopper. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s take on T.S Elliot’s feline poems make for great songs and fantastic costumes, with every character covered in mesmerising make up. The revolving stage is also very fun to see and an example of Stage Engineering at its best, and the way the cats mingle around the audience makes it interactive and innovative, too.

4. Grease. The film was a classic hit and the stage production is no exception. The script for the stage differs slightly to the film, so you can really enjoy the slightly different take on the story. There are also a few songs which don’t appear in the film. This is a great hit for all the family!

5. We Will Rock You. The Queen sensation swept the stage and gave the audiences a futuristic storyline with some iconic Queen songs thrown in throughout. For anyone who loves the music by Queen, this is a must see! It even has some stars performing in it at various times of the year.

To succeed well in a lighting profession you need to have a calm manner and meticulous attention to detail. There needs to be a certain level of pride and attention to the appearance of the work. Lighting is, after all, about aesthetics and looking pleasing on the eye.

There should also be a practicality to your approach to lighting. You should be able to think methodically and mathematically at times, especially if you are an electrician or electronics engineer that designs large lighting circuits. This requires a great deal of skill and expertise at the top end level of the job.

You should have qualifications in the field you aim to work in. These can be vocational or academic certificates which prove you can work professionally with qualified experience.

Lighting is often connected to other areas, too. For example, in stage lighting a technician has to have an understanding of sound and stage design too. This ensures the lighting works in harmony with the other areas of the production. It is a lot about team work, but with individual work also a major part of your day.

Working in lighting can see you on a successful career path. You could freelance if you would like to try your hand at working for different companies, or you could focus on working for one theatre or business.

The time you put into the job, like many jobs, will reap rewards for the hard work. Keeping an open mind and being ready to develop your career into different sectors will ensure you develop strong industry understanding and experience. Experience is key when applying for job opportunities in lighting.

“Lighting directors now have more scope and more possibilities than ever before,” said one stage director in Hampshire, “Larger venues have so much they can set up and transform in terms of their lighting, and smaller venues have the advantage of being able to showcase subtle lighting techniques in an intimate space. Lighting can communicate so much to an audience, so it is vital that directors consider their lighting options.”

State Theatre Company’s lighting director Geoff Cobham has also spoken about the importance of lighting during a theatrical performance, saying that the lighting creates important atmosphere and conveys abstract concepts to the audience. He commented on a recent production he has been working on, “Ideally we want the lighting to create the atmosphere that the play is creating…(in some scenes) the actors operate the lights themselves. It’s perfect for the scene.”

Whatever the performance, from dance, to panto, to a one-woman dramatic show, stage lighting design can have a key influence on your audience and critics. You needn’t have a large budget to pull off a great lighting range, either. Cost effective lighting solutions are available for theatres who are watching the pennies.