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Setting the Stage for Automation
Moving scenery has been around since the ancient Greeks rigged hidden ropes and pulleys to work their god machines, but automated scenery is just now starting to develop into its own discipline. With technology continually advancing and audience demands ever increasing, can you afford not to automate your productions?
According to Loren Schreiber, technical director of the
School of Theatre, Television and Film at San Diego State University, adding
automation might just be your ante to get in the game. “Automation technology
has entered the imagination of the everyday theatregoer, and it is his expectations
that are driving more modest theatres to adopt such systems,” says Schreiber.
“It is getting to where a show without automation seems—well—quaint.”
And what is the ultimate cost? Sure it’s dollars in both equipment and
manpower, but what is the ultimate cost in audience perception? Luckily for
us we can benefit from decreased costs as general industry progresses and
makes advances in automation.
Theatrical technology depends upon innovations in larger sectors of the economy,
and automated scenery owes its newfound practicality to recent advances in
automated factory and laboratory equipment. The crucial advances are not in
the equipment itself, but in the means to control that equipment.
Schreiber puts it into perspective this way: “Seven years is several
lifetimes in the realm of control electronics. I recently tried to buy a replacement
part for an AC motor drive that was cutting edge in 1998 only to find the
model was obsolete and parts no longer available!” In the intervening
years, “prices have dropped dramatically,” he adds, “while
the capabilities of automation systems have increased exponentially.”
As costs decrease and options increase for automation, even medium-to-smaller
theatres must consider stepping up their productions to keep their current
patrons engaged and to attract new audience members.
Automation in Theatre
For most theatres, the term “automation” can mean anything from
winching systems to orchestra lifts and can entail any movement on stage through
the use of mechanics.
Said Lounis, president of Serapid, Inc., describes automation as the “movement
of equipment—sound, light, scenery, et cetera—faster, safer and
cheaper.” But more importantly, Lounis and his Sterling, Mich.-based
company like to focus on the benefits of automation for the theatre. “The
performance is improved several ways with faster scenery changes during performance,
during intermission, or in between shows,” he says, adding that shows
now feature “more elaborate and heavier scenery, more spectacular and
dramatic effects, and more creative choreography.”
Kevin Taylor, CEO of Stage Technologies, Inc., in Henderson, Nev., and director
of electrical engineering for Stage Technologies Ltd. (London), also adds
that automation can make a greater impact on your audience. “Larger set
pieces can be moved more accurately so that every performance reaches a higher
level of accuracy and repeatability,” he explains.
Your Approach to Automation
Many a theatre company have asked themselves, “How hard could that be
to build ourselves?” And many an inexperienced theatre company has wasted
money on building an automated set only to eliminate it completely from a
production or spend even more money getting it done on the outside.
When trying any automation, whether it’s your first time or you’re
expanding upon what you have, it is important to make sure that you have the
expertise to complete the job on budget and with an eye on safety. According
to the experts, there are three basic approaches to adding automation:
1. Outsource. Contract a scenic company to design, build and install for you.
2. Construct In-house. Design and fabricate the whole system in-house.
3. Rent. Use some of the few but multiplying vendors who provide off-the-shelf
turnkey products for just this sort of application.
Outsource: Scenic Companies—Imaginations for Hire
“First you have to have an idea,” says Anthony Standi, account executive
for A&D Scenery of Las Vegas, Nev. “Whatever you can think of, we
can build it. And deliver it. And install it. And invoice for it within 30
days.”
Standi goes on to say that whether it’s a beanstalk in “Jack and
the Beanstalk” or some other idea the creative team comes up with, they
can usually deliver it. “We’ll put in different motors, different
boxes, different hydraulics [and] different feeds. It’s all variable.
Some have speeds, some don’t. Some have limit switches, some don’t.
It all depends on what they want.”
What you want can also dictate the cost. A less complex hydraulic platform,
which is controlled by a simple up-down switch, runs about $10,000 sans shipping.
As complexity increases, so does the expense. “If you need to go with
sensors and everything else, you could end up spending $50,000 to $60,000,”
Standi says.
Fabricating Everything In-House and What it Costs
By contrast, scenic designer Fritz Schwentker assembled the rig for “The
Automated Body,” a dance production at the University of Texas at Austin,
almost completely from scratch.
The design called for a cube of clear beaded curtains to be suspended from
a square grid. The clear beads allowed dancers to move through the cube and
also provided a projection surface for lighting and video effects. Schwentker
hung a grid that was divided into nine separate parts, each capable of moving
up and down independently. The vision called for this effect to be part of
the overall choreography, so precise control of speed and distance traveled
was essential.
Schwentker was able to adapt National Instrument’s LabVIEW software to
operate the nine separate three-phase AC winches from a single computer station,
while providing the operator feedback as to the position of each sub-grid.
“I think the whole cost for the mechanical, control and scenic pieces
was $11,000, which is not much.” he recalls.
In Winston-Salem, N.C., Jack Miller of the North Carolina School of the Arts
and his students constructed two concentric turntables, one inside the other,
which could rotate in separate directions and at separate speeds. They built
a control system that could handle 25 individual cues. “But these must
be programmed,” Miller warns. “If you don’t have somebody on
staff to do this, then there is a cost.” Of course, that cost can spread
out among several shows.
At last year’s United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT)
conference, Miller took center stage and demonstrated a hydraulic arm, or
octopus tentacles depending on how it had been skinned. Each arm had three
joints with small hydraulic actuators controlling very large torque loads.
The system required two operators. “The total project cost was about
$700,” Miller explains, “but we had a lot of the parts needed to
make the system work.”
Schreiber recently worked on the San Diego and Dallas Opera’s joint production
of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” which featured scenery gliding
on and off stage, portions of the stage itself rising up and down, and three
genies riding scenery while it flew about in midair. While his students assembled
the winches from off-the-shelf parts, Schreiber contracted with Creative Conners,
a Rhode Island company that specializes in moving scenery control, to provide
the control interface and software for the system.
That system cost a total of $20,000, “or about four thousand dollars
per axis,” Schreiber recalls.
“We’ve had to develop our own product to filter out features that
aren’t useful to theatres,” says Gareth Conners, who founded Creative
Conners in 2004. “[Otherwise] you end up paying a premium for features
you don’t have any use for.”
Creative Conners targets their products specifically to regional and educational
theatre programs, providing modular motor drives and control interfaces that
can be easily integrated into existing systems. Their products rent anywhere
from $800 per week for a simple interface to $3200 to purchase a complete
drive system.
“The market is diversifying and going deeper,” Conners says. “Smaller
theatres are finding that they can afford our equipment.”
While there are hundreds of firms that provide the same equipment for completely
different applications, very few meet the needs of a theatre right out of
the box.
“There are really only a handful of turnkey systems that you could quickly
bring in and immediately adapt to your theatre,” Schwentker warns. “The
thing that most folks under-estimate is that it takes a lot of time to work
with this technology, and that applies to almost all phases. For instance,
lead time for industrial suppliers is typically much longer than for theatrical
ones. Troubleshooting usually needs to happen after load-in and before techs
begin, and that is when time in the theatre is the least available.”
And don’t forget to look for turnkey solutions to help automate your
automation. If your sights are set on something similar to the spectacularly
timed effects of a Broadway-style “Miss Saigon” or “Phantom
of the Opera,” try using a scenic and rigging control system like Stage
Command®, offered by New York’s Production Resource Group’s
(PRG). These systems offer a combination of hardware and software designed
to seamlessly cue scenic transitions to offer even more reliability show after
show.
Renting Automation
Many of the companies already mentioned offer rental and used equipment for
sale, and that might just be your best option if starting out. But don’t
forget to figure in the brainpower to make it all work. Many scenic designers
might lack the mechanical and electrical backgrounds to make the automation
work. So you might have the equipment but lack the know-how to operate it
proficiently and safely.
When theatres contact Stage Technologies, Taylor covers some of the differences
between renting and owning. “Will you require automation more than three
times per year? Will the size of the productions increase in the future? Do
you have a staff of suitable skills to use the equipment?” are just a
few of the questions he asks. This then helps him consult with the client
on the best course of action.
Renting can be a turnkey, lower-cost solution since the mechanics have already
been worked out in a previous incarnation of the show you plan to put on.
You might even glean a few ideas that you can use in your production. However,
just as there are benefits, you might also be locked into the system as it
stands, limiting your creative vision. Be sure to ask about adjustments or
add-ons that more closely match what you want to achieve with the automation.
In the end, you might have to compromise if you choose to rent. Just be certain
that whatever you rent you can operate safely.
Education and Safety
“It is essential that new technical directors know and are comfortable
with automation systems,” says Schreiber. “They need to know electronics,
mechanics, fluid power, computer systems and industrial controls along with
regulations promulgated by NFPA, NEC, OSHA, ESTA, USITT and others.”
“The era of the clout nail is dead!” he pronounces. “However,
there are still only a handful of universities that have a graduate program
for automation. Yale is one, North Carolina School of the Arts is another—and,
of course, my own [San Diego State University]. It won't be long before there
are dozens.”
As Schwentker explains, “The difficulty is that as the complexity arises,
you increase the range of what can go wrong and need to design around that
as well. There is also a need to train backstage personnel and performers
about what the equipment is capable of so that there are human monitors in
addition to various control sensors, etc., working to keep things safe.”
As difficult and complex as moving the scenery seems to be, the real expertise
comes in controlling it, and most importantly, stopping it.
Schreiber cautions, “If it moves, you must be able to stop it without
fail. If it runs on electricity, you must be able to disconnect it without
fail. If it can fall you must be able to hold it up without fail.”
“Safety must drive all ideas,” Miller warns. “If it can not
be done safely, don’t do it.”
The Future of Theatrical Automation
Automation is on the rise in theatrical production and luckily the costs should
continue to decline as advancements are made. “As more and more theatre
directors and production managers get familiar with automation, they demand
it more and more,” says Said Lounis. “Shows are designed with a
specific automation sequence in mind. This is why the use of automation, especially
stage and orchestra lifts, is growing.”
As for mid-to-smaller theatres, Lounis adds, “We’re seeing more
and more of the smaller theatre venues incorporating stage or orchestra lifts
into the design of the space.” The addition of a lift greatly increases
the flexibility of the stage, which allows for more variety in the type of
productions. “More variety, more appeal. More appeal, more people in
the seats. More people in the seats, more possibility of profit for the venue,”
he explains.
Staging Technologies’ Taylor also believes that the use of automation
will continue to increase. He comments, “I believe that most new shows
and performances will use automation in an ever increasing way. Some aspects
are only achievable with the new high-speed systems that are coming online.”
Moving You Forward
Many experts agree that using a gradual approach to introducing automation
into your productions, and increasing complexity as you become more familiar
with the systems, is the most logical way to go. Purchasing specific types
of equipment that perform movement in a more turnkey fashion can also speed
your entry into the world of moving scenery.
“With an orchestra lift, any one of these three configurations can be
achieved with the push of a button,” says Lounis. “Further, adding
powered scenery wagons can help improve the quality of the show by allowing
quick and automated scenery changes.”
Words of encouragement can be found from all who work in the field of staging
automation. “Don’t be afraid to try something,” says Jack Miller.
Taylor’s best advice is to hire a competent operator and make sure you
plan everything, from loads and speed to the functionality.
Most of all, have fun with it. Take pleasure in not only learning something
new but also seeing the looks on the faces of your audience. Time and creativity
are every bit as important as money. As Anthony Standi from A&D Scenery
says, “That’s all our work is—imagination.”
For a list of helpful questions to get you started on automating your scenery,
visit DramaBiz Magazine Exclusives at www.dramabiz.com. If you want to discuss
staging automation, visit the DramaBiz forums at www.dramabiz.com/forums.
