For this production, the system in place at the Camden Opera House did not have enough instruments to preform the general lighting plus the multiple special effects the script and director called for. This script called for a lot of scene changes, more then we really could have built sets for, so the director and I sat down and built scenes just with lights.

Balcony Bars Utilizing supports used for the balcony at the Camden Opera House, we clamped piping between them to hang more ellipsodials to complement the instruments already in the 'traps' above.   Large Version

Balcony Bars More of those "balcony bars" setup in the Camden Opera House     Large Version

Balcony Bars Setting these instruments up and aiming them was quite a feat...  Using ropes as makeshift pulleys to pull the instruments up to the bar while balancing on the ladder. Large Version

Balcony Bars Since these instruments were directly in the path of people sitting in the seats, the poles and instruments were triple-checked for security. The poles were so securely on the supports that they were able to support one of the lighting guys weight.   Large Version

Balcony Bars After aiming the instruments, it was time to add in the necessary gels to get the effects we wanted. Afterall, we were creating sets with just the lights.   Large Version

Balcony Bars Once we had these up in place, I breathed a sigh of relief.  I put my neck on the line with both CCT and the Town of Camden, who was hesitant about adding lights in such a manner. Interestingly, after I had come up with this method for adding instruments, various other production companies now use a similar setup at the Camden Opera House. Large Version

Balcony Bars The opera house certianly had some lighting equipment in it after putting 8 more ellipsodials up and adding many instruments on the fly bars over the stage.     Large Version

A view of the Balcony A view of the traps along with the added instruments. Vary rarely CCT used both follow spots in a production.  Even if we do, one is usually controlled from the board. It took quite a bit of coordination among the lighting crew to make the seemless transitions that had to be made in split seconds. Large Version

A Complete Balcony The completed balcony, all the lights were turned on to do a visual inspection that they were running and running on the correct channels since we re-configured the dimmer packs for the production.   Large Version

the Control Booth In this venue I was lucky enough to have a lighting booth with a permanent installation of the lighting board, communication systems and a full complement of cabinets for the various bulbs, cables and tools I needed.     Large Version

Another view of the Control Booth A different slant on our control booth - there was glass that went in, but for cooridination and heat control (this product went on in the dead of summer) we kept it removed.     Large Version

From the Balcony -- Spots A view of our roped off area reserved so my follow spot operators could move back and forth as necessary. Because of all the cables running to the added instruments, we needed to also rope this area off for safety reasons. The follow spot closest need some repair to its gel-changing system during each show the gels kept coming out of their holders. Large Version

A view to the stage Not the best of pictures, but a good angle from the balcony looking down on the stage to part of the set. I believe (and this was in '97 -- so a few years ago) that this was the set for the house where the parents debated what to do with Tommy.   Large Version