Tag: technician

Poe Down Throw Down

Post author By kmoyer
Post date April 22, 2022

The Poe Down Throw Down

Lead Electrician/Technician

Produced & Created by Janet Hershey // Lighting by Janet Hershey // Photos by Kevin Moyer

The Show

The Poe Down Throw Down: The Story of the Telltale Heart was a rave based on The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. The show featured a set performed by Jake Delferro, with live projections and of course a mirror ball.

The Mission

The goal with this show was to make a swift transition using the same equipment from the previous show, with limited time and hands to do so.

The Execution

I divided the space into two regions each with their own universe, and networked each fixture to act as an output node to each region. The fixtures were pre-addressed on the ground to accelerate the process. By networking the initial fixtures, it was possible to ensure that console placement remained flexible as the space changed while other work was taking place.

The Results

Tags lead, lighting, technician, theatre

Portfolio

Her Sister

Post author By kmoyer
Post date March 4, 2022

Her Sister

Lead Electrician

Written by Kendra Phillips // Dir. by Jonathan Strayer // Scenic by Tom Ryan // Lighting by Adam Boyer // Costumes by Priscilla Kaufhold // Sound Design Tony Taylor // Photos by University Theatre

The Show

Her Sister by Kendra Phillips was premiered in 2022 by Millersville University of Pennsylvania as a part of their Conference on The Holocaust and Genocide. The show is a memory play told through the perspective of Margot Frank, traveling through the last few years in her life from her home in Amsterdam.

The Mission

Prepare for and execute lighting design with specialty practicals for a show in a small found-space blackbox theatre.

The Execution

My initial focus was on updating inventories and testing equipment during work calls leading up to the point at which we received the design. This included training technicians to perform testing and small repairs to fixtures, as well as working with one of the manufacturers to verify warranty and receive repair on one of our LED fixtures.

For execution of the plot, I broke the space into three separate bays defined by the rafters of the building. Each bay was given its own universe, and addresses were broken down within. Initially, control was based on running the first moving fixture in each bay on network, with each fixture acting as an output node to the remainder of the bay. The fixtures, however, had a firmware issue that resulted in flickering on the output, so a dedicated control line was run from the console to each bay.

This show featured a mix of real and fake candles. The fake candle had a Multiverse receiver fitted to allow the lighting designer to control the intensity of the flame, with specialty high capacity 9 volt batteries specced to ensure that the candle would last for the duration of the show under the high current draw of the receiver.

The Results

Tags custom, lead, lighting, technician, theatre

Portfolio

Love and Information

Post author By kmoyer
Post date November 4, 2021

Love and Information

Lighting Technician

Written by Caryl Churchill // Dir. by Jonathan Strayer // Scenic by Adam Boyer // Lighting by Janet Hershey // Sound by Zacc Bangert // Photos by University Theatre

The Show

Love and Information is a play noted for its complex scenes presented without order, only organized by the director in the sequence of their choosing. The piece is abstract, leaving open many opportunities for creative design.

The Mission

Work with the head electrician to execute the designer’s plot, and develop an effective implementation of specialty LED tape used in the design.

The Execution

The main challenge on this show was the implementation of specialty pixel tape from City Theatrical. The designer for this show wanted to display the flow of data from one point to another, and to do so we purchased QolorPix controllers and tape from City Theatrical to attach to the scenic trussing on stage. I worked with the manufacturer to spec and build custom cables to run to the tape, and with the programmer to establish and understand the control method for the tape.

The Results

Tags lighting, technician, theatre