"We needed a bright, colour mixing, tungsten-source washlight with a great range of subtle pastel and tonal colours that was consistent across all units," explains Howe. "As the show's scenery is entirely projected, a fixture with a wide focus range was essential to prevent any unwanted light spill. For this reason, the automatic top hat on the Alpha Wash Halo is also very useful. Noise level was also factored into our decision, and the Halos move quickly and quietly."
The 14 Alpha Wash Light Halo fixtures on The Woman in White were supplied, along with the rest of the lighting rig, by Hudson Scenic & Lighting, who also built the set. The Halo features CMY colour-mixing, variable linear frost, an indexable ovalizer, a strobe, and a 0-100% electronic dimmer. "The brightness of the Halos is surprising," notes Howe. "Even when used in a full, saturated blue the Halos are still really very bright. I also love the virtually silent top hat - very neat."
The Halo features a moving top hat that can retract inside the fixture or extend to almost four inches in front of the lens to reduce spill from the main beam of the fixture.
For the Broadway production of The Woman in White, Pyant and Howe were assisted by US-based associate lighting designer Vivien Leone, US-based assistant lighting designer Jared Sayeg, and UK-based programmer Vic Smerdon. Pyant and Howe are also using fixtures from Clay Paky's Alpha range for the new musical version of Lord of the Rings, which opened in March 2006 in Toronto.
(Lee Baldock)
