The San Diego Opera upgraded to an ETC Eos system because the lighting team was looking for a system that could handle the number of scrollers they had acquired over time and could easily control moving lights when a show called for them.
Their control system consists of two Eos desks - one for the tech table and another on the network backstage - as well as an RVI (Remote Video Interface) and an RFR (Radio Focus Remote), allowing different members of their lighting staff to work throughout the theatre to programme shows. Chris Rynne, former resident lighting associate and lighting designer for the San Diego Opera, says, "I love the board. It's cleaner and more intuitive. It's easy to use for people who have theatre and integrated work. Eos makes it quick and easy to paint with light."
Across the US, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) has a busy schedule of shows - performances for the Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera and Tennessee Rep Theatre, along with Broadway and other touring shows - and needed a lighting system that was fast and easy to use. They rely on Eos family control in their theatre spaces: the 256 seat Andrew Johnson Theatre has an Ion; the 2,472 seat Andrew Jackson Hall uses an Eos; and the 1,075 seat James K. Polk Theatre boasts an Eos. An additional Ion floats between the two larger theatres and is used during focus by an on stage electrician who can bring up individual lights.
"Eos is a theatrical desk that can also do moving lights," says production manager Chris Wilson. "The Eos system does theatre, concerts and one offs. It's great for little shows on the fly. It also handles big shows like operas. There are few boards that fit that middle ground."
(Jim Evans)
