The brief was to provide the theatre with a console that enabled them to integrate their control surfaces and that would give the theatre more functionality and control than they would get from a traditional stage managers desk. The client wanted to control much more than the usual stage managers functionality, requiring a product that enabled third party integration.
Théâtre du Châtelet is situated along the quays of the Seine in Paris. Constructed by Gabriel Davoud in 1862, in its time it was the largest performance hall in Paris and hosted some of the principal tours in Parisian history. The Theatre is a multi-discipline venue hosting a schedule of performances from opera to dance and progressive theatre productions.
GDS deployed an SM Console. The desk is modular in design and allows the client to select the functionality they require. A large number of facilities can be integrated into a single control platform with the opportunity to expand the system in the future.
GDS supplied the SM console integrating a Type 'B' case with a uni-polar stand. The Type 'B' wooden enclosure is the largest case size in the range and is designed to allow third party integration of the system. In addition to cue lights, intercom, clock, timer, and paging modules, GDS incorporated PC integration, local lighting control, video switching, VGA matrixing, DVD playback and audio mixing, other features included a large format external monitors, two panel integrated colour monitors, Bar Bells and a Phone ringer.
(Jim Evans)
