Republic Polytechnic was established in 2002 and is the fifth and currently the newest post-secondary educational institution in Singapore. It relocated to the new Woodlands campus in the north of the island in 2006, a site designed to serve up to 15,000 students and the local community.
TRCC offers three performance spaces - a 1000 seat theatre/concert hall, a 400 capacity studio and a 120 seat Lab (Black Box).
The first thing that Tony Kam addressed when he came onboard was the need for a dynamic lighting system and control that could be used in any or all of the spaces - either as a stand alone system or in conjunction with the conventional lighting systems in each venue.
With the theatre in particular expected to cater for needs of both community and its students, they needed serious flexibility to be able to stage and light a wide variety of shows, including all types of visiting and touring productions. "We needed to maximise our options so moving lights and dynamic control was the way to go," states Kam.
Kam approached Avolites' Singaporean distributor Total Solutions to supply Avolites control and Vari*Lite moving lights, and the account was project managed by Jamie Boey.
Kam continues, "I chose Avolites because it's an industry standard console that is user-friendly and reliable. I also wanted our technical staff here to cut their teeth and develop their skills on equipment they will encounter in the 'outside' world - Avo hit all the right buttons."
He specified a Diamond 4 Elite and a Pearl 2008 console. These were supplied along with 36 Vari*Lite fixtures, an Avolites ART 2000 dimming rack and an ART 2000 distro rack by Total Solutions.
The Republic Polytechnic Cultural Centre's programme of events is as diverse as it is long. The theatre is used for dance shows, orchestral performances of all types and sizes, semi professional and school productions as well as for seminars and presentations. Recent events have included Taiwanese pop superstars Soda Green and the Pearl made its TRCC debut on Gentarasa, a Malay cultural and theatre extravaganza staged as part of the Singapore Arts Festival. TRCC has also hosted the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the Prague Sinfonia in its concert setting.
(Jim Evans)
