The 80s period will be revived in the Colosseum Theater Essen. The lighting rig will include 83 moving lights (amongst them 49 Vari*Lite VL3500 Spot and Wash units), plus 99 ETC Source Fours. To represent the colourful feel of the 80's, the stage is dominated by a giant Rubik's Cube equipped with 293 MR16s, custom created for the set design, with 197 LED/RGB-Modules built in. The 950sq.ft (88sq.m) large video wall is one of the largest moving screens in German staging. Furthermore, the edge of the stage is fitted with 54 B250 LED stripes from Schnick-Schnack-Systems. Power and data distribution for the lighting of the Rubik's Cube is located beneath the stage in a revolving custom rack. The inner lighting of the cube is controlled by 10 MA Digital Touring dimmers (12 x 2.3kW). The lighting system is controlled by a grandMA full-size, one grandMA light, one grandMA replay unit and five MA NSPs.
Production Electrician Andy Peistrup says: "With the consoles of the grandMA Series, the production had a flexible system which was extended with further consoles during the build and programming phases. Thus it was possible to program lighting and video simultaneously, and generate views for the designers. As we had the option to increase the system with further MA NSPs at any time, the team was able to respond immediately to any spontaneous changes."
To enable extreme flexibility for the onstage cube, for instance by turning and folding several elements, the installers fitted a Wireless Solution W-DMX BlackBox Transmitter and a BlackBox Receiver for wireless DMX transmission.
Andy Voller was in charge of the lighting design. Carline Brouwer directed. Stage design was made by Christoph Weyers. Arjen Klerkx and Coen Bouman took care of the video design. Thomas Giegerich handled media servers and LED panels.
(Lee Baldock)
