Perception---you have that power.

There is purpose in design. There is information in a setting. There is truth in your environment. Fake or real, it's there.

All images are copyrighted by Heidi Hoffer unless otherwise indicated. Your courtesy in using my photographs must include crediting me as the photographer. You must tell me when and where you've used them and send the link to me showing your use of them.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

University of Johannesburg's Fantastic Theatre Part 1

The 436 seat proscenium theatre at the University of Johannesburg's Kingsway Campus theatre also features a recent lighting console upgrade to a GrandMA Ultra-Light. More and more theatres and lighting designers in South Africa are specifying this GrandMA console for their venues.
     South African Theatre constulant, Scenic and Lighting Designer Denis Hutchinson made it possible for me to tour the University of Johannesburg Theatre with his architects and clients for a future project of his. We were looking at architectural elements specific to a venue complex the new project might use.
     As I am involved in my own discussions with architects for the new performing arts center at Oklahoma State University, I found this hands-on examination very successful and very useful.
          The UJ Theatre boasts a full balcony rail for a low FOH position, and two higher FOH positions as well. There is a full height platform at the last position with a removable railing specifically designed to accomodate  the long snout of two followspots.

In this photo you can see one of the followspots pointed down at the stage. The lighting pipe has been removed so as to not interfere with the arc of the followspot nor the light beam. It is a clear straight shot to the stage. The flat balcony floor on which its rests has good head clearance, and room for technicians to safely move around one another.
     The two FOH positions are very electrician - friendly. ( I pretended to adjust the focus and shutters on one conventional to see how easy that would be from the catwalk position) The instruments are on pipes right at your feet or your waist, and there is another lighting pipe available right at your head height.
     The UJ Theatre also has a pipe over the apron for sound equipment, and another pipe over the apron for lighting equipment. Both of these are on winches. The remainder of the fly system is a traditional single-purchase fly system.

Here's the tour group full of clients, architects, consultant and the UJ technician.
  More information about this theatre will be in an upcoming blogpost.



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2 comments:

  1. MaxmomMarch 1, 2011 at 6:27 AM

    Hello there Heidi...
    Thank you for your beautiful blog!
    I hope you don't mind, but I have put up a link to your blog in my blogpost today. I run a blog, "Living life to the Max" and my dog, Toby,(a 7mth old Golden Retriever) is currently training for the role of "Sandy" in the Production of "Annie", by Randburg Hoerskool, in May 2011. The production is to be staged at UJ's theatre.
    I am currently blogging about Toby's training progress towards this production. I invite you to come and visit today's post: http://africanwhitechild.blogspot.com/2011/03/toby-reports-on-maxmoms-training.html
    Many thanks for your beautiful blog!
    Kind regards
    MAXMOM IN SOUTH AFRICA

    ReplyDelete
  2. BindhuSeptember 13, 2017 at 5:54 AM

    Thanks lot...

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