Opening in 1992 the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts is regarded as one of the most influential establishments in Asheville’s transformation into a major cultural destination. Originally opening as the Diana Wortham Theatre the 500 seat venue underwent a comprehensive renovation and re-brand in 2019 adding the Tina McGuire Theatre, a multi-use blackbox theatre with capacity for 100 patrons and the smaller Henry LaBrun studio to cater for events and community groups of a more moderate scale.
“Flexibility was key, we wanted the rig to be able to cope with a solo musician one night and a national level dance act the next without lengthy resets between every show”.
Part of the Wortham Center’s success is its’ diverse programming, of course that brought with it a number of challenges when it came to specifying a system. Pisgah AVL’s Robert Shaffer and Dave Champagne began consultation with the venues technical team headed up by Michael Lowery “flexibility was key, we wanted the rig to be able to cope with a solo musician one night and a national level dance act the next without lengthy resets between every show”.
It was clear that replacing tungsten fixtures for LED would have considerable advantages in terms of reduced power consumption and labor but the quality of the light had to surpass traditional fixtures. There was simply one choice for the heart of the installation; Wisconsin based Electronic Theatre Controls or ETC. “Part of what made old tungsten lights popular for so long is that it’s a very full spectrum light, when we saw the first wave of LED lights start to appear in theaters designers were reluctant to adopt something that didn’t look as good as their older counterparts; ETC changed all that”.
Instead of simply using RGB led’s to mix specific tones these lights use an array of seven different LEDs to create deep and rich colors which are even brighter than their old-fashioned counterparts
The ETC D60 and Source 4 LED fixtures form the backbone of the Wortham’s new system; these take advantage of a technology called Lustr+. Instead of simply using RGB led’s to mix specific tones these lights use an array of seven different LEDs to create deep and rich colors which are even brighter than their old-fashioned counterparts as well as offering tunable white light ideally suited for live broadcasts. On the upstage ETC’s Colorsource Cyc enable a production designer to perfectly fill the backdrop with any color in seconds. “As well as producing amazing colors the new rig saves us hours in maintenance and prep, in the old days we had to bring the lighting rig into working hight and gel our fixtures to a specific color, now I can just walk in and help a production manager set looks in a matter of seconds, it’s been a game changer” said Michael.
“Over the last couple of years the Chauvet professional maverick line has become one of our go-to fixtures”
Being a multi-purpose venue and with a large roster of musical acts the decision was made to add Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2. “Over the last couple of years the Chauvet professional maverick line has become one of our go-to fixtures” added Dave, “Chauvet have been able to produce a great quality light at an exceptional price point; we love them so much we invested in them for our own rental inventory meaning we can supplement any visiting tour with a moving head ground package if needed.
“It’s a much more personal way of working and means I don’t always need to be tethered to coms in the booth”
Driving the whole rig is an ETC ION XE 20 complete with an EOS 20 fader wing. It was important the chosen console had an easy learning curve allowing a tech to create show looks without hours of learning syntax or figuring out the idiosyncrasies of the system. When coupled with the RFR iPad app adjustments can be made anywhere in the house. “Having full the full functionality of the console in the remote package is really handy, for theatrical rehearsals I can be sat next to the director or for a musical act I can be next to the sound engineer in the house” reported Michael, “It’s a much more personal way of working and means I don’t always need to be tethered to coms in the booth”.
Behind the scenes the installation is equally as neat and tidy.
Of course no discussion about LED lights would be complete without discussing the obvious power savings. Not only are the new fixtures brighter but they typically draw less than a sixth of the power of their older relatives. Much of these savings are the result of less energy wasted as heat which also has the knock-on effect of helping to cut down on air conditioning costs making the whole environment significantly more pleasant for anyone working on stage. The new systems ECO-credentials with house lights and traditional dimming being carried out by DRd digitally controlled dimmers which offer smooth control and flexible routing in the case that a touring production wishes to use conventional fixtures or practicals on stage.
The system next door in the Tina McGuire mirrors the main theater in many aspects with ETC throughout; lighting is commanded by the EOS’s smaller brother the Color Source AV console and …fixtures. It’s a setup that’s extremely adaptable capable of hosting everything from corporate events to comedians.
Information about booking the Wortham Center for the Arts and their current programming schedule can be found on: https://www.worthamarts.org/. Pisgah AVL are extremely privileged to be able to support such outstanding local venues and wish the Wortham team the best of luck as they go into 2023 and beyond.