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Avolites and the Republic
Two Avolites consoles have been supplied to the newly opened Republic Cultural Centre (TRCC) at Singapore’s Republic Polytechnic. These were specified by TRCC’s assistant director (Technical Operations),Tony Kam, who is also a lighting designer in his own right.
Republic Polytechnic was established in 2002 and is the fifth and currently the newest post-secondary educational institution in Singapore. It relocated to the brand 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. Officially opened on July 31st 2007, The Republic Cultural Centre is the icing on the cake of the Republic Polytechnic development, which was designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, working with DP Architects.
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 on board 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.
Kam – still an actively practising theatre LD – has used Avolites on many occasions, so his decisions were well informed by hands-on experience. “There were other options, and I considered everything carefully,” he explains. “I also looked at the level of support accompanying each product which is important from a facility angle – and I knew I could rely on Total Solutions for real excellence.”
The Avo/Vari*Lite system is designed to be stand alone and portable in various forms between the different performance spaces, where it can be used on its own or in conjunction with the generic lights, of which there are over 600 available in the main Concert Hall. Both consoles can also be utilised as part of an outdoor lighting system used in various locations around the campus, and the Pearl is currently used to work the moving lights within the main theatre. However there is also enough flexibility for the consoles to be swapped about and used wherever they are needed as the productions demand.
Kam looks after all the site-wide technical and lighting aspects of Republic Poly’s performance areas with a technical team of seven. One of these is Sanjay Jegatheesan, who came to TRCC from a conventional lighting background and hadn’t used an Avo console before. He said: “The Pearl is incredibly easy to learn and use. You have everything right there at your fingertips – instantly accessible.” He adds that he is looking forward to using the D4 to light shows once the busy new season gets up and running.
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 to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the Prague Sinfonia in its concert setting.
In picture: Sanjay Jegatheesan (lighting technician), Tony Kam (TRCC’s assistant director (Technical Operations) and Jamie Boey (Total Solutions).
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