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Sapsis Rigging Returns to Its Beginnings

Sapsis Rigging recently finished a renovation of Goodhart Hall at Bryn Mawr College. The renovation included converting the traditional proscenium stage into an open thrust style space, creating a new scene shop and building a new black box theatre. Catwalks were installed over the stage for lighting, masking and audio systems and the black box has movable gantry style catwalks that allow for lighting positions over the entire performance area.

"This was a fascinating project for me," notes Sapsis Rigging president Bill Sapsis. "The very first rigging project Sapsis Rigging did was here in Goodhart Hall in 1981."

Michael Sapsis, the SRI supervisor on the original installation remembers, "We installed two motorised double-sided curtains in the gothic arch out in the house to allow for smaller, more intimate productions. At 65 feet tall and 60 feet wide, the curtains were really heavy and getting them into place was a challenge. It wasn't any fun drilling into the poured concrete arch either. Those curtains are long gone but I did notice that the winch brackets are still bolted to the walls. I was none too happy with Bill because he spent almost the entire time in Taiwan on another project."

Over the years Sapsis Rigging conducted numerous inspections of the counterweight system, ran two partial renovations and, in 1984, installed a dimming and control system that had been purchased for the college by alumnus, Katherine Hepburn. "I'm proud to have been a part of the evolution of the space", Bill continued. "It has culminated in a venue that meets modern day performance requirements with ease and efficiency. I'd be lying, however, if I said I wasn't looking forward to the next renovation.

But I suspect I'll be retired long before that happens"

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Sapsis Rigging Returns to Its Beginnings

16th November 2009

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