In the summer of 2014, Productions Unlimited, Inc. was awarded the contract to renovate the Columbia High School theatre’s performance lighting and rigging systems. The facility was built in the early 1980s and was showing many years of wear and tear. The existing dimming and controls equipment needed to be replaced and the rigging was also in need of replacement.
Productions Unlimited, Inc. has had a long relationship with Richland County School District One, going back to before the company incorporated in 1997. The district’s greatest desire was for an easy-to-maintain space and a system that would perform well for years with little to no maintenance. Productions Unlimited, Inc. worked closely with the district throughout the project to ensure all their needs were met.
The district chose to go with an LED lighting system because of its low maintenance requirements. The new performance lighting system features 62 LED light fixtures from ETC, including ETC Source Four LED Lustr+ fixtures, ETC Selador Lustr LED wash light fixtures, and ETC Selador Vivid-R LED wash light fixtures. All of the fixtures are based on the x7 Color System™, which adds more colors to the LED mix as opposed to the traditional RGB, in order to increase the range of saturated colors the fixtures can produce. The system also features a SSRC SwitchSuper DMX-controlled relay panelboard, a small ETC house dimmer rack with integrated ETC Paradigm Architectural Controls, and the entire system is controlled by an ETC Element lighting control console.
There is no fly space, and instead of requiring new winches to be installed, the district chose a simple dead hung rigging system along with a personnel lift for focusing fixtures. Productions Unlimited, Inc. installed stage curtains fabricated by Stage Decoration and Supplies, updated the curtain track, and replaced the pipe battens in the theatre. All of the rigging was installed with domestic/rated hardware by skilled rigging technicians.
During the renovation of the theatre, the district was also looking at different options for resurfacing the stage floor that would require minimal maintenance. They were introduced to PUI’s polyonyx+® performance flooring. polyonyx+® is made of aerated ABS plastic and is solid black throughout, eliminating the need to paint. It flexes like a wood floor, but is warp-resistant and unaffected by humidity changes. Laura Anthony, District Theatre Support Technician, said, “The polyonyx+® flooring was perfect for our needs when renovating an older theatre… I definitely recommend polyonyx+® flooring for any stage or performance space.”
Productions Unlimited, Inc. is proud to have outfitted Columbia High School with brand new systems that exceed their expectations.
