[cburpee]

Cortney,

I am a former theatrical lighting designer turned director.? I’ve overseen theatrical venues connected to student unions at Northeastern Illinois University, Northwestern University, and now University of Chicago.?

The best advice I can give you is to hire a theatrical consultant.? The lighting companies just want to sell you the most expensive equipment, or cheap equipment where they get the highest profit margin.? Your university electricians are likely to specify equipment that they are familiar with or is easy to maintain.? Your admins and finance folks are only looking for lowest cost.? A theatrical consultant can evaluate how the space is used, and make recommendations based on the needs of how you actually use the space.? This costs money upfront, but will save you money having to redo things in the future.? There are only a handful of companies who do this work.? All reputable ones are members of the American Society of Theatrical Consultants (ASTC).
https://theatreconsultants.org/members/astcmembership-roster/

Remember, it’s a theatre, so you want theatrical lighting equipment.? Many people realize this with the fixtures, but go with cheaper dimmers and architectural control systems.? ETC is the industry standard for theatrical dimmers and control. ?https://www.etcconnect.com/

Most of the industry is switching to LED lighting, both for house lights and theatrical lights.? Don’t forget to calculate the energy savings as a project benefit.? The savings are realized over 7-10 years, and may not be reflected in your department’s budget if you don’t pay for utilities, but it can really pay off for the university in the long run.? This can also help contribute toward campus green initiatives.

Hope this is helpful!

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Christopher Burpee
Director of Student Centers
University of Chicago
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-16-2024 10:26
From: Cortney Goff
Subject: Auditorium/Theatrical Lighting

Hello all!

We are looking to update all of the lighting in our theater for the first time in actual decades. We did a huge AV renovation in the past several years and updated all of our sound/visual equipment, and that project was extremely challenging for a multitude of reasons. Because of this, I am hoping to find someone who has done a similar lighting renovation to be able to gain some knowledge on how that process went so we can hopefully avoid some of the significant issues we experienced in our last project. If you have done an auditorium/theater lighting renovation, especially if you have added more theatrical components for plays/musicals/performances, I would love to hear from you! 

——————————
Cortney Goff
Assistant Director, Facilities and Operations
Missouri State University
Springfield MO
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[cburpee]

Cortney,

I am a former theatrical Lighting Designer, now turned Student Center Director.? I have overseen Student Union managed performance spaces at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), Northwestern University (NU), and now at University of Chicago.

The best advice I can give you is to hire a theatrical consultant.? Lighting sales companies either want to sell you the most expensive equipment, or the cheapest equipment with the highest mark up.? University electricians will specify either equipment they are familiar with (even if their experience is mostly non-theatrical), or equipment that they find easy to service.? Your admin and finance folks will make choices based on the lowest cost.? Theatrical consultants serve as an advisor to you, making recommendations based on your actual usage needs for the space.? They can ask questions that help them foresee things you wouldn’t even know to ask for.? There is an upfront cost, but they will save you money in the long run by specifying equipment that actually meets your needs, so you aren’t buying equipment you don’t need, and you aren’t redoing it again in 2 years.? For a reputable company, hire a consultant registered with the American Society of Theatre Consultants (ASTC). ?https://theatreconsultants.org/members/astcmembership-roster/

For the lighting equipment, remember to get equipment designed for theatre.? Don’t order DJ quality fixtures.? Don’t order dimmers or control systems that are designed for architectural installations.? ETC is the industry standard for theatrical lighting control and dimming. ?https://www.etcconnect.com

The industry has mostly shifted away from incandescent fixtures, and LED fixtures are primarily being used for both house lights and theatrical fixtures.? Assuming you are making the switch to LED as part of this project, please remember to calculate (and promote) the long term benefits of this change.? Most savings are realized over 7-10 years, and likely won’t be realized by your department unless you pay utilities, but the savings to the university can be significant.? This can help you justify a larger budget, and can also be used by the university as a green initiative to help them meet their environmental goals.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

——————————
Christopher Burpee
Director of Student Centers
University of Chicago
——————————
——————————————-
Original Message:
Sent: 08-16-2024 10:26
From: Cortney Goff
Subject: Auditorium/Theatrical Lighting

Hello all!

We are looking to update all of the lighting in our theater for the first time in actual decades. We did a huge AV renovation in the past several years and updated all of our sound/visual equipment, and that project was extremely challenging for a multitude of reasons. Because of this, I am hoping to find someone who has done a similar lighting renovation to be able to gain some knowledge on how that process went so we can hopefully avoid some of the significant issues we experienced in our last project. If you have done an auditorium/theater lighting renovation, especially if you have added more theatrical components for plays/musicals/performances, I would love to hear from you! 

——————————
Cortney Goff
Assistant Director, Facilities and Operations
Missouri State University
Springfield MO
——————————