ETECH recently met with Nicholas Tilney, Faheem Bardien and Kendrah Link, who collectively represent three generations of lighting technicians at the Artscape.
The Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town was one of the first theatre complexes to be built by the South African government in the 1970s, and has remained a vibrant, multifunctional creative arts centre and major cultural hub for more than four decades. The centre spans roughly 14,000 square meters, and includes a fully equipped opera house and two theatres, as well as a piazza, gardens, and rehearsal rooms and continues to stage a wide range of international and local theatrical productions, including dance, opera, musical theatre and drama, among other genres.
REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST
In February this year, senior lighting technician at the Artscape, Nicholas Tilney, celebrated his fortieth anniversary working at the theatre. Tilney has had the unique experience of witnessing the dramatic effect that developments in lighting technology have had on theatrical lighting throughout his career at the Artscape.
“I arrived at the Artscape Theatre in 1979, and almost immediately went into the lighting department,” Tilney states. He recalls working on the lighting crew in the early days of his career: “Back in those days, there were very tight changeovers at the theatre, as we would stage a ballet one night and an opera the next. We had what we called a ‘grid cloth’, which was a grid painted on a piece of canvas the size of the stage,” he says. He goes on to explain that the technical team would spread the grid cloth out on the stage and lower all the spot bars down to four metres, and then draw the lighting grid on paper, marking where all the beams hit the floor. “When it came to doing a changeover, the rig would be reset using the grid cloth that we had made before striking the show. This process could take four to five hours, and typically required a lot of muscle and resulted in many burnt fingers and missing fingerprints,” he muses.
When asked about the biggest innovations that he has witnessed during his tenure, Tilney identifies moving head lighting and LED technology as the biggest game-changes. “Our theatre stage is one of the busiest in the region, staging weekly or sometimes daily shows. We used to spend so much time focusing and refocusing lights that it was an almost insurmountable task, requiring a much larger staff contingent and longer changeover periods. Now that we have LED and moving head fixtures and digital control, we have a static lighting rig, and we only need to work on the board for changeovers – it is a radically different and far more efficient process.” The implications have been transformative for the theatre, as more productions can be staged with fewer human resources and in a fraction of the time, which has a direct effect on the financial sustainability of the complex.
EMBRACING CHANGE
The current head of the lighting department at the Artscape Theatre, Faheem Bardien, joined the team 23 years ago and has remained at the helm during the LED revolution that has radically changed theatrical lighting over the past two decades.
Bardien reflects on the moment when the first Martin MAC 2000s were included in the lighting rig at the Artscape for a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats in the early 2000s. “The introduction of Martin LED moving head fixtures was a real game-changer for the lighting department,” says Bardien. He goes on to add that ten out of the twelve original MAC 2000s are still operational, a testament to Martin’s commitment to making work-horse lighting for the theatre environment.
In 2004, the Artscape lighting department added four Martin MAC Performance units to the rig, which Bardien describes as “the grandfather and benchmark for theatre moving lights.” Bardien goes on to state that: “Moving lights have drastically simplified things like gobo washes and specials, and have resulted in quicker changeovers and focusing times, which has had a very positive effect on the theatre’s ability to stage multiple productions with tight changeovers.”
More recently, the Artscape deployed a radical upgrade of its lighting rig to replace all of its old tungsten fixtures with LED engines, relying on state-of-the-art lighting technology by ETC. Bardien states that aside from ensuring the theatre’s lighting reflects current industry standards, it has also allowed designers and technicians to play with more colours and achieve a much higher level of artistry on stage.
In addition to the new ETC Series 2 Lustr fixtures, the Artscape has expanded on their original Martin inventory, with the inclusion of MAC 700, MAC III, and MAC Quantum Spot units and the theatre’s older wash lights have replaced with Martin MAC Quantum Washes. While the team have embraced LED technology whole-heartedly, the old fixtures have not been discarded and are still kept in the stores should a designer call for tungsten lighting on a particular production, adding flexibility to the theatre’s in-house lighting inventory.
Reflecting on the migration from tungsten to LED technology, Bardien comments with a smile: “I think Eskom are very happy with our consumption now.” In line with an energy-conscious mindset, the theatre has recently installed generators, so that if there is an interruption in municipal supply, the entire venue can be run on backup power, ensuring that the show will go on – even during load shedding.
In line with the adoption of LED and moving head technology, lighting control at the Artscape theatre complex has migrated to ETC’s lighting consoles, which are the only lighting desks that are custom-designed for theatre applications. The opera house is currently using an ETC Eos Titanium lighting console and the theatre an ETC Gio. “Both the theatre and opera stages are much more versatile, thanks to ETC control. We are able to adapt our lighting to accommodate whatever genre comes to the stage with minimal fuss and almost no change-over time,” says Bardien.
Bardien adds that they have enjoyed a long-standing working relationship with Electrosonic, who have supplied the majority of the LED lighting fixtures and some consoles at the Artscape over the past 20 years. “Electrosonic has built its reputation on after-sales service, which has influenced our decision to purchase our equipment through them. If a light goes down, we can count on Electrosonic to either fix it on the same day or supply us with a loan unit so that the show always goes on.”
Bardien states that the Artscape has always prided itself on being a world-class theatrical institution, and is reflected in how Bardien sums up the recent upgrades. “We believe that the equipment in our theatres represents the best fixtures and consoles available on the market, and as such, an international cast and crew can perform on our stage using the same technology as anywhere in the world.”
A CHANGING FRONTIER
Kendrah Links started her career in theatrical lighting as a student at the Artscape theatre and, following graduation, was offered an internship position at the theatre. According to Bardien, Links has been a very welcome addition to the lighting department and exemplifies the future generation of lighting technicians in the industry.
While Links has developed her skills as a lighting technician using state-of-the-art LED fixtures, moving head lights and digital control, she recalls an instance during her internship where she was required to stand ready at a lighting fixture to quickly swop gels during a scene change in a ballet. This experience has sensitised Links to the enormous transformative power that the technology presents for her as a woman in the technical field.
Reflecting on Tilney’s recollections of the manual labour involved during changeovers in the 1970s and 80s, Links acknowledges that modern lighting technology has made it possible for her to enter a field that has traditionally been dominated by men. “Working on a lighting rig no longer requires hard muscle, and now calls for finesse, creativity, attention to detail and good communication skills. I feel that, as a woman, I am uniquely qualified in this regard, and am confident that I will continue to be successful in my chosen field,” Links states.
Bardien points out that The Artscape prides itself on promoting empowerment through skills development, diversity and transformation, and says of that: “What we need in our department is motivation and a willingness to learn the craft – irrespective of age, gender or ethnicity.” Theatre management’s dedication to skills development has seen many young technicians that have honed their skills at the Artscape go on to have successful careers internationally and at home. Working with a diverse team that spans several generations means invaluable sharing, dialogue and learning. As much as Links appreciates working for such experienced veterans, they see the value of her bringing fresh ideas or discoveries to their attention.
