Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1993 - 53

But the situation at GAC was but one
example of what seems to be a string of
poorly executed motorized rigging systems
in high schools and other small venues
across the country. In the Sunbelt area itself,
another high school with an identical system had removed its orchestra shell completely and virtually suspended use of the
system, citing safety concerns. The engineer
who inspected GAC had inspected several
other venues across the country with similar
systems and problems.
Nicholas Christy, PE, who holds
patents dealing with motorized rigging, told
the author:
If a motorized system is done properly, you shouldn't need a
grid ... Maintenance should be minimal .. .In nine-tenths of all installations, be they electrical, mechanical,
whatever, the problem is the installation itself... The actual problems
come in cutting corners and "saving
money," primarily the contractor's
money.'
It is a twisted quirk of free enterprise and
the bid system that increased competition
can be a detriment to the customer-particularly when the customer is intent not on
getting the best value at the lowest cost, but
on getting the lowest cost, period.
Also consider that if the GAC were
merely a high school auditorium (and the
system was installed properly) the rigging
would be merely annoying. In fact, by the
standards of high school theatre, if the
speed of the linesets is your biggest problem, you're in excellent shape. But it was
not just a high school auditorium; it was a
full-bore road house. And this turned an
annoyance into a nightmare.
The schedule was such that a single
crew member was frequently left to run
smaller shows singlehandedly. Obviously
this precluded having one person run the
panel and another watch the linesets, as had
been recommended. Maintenance opportunities were few and far between, especially
those long enough to deal with the timeengulfing nature of the rigging. The venue
was priced low enough to be a haven for
amateur groups, which always failed to
understand why they had to clear the stage
when linesets were moving. And, of course,
you couldn't ask them to clear the stage during a performance.
The Arts Center was as busy as it was
because it aggressively sought business.
Anything that might make the Center look
bad was viewed with extreme paranoia. Just
prior to the release of the engineer's report,
staff members were instructed not to talk
with news reporters unless they had permis-

sion from the assistant city manager first.
It was the assistant city manager who
talked to The Sunbelt Press following the
release of the engineer's report. He is quoted
as saying: "The system is sound and safe.
We feel good about that." And to a differ·
ent journalist: 'Tve been in there, and I've
never heard the kind of noise you're talking
about. .. "

And so the memos and reports piled up,
and the safety inspections became a tedious,
time-consuming ritual. The user groups
were annoyed, the crew was frustrated, and
the audience wondered why that drop was
still flying out halfway into the scene. And
of course, there was the real possibility that
one accidental death could cost them more
than any renovation.
In the end, these pressures, got to them
("them" being the assistant city manager's
"we")-sort of City officials talked of overhauling the entire system-very quietly of
course. Budgeting money was another matter. Actually fixing the problem would
require hearings and bidding and (gulp!)
admitting there was something wrong with
the system to begin with.
Eventually the "overhaul" was downgraded to removing the orchestra shell,
replacing the unrated hardward, and pressing onward with the safety rituals. And
most of that happened only because the
TD pressed on with it-with or without
the city's approval.
So, write your own ending:
The city denies and/or ignores the
problem right up until the
inevi table major accident, after
which there is a ugly frenzy of
blame and denial. When the smoke
clears, the survivors either replace
the system or (more likely) close the
facility.

Of course, there is no Generic Arts Center.
But there are facilities remarkably like it.
And rigging systems, like the one described
here, are all too real. What happened in the
make-believe Generic is hardly unique. You
could visit a hundred different facilities and
rerurn with a hundred different horror Stories. Most of them aren't as bad the one
described here. But a few are much worse.
It should be noted that $8.7 million is
very economical for a facility like the GAC.
A university in our mythical 5unbelt spent
around $50 million on a 1,ODD-seat space
with two smaller stages and an art gallery.
And that facility has its share of problemsalthough the rigging is not one of them. One
major problem (and a major explanation for
its considerable expense) is that the architect
of the Sunbelt University Arts Center was
trying to be revolutionary with his designand in the process made many aspects of the
building marginally functional.
Does this all sound too familiar? As
Peter Feller told Theatre Crafts:
The backstage area should be a
working environment. It's got to be
conducive to the realities of putting
on theatre now and to projections
for putting on theatre in the future.
Architects have to hire and listen to
theatre consultants-to the Roger
Morgans and Jules Fishers of the
world. '
Obviously, Generic didn't listen. And that
tendency is depressingly common.
You could talk a lot about absurd
designs, poor installation, and shoddy maintenance, but the factor you'll find in common most is money, and lack thereof What
the theatre consultants recommend, after all,
is rarely the cheapest thing available.
So, here is something to ponder as we
watch the second electric make its loud, torturous ascent back toward the location
where the grid should be but isn't:
The diffirence in price between what
the system should cost, and what the
lowest bid was, is always paid by the
technical staff-a price paid not just
in extra man hours, but in stress, safety, relations with the user group,
reduced perfirmance quality,-and
ultimate liability when the thingfinal.
Iy kills somebody.
~

Wisdom triumphs over politics, a
bond is sold, and the system is
replaced with something safer and
more efficient, before it is too late.
And they all lived happily ever
after...
Unfortunately, a bare minimum of experience in these things will reveal which ending is more likely. But if they do decide to
replace it, the new system will no doubt be
advertised by the GAC with the greatest
hyperbole.

Tony Padegimas is a.Fee/ance stagehand and
writer working in the Phoenix area.
Endnotes

icholas Christy. telephone interview, 28 Ocwber
1992.
Michael Sommers. "The '90s: Global Markels and 1\,larkeling," Throm Crafts. January 1990: 62.

TD&T

1993 FAll

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1993