Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1998 - 29

The

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Rep Plot

The ~Iet's substantial rep plot is. for all practical purposes. a permanent plot. \\'al'l1e Chouinard (Resident Lighting Designer) and Joseph
Dana Gracel' (~Iaster Electrician) emphasize the need for consistencl" in the plot because of the number of operas contained in the
'.Iet's repertorl".
:\ typical weekll" production, chedule at the ~Ietropolitan Opera
House calls for a production to be teched or dress rehear ed during
the midday Il"hile performances of opera drall'n from the repertorl"
are performed nightly. The "'et is seldom dark and a different opera
is performed each night.
Changeol"ers at the "'et are qUick. From an afternoon rehearsal
to an el"ening performance the crell' has onll' three to four hours allotted to set up the sceneI'I" and lighting. For most performances the
actual focus for an el"ening's performance doesn't start until an hour
before the house is opened. To speed up the process of focussing,
the Met makes use of a grid projected onto an asbestos curtain which
is 100I'ered into the proscenium during the front of house focus sessions. Additional focussing mal' be done upstage of the act curtain
while the audience is gathering for an el'ening's performance. It is
also common at the ~Iet to hal"e on-stage units refocused during intermissions. While they try to aI'oid it, refocussing can also happen
throughout the sholl'.
:\11 of the fixtures contained lIithin the rep plot are designated
as focusable units. bUl in reality. the time constraints of the
changeol"er are a limiting factor in determining just how manl" indiI"idual units a designer can aClUall1' utilize Il'ithin a design. For Tbe
Rake's Progress Tipton made use of approximatell' 150 units con-

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tained Il"ithin the ~Iet's plot. Both Gracel" and Chouinard emphasize
that it is better for a lighting designer to concentrate on making a fell'
critical choices when selecting uni ts and plolling a shOll" than to get
caught-up in using too much inl"entory. This philosophy also carries
into the cueing of a shOll'. Once again thel' emphasize that it is beller
to write fell'er cues for a design that "looks good." rather then to get
ol'erlr sophisticated and to hal"e no time to fine-tune each image,
The inl"entory of the rep plot boasts approximatell" .'\00 fixlUres
and fifteen to lIl'enty scenic projectors of I"arl"ing configurations,
Control at the "'et is completed through tll'O ETC Obsession .'1000
consoles and 6.'\0 dimmers of rar~'ing capacities and from different
manufacturers. The inl"entorl" also contains sel"eral hundred units
that mal' be used to supplement the hang for anI" of the operas Il"ithin
the repertorl". These supplemental lighting instruments II ill be added
to the plot or struck as each production moves through a changeover
each day. If a designer requests fixt ures that are not contained Il"ithin
the inventon' the Met Il"ill consider either renting or purchasing the
additional equipment depending on budgetarl' issues-purchasing
being the preferred solution.
Provisions for lighting from front-of-house include: tll'O box
boom pOSitions that contain more than twenty 19-degree Source
Fours; two side-dome pOSitions on either side of the auditorium each
containing an assortment of sixteen IOx2.'\ and 8x HERS fixtures:
and three different booth positions. The nearest (front booth) contains four 10ng-thrOlI" follOlI' spots and four IOx23 ERS units: the central booth contains fourteen IOx23 ERSs along lI'ith fil'e scenic
projectors ranging from cI KII' to 10 KII' in size: and the booth farthest
from the stage contains sixteen 10-degree Source Fours. eight 8x H

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1998