Theatre Design & Technology - May 1969 - 31

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

GARY W. GAISER

I
NOTES FROM THE USITT CONFERENCE,
LOS
ANGELES
AND
LAS VEGAS,
MARCH 17-23.
00.00.00 In a visit to the Mole Richardson
plant in Los Angeles the following books
were noticed in their library: Paul Smith, An
Examination of the Creative Process (Hastings House); The Technique of Special Effects for Cinematography by Raymond Fielding (Hastings House); and The Techniques
of the Sound Studio by Alec Nisbet (Hastings House). Our guide through the plant
was Mr. Frank P. Clark, author of Special
Effects in Cinematography, another book,
well worth examining for possible applications to theatre technology. On display in
various parts of the plant were the following
ranges of equipment: portable power plants
being checked out for rental, a smoke generator (modification of an insecticide sprayer),
using a spray with a special mineral oil
base, a Type 913 Cobweb Spinner using a
special development of Iiquid rubber cement
for the spun web, a special fan with a
guard and a built-in, 1" thick collimator
that focuses the air like a lens does for a
spotl ight; and of course a wide variety of
lighting instruments, some of which were
designed to take slide inserts and goboes
for pattern variation of the projected beam.
Anyone interested in a variety of supply
sources will find The Pacific Coast Studio
Directory extremely useful (6331 Hollywood
Boulevard at $1.00).
In another conversation the information was
volunteered that the use of acetone to dissolve specific colors of acetate cellulose
color media provides a quick source of
paints, especially saturated ones, for painting slides.

06.01.03 A sign of the changes coming in
standardization of stage lighting controls for
touring shows: many of the houses in Las
Vegas have no house switches.
06.01.01 An effective use of flexible,
mirror-surface sheet plastic was noted in the
Caesar's Palace Theatre in Las Vegas. It
was Mylar, stretched on beveled frames
and stapled to the rear on soft composition
board; these were then assembled to provide a large reflecting surface for lighting
or projections. A similar application was reported in a recent issue of Tabs (June,
1968, pp. 15-19), using "Mirralite" tocover a series of hinged flats to provide a similar effect.
04. and 05.01.00. Also on display was a
relatively simple hand-operated winch to
move scenery on and off stage by means of
a slot with a guide (straight or curved) attached to the scenery (wagon, curved stair,
three-dimensional setpiece, etc.). Both ends
of the cable (hauling and paying out, alternately) were attached to the same 10"
by 18" grooved drum. From an operating
height for a standing man, the cables were
led down to the floor and directed by pulleys from that point-all below the floor,
using channels. In many ways this device
for moving stage units is the upside-down
analog of a curtain track with an endless
line.
06.01.00 At the Stardust Show Room (Las
Vegas) 1 / 16 hp. stall-motors are used to
provide reliable color changers.

indigenous to bar and food-serving in an en·
vironment of side-talk. Experience has shown
that the only effective way to prepare and
use these tracks is to have the composer or
drummer hit a wood block as the music is
recorded in the same room, so that the
tempo is satisfactorily set. The use of a
metronome or electronic timer has not proved
satisfactory-the response is too slow. This
tape recording is played back during per·
formance with the recorded music. The replayed clicks, on a separate track, then
enable the band leader, drummer, trumpeter
and guitarist to synchronize their playing in
response to the timing in one earphone and
the program in the other. The fact that a
relief band hits this and the other theatres
once a week allows for a relatively sure adjustment to the production with this cueing
process.
03.02.00 There is a division of responsibil ity and function of stage management at
the Stardust that apparently provides a
workable arrangement. One stage manager
takes sound and light (7 men) and the oth er
takes the "staging" share of the responsibility with 20 stagehands. The shows are
difficult and they work together successfully, especially with the division of labor.
06.01.01 Both at the Stardust and the Desert Inn, in their small theatres, a remotecontrol follow spotlight was used to provide
one-man control of technical facilities. The
remote-control feature of this spotlight is
ready at hand by purchasing only the base
and the remote-control equipment Pelco of
Los Angeles has available with their vidicon
television camera. The control handle is a
joy-stick allowing integrated operation in
any direction.
07.01.00 While the theatre in the Desert
Inn has its own echo chamber, all th e new
clubs have electronic reverberation, mostly
by Fairchild.

Mirror-surface Mylar Sheet
(photos Ned A. Bowman)

06.01.03 To provide good light transmission for the six glass-enclosed booths in the
Desert Inn theatre, "water glass" panes,
approximately 5' x 9' were installed at a
cost of $1,000.00 per window. They are
cleaned once a week for maximum results in
the use of this first-class material.

04.01.00 At the other extreme, also at
the Stardust, was the shifting of the iceskating rink from its location below and
downstage up to the stage floor. It takes
two motors 20-30 seconds to shift the 14
ton rink, a perennial feature of the Stardust
shows, onto the hydraulic platform and after
another 30 seconds, the rink is on stage in
03.03.00 and 07.03.00 "Click tracks to
maintain the timing of music and song are
Llsed extensively in the Las Vegas theatres
to overcome the distracting noise problems

04.01 .00 Th e use of golf carts or "ch icken
feeders" is relatively extensive in the Las
Vegas theatres for moving scenery. In the
Desert Inn, these were free at the moment
below stage where they would have access
to the hydraulic platforms. Scenery is built
on them, just clearing the floor, and then
often the performers operate them as part
of a number. Three battery chargers and a
five-gallon glass jar of distilled water were
at hand for maintenance.
06.01.03 A solid state, fully automatic
lighting control system-for theatre, TV and
architectural dynamic lighting-MEMO-Q,un·
I imited in scope, offers hundreds of presets
instead of the few normally provided. The
(concluded on page 31)

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - May 1969