DWR Distribution and CUE Lighting sponsored the St Mary’s Battle of the Bands Lighting Operator Competition, hosted at the schools’ theatre, The Edge in Waverley, Johannesburg.
While Battle of the Bands is an annual event that schools look forward to, it is the first time this category will form part of the festivities. The prizes include an Avolites Titan 1 Dongle, which will transform a laptop or PC into a powerful lighting control instrument, a Leatherman multi tool, LED Laser Torch (each LD has to see in the dark) and a few other prizes like a Robe jacket and rigging gloves.
“We only have space for 12 entrants as there’s only 12 bands in the final, interested students have to enter before 1 April and entries will be on a first come first served bases,’ comments Barry Strydom, theatre manager at St Marys and owner of CUE Lighting and Sound.
“When the bands for the finals are announced, each lighting operator will be allocated a band for which they will be responsible, the first choice would be a band from a school, but if a particular school did not enter a band or the school’s band did not make the final, a band from another school will be allocated a lighting designer along with a recording of their song,’ says Strydom.
To give all young operators a confidence boost, Strydom will be hosting training on the Lighting Control System at St Mary’s Senior School’s The Edge Theatre on 3 April. “The final lighting rig for the event will be ready on 9 April and each operator will have time to work with the rig,’ he explains. “The rig will be fixed and will be the same for all operators, there will be a number of pre-programmed standard effects, chases and looks that can be used. Each operator will be given one page containing ten slides on which they can programme their own chases, effects and looks.’ The lighting equipment on the rig will also give operators something fantastic to work with and includes Robe Pointes, Robe 300 Spot Classics, Robe 300 LED Wash fixtures, various generic fixtures and a Le Maitre MVS Hazer.
Operators will need to be present at their band’s sound check to have a practice run with them on the afternoon of 10 April, each operator will be responsible for lighting the two songs their band performs on the night of the finals.
DWR Distribution’s Dave Whitehouse, a former lighting designer working on many productions across South African theatres and Gareth Chambers, who previously worked as a lighting operator, technical designer and currently presents regular training on lighting consoles at DWR, will form part of the judging panel.
