ETC Prodigy Balance Exemplifies History and Progress

In the heart of Dearborn, Michigan, lies the Henry Ford Academy, a public charter school that blends STEM education with art, design, and hands-on career experiences. Uniquely located within Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, the school offers students an immersive learning environment surrounded by history and progress. The museum spans 12 acres of exhibition space, showcasing groundbreaking achievements in automobiles, trains, planes, and manufacturing. The complex also features the Anderson Theater, a shared space for both the museum and the academy.

Jon Weaver, Technical Director at Fantasee Integration, shares how the new award-winning Prodigy Balance rigging system found a home in this space. “The previous wire guide system was from the late ‘70s and was just placed on top of the original system installed in the ‘30s,” says Weaver.

After a new system quote came in much higher than anticipated, both Weaver and the theater were left scratching their heads on how to move forward. That’s when they turned to ETC. Weaver explained the plan for the space and assumed ETC would propose a dead hung pipe grid and motorized electrics. “This had become the norm. People weren’t doing counterweight safely; we saw so many high schools just ripping (their systems) out completely.”

After connecting with Matt Mullen, Rigging Regional Sales Manager, and Rebecca Knipfer, Rigging Product Manager, Weaver learned that the team had the ideal solution for the theater’s rigging challenge. 

Revealing a Market Disruptor

Prodigy Balance features an integrated brake and over-speed sensor that automatically engages if the system detects the arbor moving faster than the preset speed. “After seeing the drop test and all of the other features, I was left speechless,” Weaver recounted. “Twenty-five years of seeing all the coolest stuff in the industry, and it’s very rare that I’m left speechless.”

High Quality, Easy Install

“The install went very well. ETC spends so much time making sure that the layman can install this stuff, and it’s the same kind of quality that we’ve come to expect,” Weaver notes. Prodigy Balance’s standard parts and modular design make both installation in a new space or a retrofit straightforward, helping to minimize cost and time. “I had an IA rigger on call for the installation, and three or four times he came up to comment how nice (Prodigy Balance) was,” Weaver shared.

Prodigy Balance’s versatility as a manual rigging system creates a safe environment for staff and students to learn the principles and craft of manual counterweight rigging. Fully eliminating the need for traditional weight loading practices, Balance keeps everything at stage level, enhancing safety and efficiency.

Another key safety feature is its electronically locking line sets. Weaver states, “The idea of being able to digitally lock all of the line sets except for the ones they are supposed to use - without using 30 padlocks - was really an advantageous thing because of how many different people we have in the space.”

Integrated work lights positioned to the floor and rope remove the need for additional backstage rail lighting. The intensity and color of these LED work lights can be easily controlled through a QuickTouch Preset, Foundation Controller, or Paradigm system. During installation, Weaver noted students and faculty stopped by to see the progress, “As soon as the work lights lit up and the ropes turned blue, everyone was very excited.”

In addition to the state-of-the-art Prodigy Balance system, the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation also hosts seven Paradigm systems, a Mosaic system, and an Echo system.

With the installation of Prodigy Balance and other ETC advanced control systems, the Anderson Theater, located in the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, continues its legacy of highlighting cutting-edge technology and exemplifies what can happen when you combine history with progress.