ETC lights Bavarian Theatre Festival

Under the motto "Wildes Bayern", the 34th Bavarian Theatre Festival took place in Regensburg from 28 May to 10 June 2016. Over 30 theatre companies from Bavaria presented more than 50 performances - on five stages of the host theatre. Additionally, two temporary stages were installed especially for the fringe programme, and these relied on lighting systems from ETC. To illuminate these ad hoc platforms, ETC supplied more than 40 LED fixtures - from the Selador Classic , Selador Desire , Source Four LED and ColorSource series - and an Element lighting control desk.

Martin Stevens, head of the lighting department of the Regensburg Theatre, equipped the stage and the foyer of the Neuhaus Hall with ETC lighting. The main program of the Bavarian Theatre Festival took place in this venue, plus other concerts, readings and musical performances. 

"On the stages, every evening there was an opportunity for visitors to experience something different, so flexibility was needed," says Stevens. "We opted for a mix of Selador Studio, Selador Tungsten, D40 Vivid, D60 Lustr, ColorSource PAR and Source Four LEDs - some used as profiles and others with Fresnel adapters.

"They are reliable and - most importantly - they make beautiful light. In addition, they are energy efficient," continued Stevens. "We did not have much electricity available for lighting the stage in the foyer. If we had brought colour into play with conventional lights, we would have quickly reached the limits. Also, the foyer has no ventilation. Previously, we've had issues with heat from conventional lights, but with the ETC LED fixtures there were no complaints." 

The compact Element desk was used for the festival's fringe programme. "With its 60 faders, the Element console was ideal. Each item on the varied schedule had different requirements and we were able to respond very quickly and intuitively," Stevens added.

In the Neuhaussaal, Source Four LED fixtures were used to light panel discussions and other events hosted by the festival's media partner, Bayern 2 radio station. To control the lighting system, Stevens and his team used a laptop with an ETCnomad and ETC Gadget USB to DMX/RDM interface. "We have benefited greatly from the RDM capabilities of the products. The configuration of the Element console and ETCnomad was user-friendly and intuitive."