kala Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 hello all, let me first tell ya what I'm doing here... and then hopefully someone out there will be able to help! Actually I know very little about the back stage world, and what I do, has been crammed into my wee noggin through research over the last three months or so ( not long I know!) so you can imagine how much I have to learn :) Anyway... I am actually an interior design student in my final year at Edinburgh College of art. For my final year project I am transforming Edinburgh's original odeon theatre into Queen Margaret University performing arts campus! My research has allowed me to plan the space sufficiently enough, but its the technicalities that are picklin me ed! I have a detail due in in one week... ... and what I am doing is casting the fly tower up through the building to rehearsal and studio spaces in the floors above. At this point the fly tower slices through the above floors and is caged in with glass/perspex, to act as a lighting feature in what has become a very open relaxed performance space to act as a contrast between the more traditional theatre space to a more art house performance space.... :blink: am I makin nonsense?? anyway... my question? is this possible, what is actually in the uppermost parts of the tower, where can I find out technical information about a fly towers rigging and pulley systems and anything else you can give me that I have not mentioned would be HUGELY appreciated! tanks :wub: kala Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calder Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Kala, Having studied at QM's Gateway campus, I am sure that the lecturers there would be happy to help you in your task. This would also allow you to see the space they use at the moment and you could ask them which parts they like/dislike. The person you want to speak to is Scottie Anderson. He will also give you information on terminology. He is a very nice man! Calder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kala Posted March 14, 2005 Author Share Posted March 14, 2005 thank you kindly young sir... I will follow this up, although my past attempts at gaining any knowledge from both tutors and students at the college has left me with pretty much zilcho... It is in fact the gateway campus that I am conceptually taking away from lieth and bringing closer to the town centre and bigger theatres, and I have managed to get hold os the floor plans and sections some time ago now, so spatially I am aware of whats happening already, but yes to see it as is would, am sure, be my best option if not the bain of my life to this date! everyones as busy as me I guess.... I will persist with my search for knowledge, and in the mean time if anyone has anything else to offer me, or any ideas of what would improve any space that I can encorporate in my design, again I would be most grateful... thank you once again kala Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Ummm...is your brief to be at all practical? Because a glass flytower would be a massive pain in the ass for all sorts of reasons. Plus, the stuff you get in a flytower is all a bit industrial for showing off. In an old fashioned hemp house you're looking at something like:http://www.hallstage.com/scenes.jpg and if it's all nice and new and up to date you're looking at things like:http://www.interamericastage.com/images/portfolio/stetson.jpg (Thanks Hall Stage and InterAmericaStage for the pics.) Or maybe you like that industrial feel. The LD won't thank you for put a great big window above the stage, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kala Posted March 14, 2005 Author Share Posted March 14, 2005 first let me explain a little better.... yes it is the very new industrail feel that I am looking for. And yes practicality is a must in design! I know many think interior design is all mdf and carpets, but Lawrence Lew ellen what dya ma call him is a joke to our practice, and not what we do at all! everything must function and look aesthetically plesing! The building is split over three levels.Ground floor:This is the public space... original features incorporate most of the design decisions and therefore a predominantly Grecian style theatre, with a traditional theatrical performance space.First floorQMUC student space... comprising of rehearsal spaces, communal spaces, an open flexible performance space, showers etc... The fly tower will pass straight through this floor... a much less ornate space. In fact stripped to brick work and concrete with a very industrial feel... hence I want the workings of the fly tower to be visible. Third floorQMUC teaching studios... the fly tower cuts through this floor at 1m20, again a much more industrial stripped feeling. The reason for this is this is the learning parts of what happens below. Stripping everything back and showing its workings, is reflected in the teaching the students from scratch, taking it all down to the bone. In terms of lighting, the fly tower can be blacked out while theatre performances take place, and there is no natural lighting directly above... in fact I want the space that surround it to be dark, so it can be lit up as a feature. but as it is less likely to be used as often as the space will be a college the theatre doubles as a lecture hall. I am also in the workings of considering access to the tower from the upper levels, a simple problem solved by considering application of glass to the surrounding frame work as doors! I hope that I am making sense... I tend to waffle! hence above! but thank you for the images... a helpful hand indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 One major problem would be achieving blackout on stage. Obviously, this is very important to allow the LD to have total control over the lighting :blink: You would have to have a pretty good system to mask the glass to make this work. One wall would need to have the counterweight cages mounted on, which probably wouldn't look that great and would present structural issues. Similarly, the roof of the fly tower has to be able to take a hell of a lot of weight, which would normally be distributed through the walls - Your glass structure would have to provide this support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calder Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Kala, I'm up in Edinburgh this weekend, and I still have all my course work (sorry I did not mention that I did the Stage Management and Theatre Production course). This includes terminology and references to books which may be useful to you. Let me know your thoughts. Calder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kala Posted March 15, 2005 Author Share Posted March 15, 2005 Calder, ahhhh.... any aditional information is so helpful... is there a pm service on this forum? ... It would be good to talk in a wee bit more depth about it. Kala Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Yes, there's a PM function. Click on Calder's Name, then select "Send a Personal Message" from the communicate box on the right hand side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 what is actually in the uppermost parts of the tower,normally a couple of technitions playing "avoid the manager" :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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