Creating the touring version of such a large scale musical has required the innovative and dedicated work of many disciplines. Stage Technologies, having worked on numerous Cameron Mackintosh productions in the past, such as The Witches of Eastwick, Oliver! and the Netherlands production of Miss Saigon, were pleased to have been asked to rise to the challenge once more and provide the stage automation for the tour.
The show itself is highly automated and Stage Technologies have provided 37 axes of control and a range of variable-speed winches. These are involved in over seventy scene changes, requiring hundreds of separate movements all controlled by a single Acrobat console. From an automation perspective, the show is perhaps best known for its helicopter. Working in close collaboration with designer Mike Barnet, Stage Technologies have fitted a positioning control system that will allow five axes of movement (not counting the pilot!) - raise/lower, roll, pitch, traverse left/right and the rotors.
New product innovation has also played a key role in getting Miss Saigon on the road by solving the space constraint associated with such a tour. The Little-Tow winch, a small version of the Big-Tow, fits perfectly into Miss Saigon’s raked show deck, driving the pylons and also the 15 large blinds that move between almost every scene of the show. As Ted Moore, head of show automation for Stage Technologies commented: "The Little-Tow winch will fit in even smaller spaces than the Big-Tow. This new winch, combined with our existing winches, automation equipment and consoles allow us to rent the tour an off-the-shelf solution."
(Ruth Rossington)
