As the Forecourt will stage a diversity of productions, each with differing requirements, it was decided to initially hire the staging, starting with a domed stage supplied by Edwin Shirley Staging.
When it came to the lighting and audio equipment, the choice of equipment was driven by the fact that a versatile and modular production package could easily be utilized in other venues within the Opera House. "It's not just a lighting system," explained Phil Dunesky, stage lighting technical operations manager. "It's a power distribution system, it's a dimmer rack system and it's a patching system that can be put together or broken apart depending on how we want to use it."
Jands dimmers and power distribution provide the backbone of the system, and link neatly with the existing Jands HP12 dimmers in the Opera House's inventory. "They've all been racked up into individual roll cages that can stack into any form. We're also using Jands patch racks for 110 volt and 240 volt patching," added Peter Lockwood, lighting supervisor.
Central to the lighting specification are 32 Strand SL profiles - these are complemented by four Molefay 8-lites, one Xebex 2k followspot and 168 Spotlight Par 64s. "We've used the Spotlight Par cans before and we find them an excellent design," said Dunesky. "We've gone for a lighting rig that delivers more bang for your buck - lots of Pars, lots of colour. The rigging elements include eight CM Lodestar 1 ton chain hoists and an eight-way motor controller from Hoisting Equipment. Two ring mains supply power to the Forecourt - a 200A for the sound requirements and a 500A for the lighting. A Powerlock double adaptor splits the power to the stage and tower. David Claringbold, sound and AV technical manager, extensively trialed the latest advancements in PA technology when choosing the system for the Forecourt. Having not purchased a system for five years, he lined up several line array and horizontal array systems. "For what we do, which is quite fine work, we found that the Meyer M2D line array system sounded the best," he concluded. "It was also the most straightforward system to configure for both internal and external use. We also added in some of the Meyer M3D system and M3D cardioid sub woofers." Although audio quality was the key priority, it also helped that the Opera House sound department has a good working relationship with Sydney hire company Coda Audio, who own a Meyer M3D line array system which can be drafted in to expand the Opera House system when required. For the first show staged at the Forecourt, Dave Denison, one of Meyer's field technicians, commissioned the system, which was designed in consultation with Meyer. Using a SIM II system analyzer, Claringbold and the team extracted an excell
