Open Forum

After 44 years of teaching, I retired, but I volunteer at a small Catholic junior high school to develop a drama program. It's not yet funded, but we have $500 to purchase lights for our twice- yearly performances. It seems that I need the newer lights and a gym set-up which is way out of my expertise!
When I started, I bought two old huge used strip light panels and 8 cheap floods to attach to a house grade dimmer box. The strips and dimmers are now worn out.

I was thinking a couple of light trees and a dimmer board- but the descriptions of the boards and new instruments befuddle me!

Jo Elsken
Trinity Catholic Junior High
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Sent from my iPad

I'd recommend PAR's or Fresnels since you need cheap fixtures. I"d also recommend going to a nearby college/university and talking with the tech director there for advice. Or contact a theatre lighting supply company for advice. I've always found our local supplier extremely helpful and supportive. 

Some things to consider: do you have enough and the right kind of power to support the dimmers needed? Will the board have enough capacity for what you need in productions? 

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John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY

Original Message:
Sent: 01-19-2016 08:38
From: Jo Anne Elsken
Subject: Very inexpensive lights for gym performances

After 44 years of teaching, I retired, but I volunteer at a small Catholic junior high school to develop a drama program. It's not yet funded, but we have $500 to purchase lights for our twice- yearly performances. It seems that I need the newer lights and a gym set-up which is way out of my expertise!
When I started, I bought two old huge used strip light panels and 8 cheap floods to attach to a house grade dimmer box. The strips and dimmers are now worn out.

I was thinking a couple of light trees and a dimmer board- but the descriptions of the boards and new instruments befuddle me!

Jo Elsken
Trinity Catholic Junior High
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Sent from my iPad

I totally agree with John: talk with a local college or a theatrical lighting supplier before you spend any money. The type of lights, the control, and the setup will totally depend on what type of performances you want to do, and also on how they can become part of a larger future setup. It's really easy to get talked into buying this and that, but unfortunately people often find that the setup doesn't work for their purposes, and then they're stuck with it.

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George F. Ledo
Set designer
www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
www.georgefledo.net

Original Message:
Sent: 01-19-2016 08:38
From: Jo Anne Elsken
Subject: Very inexpensive lights for gym performances

After 44 years of teaching, I retired, but I volunteer at a small Catholic junior high school to develop a drama program. It's not yet funded, but we have $500 to purchase lights for our twice- yearly performances. It seems that I need the newer lights and a gym set-up which is way out of my expertise!
When I started, I bought two old huge used strip light panels and 8 cheap floods to attach to a house grade dimmer box. The strips and dimmers are now worn out.

I was thinking a couple of light trees and a dimmer board- but the descriptions of the boards and new instruments befuddle me!

Jo Elsken
Trinity Catholic Junior High
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Sent from my iPad

Jo, 

I agree with both.  My suggestion is either PAR's or Fresnel's, but I would add that LED is the way to go.  You probably do not have much in the way of electrical power in your gym, and LED's use very little.  As an example, I have some Chauvet COLORado Tour 1 LED fresnels.  They draw 27 watts each, so I could put 30 of them on a circuit with no problem.

Your best bet is to talk to a lighting company, and you are in luck.  I see you are in Fort Smith, and I remembered that Stage Lighting Sales is in Barling, one of your neighbors.  Their phone # is (479) 926-6858.  Talk with them, and then RENT a system the first time.  Make sure it works the way you need it to work before you buy.

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Richard Shultz
Derby KS

Original Message:
Sent: 01-19-2016 08:38
From: Jo Anne Elsken
Subject: Very inexpensive lights for gym performances

After 44 years of teaching, I retired, but I volunteer at a small Catholic junior high school to develop a drama program. It's not yet funded, but we have $500 to purchase lights for our twice- yearly performances. It seems that I need the newer lights and a gym set-up which is way out of my expertise!
When I started, I bought two old huge used strip light panels and 8 cheap floods to attach to a house grade dimmer box. The strips and dimmers are now worn out.

I was thinking a couple of light trees and a dimmer board- but the descriptions of the boards and new instruments befuddle me!

Jo Elsken
Trinity Catholic Junior High
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Sent from my iPad

Yay! My response box is working again!

Talk to a lighting guy at a dedicated light and sound store, and give them as much information as possible and your budget. $500 will help supplement what you've got, but it might not go too far. I purchased 8 PAR cans, plus simple lighting board and two stands, and it came to about $1400 or so. It wasn't quite enough, but we got away with it with the production we did, as it needed to be dark and moody...

If you can talk to other colleges or schools nearby, they might also be able to help, but it might be tricky as some teachers, not because they are unwilling but because of red tape or lack of knowledge, might not be able to accommodate. A salesman at a lighting pro shop has your interests in mind as they want your repeat business, so they will hopefully not oversell you. In my experience, the lighting salesmen I've spoken to have been very, very helpful and not pushy at all, which was lovely.

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Phillip Goodchild
Theatre Arts Instructor/Assistant Department Head of English
Ruskin FL

Original Message:
Sent: 01-19-2016 08:38
From: Jo Anne Elsken
Subject: Very inexpensive lights for gym performances

After 44 years of teaching, I retired, but I volunteer at a small Catholic junior high school to develop a drama program. It's not yet funded, but we have $500 to purchase lights for our twice- yearly performances. It seems that I need the newer lights and a gym set-up which is way out of my expertise!
When I started, I bought two old huge used strip light panels and 8 cheap floods to attach to a house grade dimmer box. The strips and dimmers are now worn out.

I was thinking a couple of light trees and a dimmer board- but the descriptions of the boards and new instruments befuddle me!

Jo Elsken
Trinity Catholic Junior High
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Sent from my iPad