Sir John in Love
Creative Team
Director Benjamin Davis
Conductor Timothy Dean
Assistant Conductor Ryan Bancroft
Designer Emma and Giuseppe Belli
Assistant Designer Kirsten Rodger
Lighting Designer Johanna Town
Assistant Lighting Designer Shannon Howard
Choreographer Kally Lloyd-Jone
Production Team
Production Manager Malcolm Stephen, Sandy McRobbie
Stage Manager Ross Jardine
Deputy Stage Manager Katy Nicolson
Assistant Stage Managers Valentino Fabbreschi, Calum Paterson, Rachel Wells, Babette Wickham-Riddick
Technical Stage Manager Ian Smyth
Deputy Technical Stage Manager Rory Boyd
Head Flyman Daniel Thompson
Stage Technicians Kieran Kenning, Ben Leach, Fiona Dalgleish
Chief Production Electrician Mary Crook
Deputy Production Electrician/Board Programmer and Operator Neil Smith
Assistant Electricians Chariya Glasse-Davies, Stuart Leech, Ross McCrone
Stage Management
Original Choreography
There were two dance breaks within the Opera, below is a notation of the original choreography.
File:Half Hanniken Choreography.pdf
File:Dance of the Fairies.pdf
Technical Stage Management
Model Box Pictures
Please find the link below for the model box pictures of Sir John in Love.
Final Fly Plot
Please find the link below for the final version of the fly plot for Sir John in Love.
Masking Notes
- Soft Masking =
- Hard Masking =
False Pros Rigging
The false proscenium arch that is one of the main features within the duration of the opera is positioned between counter weight bars four and five.
The position of the false pros became an issue when trying to implement it on stage due to the fact it had to be between two counter weight bars.
Automation is not an option for this part of the stage as the building's structural "I" beams come to a node point between the grid panels causing the area to be too small for the automation spreader beam to fit in that area between bars 4 and 5.
A hemp bar would also not be possible due to the weight of the structure.
We finally decided on using the chain motors and a truss spreader to rig the false pros. Below is a detailed description of how we achieved this;
- 4 x loadgaurds
- 4 x 3m h30v prolyte truss
- 4 x 1.5m steel drift
- 12 x 3 1/4 shackles
- 4 x 2m strops
- 5 x 1m drift
- 4 x 8m drift
We used a 1.5m steal drift with the plastic sleeve and wrapped it around the node point and connected it with itself with a 3 1/4t shackle. we then hung another 3 1/4t shackle of this to attach the chain for the motor to. the motor was then attached to the truss with a 3 1/4t shackle on a 2m strop that was wrapped around the truss. ( this was repeated for all motors)
The false pros was then attached in two sections the header was attached with 1m drifts then raised until the bottom of the header was just off the floor. Then the legs of the pros were attached with pin hinges an 8m drifts then raised slowly into position.
Hydraulic Wheels for Trucks
Each of the 2 trucks has Pneumatics installed to make is safer and easier to move and brake.
They had 4 sets of tricasters, which were connected through narrow, durable air hose to a gas cylinder attached to the back of the trucks.
They had a small switch which, when flicked, would change the truck from the down to up position (and visa versa).
There were some limitations though. We had to ensure that there was no extra weight in the trucks while they were raised, as the wheels could not take the weight.
Also, they were occasionally unreliable and did require a little bit of gentle persuasion.
In whole however, they proved to be an excellent way to brake the trucks.
Notes
Assistant Lighting Designer
File:Sir John right and labeled section drawingAth 2014.pdf
Electrics
Control
Control for this show was provided by the GrandMA1 Full-size console. The console was also running a network session, which allowed the designer to have a laptop with separate views and change these as she wished. A network system diagram is attached here for reference.
The control position was also moved further down the stalls, to aid in communication with the designer.
Moveable Booms
Because of the large trucks in the first half of the performance moveable booms were required on Stage Left. Unfortunately there were no boom bases with wheels so we used a dolly to transport the boom into and out of the scene dock as required. There was also cross plugging required - this just meant we needed clear and obvious labeling on all of the plugs. We also needed to do an interval focus, where we set up cues in the desk to focus the instruments individually.
Paging Ladders
The height of the trucks were an issue with the ladders. The USL Ladder was unable to be rigged onto automation so we had a piece of sash to page the ladder out of the way when moving the trucks on or off stage.