Every Broadway production is unique, with its own engaging story to tell. But, whether it’s a comedy or a tragedy, a musical or a drama, there is one thing that four separate productions opening this month on Broadway have in common: Every one of them is using RC4 Wireless products to untether their props, costumes, and set pieces, creating the magic of theatre.
With a presence in Manhattan going back to 1991, technical directors, lighting designers and master electricians from On the Twentieth Century, An American in Paris, On The Town, and New York Spring Spectacular featuring the Rockettes, all found compelling reasons to call in these specialists for their needs. While RC4 Wireless is certainly not the only company that can supply wireless DMX and dimming, they are the only ones who can claim to deliver unique digital IDs for every customer, project, and system. New York City is a town with as saturated a wireless spectrum as it gets. From house Wi-Fi to wireless communication systems, automation, and more, there may be a million different signals being broadcast across this island in one day. So how do you prevent the production next door from inadvertently sending an unwanted signal from their wireless transmitter to a receiver on your stage? You make sure you have the right gear for the job.
The RC4 Magic system operates in the popular 2.4GHz ISL radio band. When you power on the transmitter, it scans the spectrum to find the least trafficked portion of the band to avoid interference with other wireless systems, and then only uses 1/15th of the spectrum to deliver a full DMX-512 universe. This is why RC4 Magic really “plays well with others.” What sets this system apart from all others is the fact that it provides the end user with a unique private ID for every system sold. This means there is zero chance of multiple RC4 Magic systems communicating with each other accidentally.
On the Twentieth Century
We caught up with Brian Maiuri, the Local One house head and production electrician over at the American Airlines Theatre, which has been utilizing RC4 Magic products on the show On the Twentieth Century. “Almost every piece of scenery in this show uses wireless dimming, along with several props, most of which have multiple fixtures requiring wireless dimming. And the show’s main scenic element is a life-sized train automated on a free spinning turtle. This turtle transports the train up and downstage as well as left to right. The train contains over fifty individual lighting fixtures, and we certainly cannot have cables following it. There are a number of reasons I opted to use the RC4 Magic Series 3 devices, first of which is the dependability of the product. I have been using RC4 products for over ten years with consistent results, and their customer service is unparalleled.
“There have been so many times that I’ve been handed a show prop that needs to light up, but there is virtually no space to hide the gear necessary to make that happen. Add the fact that the amperage requirement for 12V lamps sometimes exceeds 10 amps. On the Twentieth Century is one of those situations where two of the show’s props can only be accommodated with an RC4 Magic Series 3 DMX4dim-500 High Power dimmer pack because they are small enough to fit. We also have hundreds of LED pieces in the show and I favor the options that RC4 Magic Series 3 provides for perfectly smooth dimming.”
An American in Paris
I spoke with Michael Pitzer, first introduced to RC4 Wireless as the Production Electrician for Once. He explained the extensive list of RC4 Magic gear he is utilizing in his role as Production Electrician for An American in Paris, which transferred to Broadway from the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. “We are using a DMXio transceiver as the transmitter, four more DMXio receivers, ten RC4 Magic DMX2dim 2-channel dimmers, four RC4 Magic DMX4dim 4-channel dimmers, and eight RC4 Magic DMX4dim-500 high-power 4-channel dimmers. They control a variety of sources, from single lamp sconces and cabaret table lights to multiple circuits of birdies on the Baurel Stage. In the Morris Columns and Shop Counters they are driving several circuits of incandescent lamps and sending DMX out to LED fixtures.” Over all, this play is utilizing wireless components to make 22 different pieces illuminate. While many of these wireless dimmer applications are subtle — like illuminating glass showcases — there was simply no way to get the props on and off stage easily if they were tethered. RC4 devices have proven to be rock solid on past productions for Pitzer, so he had a great comfort factor knowing they were involved in this production and would arrive from Paris ready to go.
New York Spring Spectacular
Down the street at Radio City Music Hall, the New York Spring Spectacular featuring the Rockettes is ushering in the spring festivities of New York. Lighting designer David Agress worked with some amazing production electricians who put the system together in the middle of one of the busiest city districts on earth. There are numerous wirelessly controlled pieces in this production. Paul Sonnleitner, who served as the lighting programmer for the show and masterminded the control layout for these elements. Agress explains, “We have 36 LED-covered jackets worn by the Rockettes (44 with swings and spares). Each jacket provides individual control of many separate color-changing pixels. To avoid massive wireless traffic and make playback flawless, each jacket utilizes an Arduino controller with an SD card storing cues. We only send one universe of control signals via an RC4 Magic DMXio transmitter, and an RC4 Magic DMXi2c delivers DMX channel data using an interface Arduinos really like, ensuring all the jackets are perfectly synchronized at all times. At the end of the segment, as the Rockettes form a kick line, the 36 active Jackets play back full-motion video sequences.” Rodd McLaughlin performed the content creation and jacket programming duties.
“Here at Radio City, all RC4 Magic transceivers are configured to operate on one selected radio channel which is carefully coordinated with extensive Wi-Fi and other systems in our show,” Agress adds, noting that this, along with the narrow RC4 channel width, is the biggest reason RC4 Magic is present. The guarantee that no other device can interfere with this dedicated frequency is priceless. When you invest the time and technology to play a movie file across a line of dancing Rockettes, there is no room for error from signal dropouts.
In addition, there are four prop coin-operated binoculars in the Empire State Building Observation Deck scene. These move freely, pushed around by the Ensemble dancers, and are tricked-out to become deck follow spots illuminating two aerialists that fly above the scene. The props hold custom LED spotlights from Microlight Systems and are controlled via RC4 Magic DMXio receivers. There are also lights built into the ticket booth in Grand Central Station, and the famous red stairs from Time Square. All of these utilize RC4 Magic devices.
On the Town
The fourth production I checked out was the remake of the classic On The Town, a story about three sailors on leave, looking for love in the Big Apple. I spoke with the show’s lighting designer, Jason Lyons. “My experience with RC4 Wireless goes back many years to the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, where I was first introduced to tiny RC4 dimmers by then Props Foreman Sean Dane. We had a unique need for a color-changing pregnancy test — yes, pregnancy test! — that came down from the fly on an angel. I was amazed when I showed up and found that Sean had incorporated an RC4 Magic DMX4dim wireless dimmer into a slightly oversized pregnancy test. I have been a fan of the system ever since and it made it an easy choice when we needed to deliver data wirelessly to the Slam Bang wagon for On The Town.” The Slam Bang wagon includes Vivid RGB Lighting Chip6 inline pixels as well as clear bulbs around the perimeter of the piece. All of this is controlled using RC4 Magic DMXio data transceivers.
Speaking with Sean Dane, now the RC4 Wireless Sales Director and Application Specialist, he is extremely proud of all the work his company gets on Broadway, as well as thousands of other theatres around the world. Not just confined to the theatre, their gear has played a roll in many huge touring concert productions including Katy Perry, Keith Urban, Kasey Musgrave, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and Fall Out Boy.
“Two and half years ago I was asked to join this company after a decade of being a customer. I jumped at the opportunity to work with a product that I love, and a company that delivered technology that was unique and powerful. Now, every day I get to work with the people producing the highest level of live entertainment in the world. Whether it’s Disney, Cirque du Soleil, the Super Bowl or a new play at a small school, I get to spend my day helping artists realize their vision. It really is an honor for me and RC4 Wireless to be the go-to answer for so many. James David Smith, our founder, designed a system to work in the harsh environment of Broadway and that means a better product for all of our customers, big and small.”
