Denmark-based entertainment automation specialist Motor Stage Automation (MSA) supplied performer flying winches, hoists for scenic motion, stage lifts and a full MOVEKET control system together with innovation, creativity and expertise in the art of automation for the acclaimed production of Another Brick in The Wall, Part 5 staged at the charismatic Østre Gasværk Teater in Copenhagen.
MSA was brought in by Østre Gasværk’s stage manager Rumle Dons, artistic director and creative producer Søren Møller, and production manager Markus Schulin-Zeuthen, together with the show’s director Heinrich Christensen when they decided on automation as the best technical solution to deal with several challenges involved in staging this complex work.
“We needed so many elements precisely executed at specific times to fit the musical timeline and narrative,” explained Søren who had worked with MSA’s MD Christian Vigsø on several previous projects. Søren was “very pleased” they made the decision to go with automation and MSA.
This show was the first adaptation of Pink Floyd’s seminal studio album, The Wall, for a theatrical context. The entirety of the album was played by a live band who themselves appeared and disappeared in different positions throughout the performance on stage lifts, and in between other scenic elements, a visual illusion at the heart of the storytelling.
MSA’s technical project manager Jimmy Johnson oversaw everything related to finding the best, safest and most precise practices needed to stage a ground-breaking show. On-site he worked closely with set designer Kim Witzel, choreographer Sofie Akerø, aerial designer Sita Bhuller Otto and the Østre Gasværk team plus two automation operators – Erik Jensen and Mathias Kromann – supplied by MSA to tech, run and operate the automation for the duration.
Three of the four Alfa System stage M:LIFT1020-L – all 1m x 2 m scissor-lifts variable between 0.6m when down, and 2.4 metres high when up – were located behind the set and used to reveal / conceal musicians from the audience.
The fourth Alfa System M:LIFT1020L lift, was one of two serapid style units, fitted with a 2.3 metre circular riser and positioned centre stage in the ‘basement’, where it assisted the lifting of roll-on-roll-off set pieces onto stage, as well as artistic choreography involving actors and dancers when in the up position.
The four MOVEKET VMW-S 125 3-wire-winches and four chain hoists – comprising 3 x MOVEKET VMK-S 125-40 and one VMK-S 500-24 – were all rigged on a circular truss flown centrally above the main stage area. These facilitated the required infrastructure for aerialists who performed with hoops, straps, slings, ropes and trapezes at different times and sections of the action.
While MSA provided the performer flying hardware, their movements were all co-ordinated by specialist people flying consultancy, Troels Frydensberg (Frydensberg Production). The hoists and winches additionally helped to lift a variety of set pieces on and off stage including an inflatable ‘wrecking ball’ that flew through the air, complete with the main character “Pink” attached to it, singing. Moving projected video content was beamed onto the ball via PSN protocol being sent from the Moveket Expert III console to the disguise video server.
The ball appeared and started swinging across the space as the actor appeared out of the stage on one of the lifts and jumped onboard the ball, and while all looking seamless to the audience, this involved a very tight set of technical maneuvers!
Another key moment in the action was a 5-person flying “sculpture” which morphed into different shapes and emphases at key moments. All the winch wires, chain hoists and stage lifts were individually controlled, and all the automation elements were run via a MOVEKET Expert III console running i-Motion software. This was set up by Jimmy, and programmed and run by Erik Jensen and Mathias Kromann.
Erik comments that the MOVEKET system is “solid, modern and straightforward and efficient to program once you have received the requisite training.” He notes that the desk has assignable buttons and handles from which cues can be executed which is ideal for a show like this, “when you will often use a button to execute cues with fixed timings / speeds, but a handle is useful if there is a dynamic routine playing out that relies on human activity which may vary slightly in timing each time, so then you can simply tweak the speed / timing accordingly.”
The Expert III system also enables the operator to see when the DMH (dead man’s handles) are activated on the stage lifts – or not – which Erik notes is a great feature. Even though they used intercom, it’s “always nice to know when the DMH is on or off!” he confirmed.
The show was a massive success and fully sold out both for the initial scheduled run, plus all the additional dates – which amounted to another two months taking up as many free dates as could be fitted to the Østre Gasværk’s already busy schedule.
Christian Vigsø commented, “We were extremely proud to be part of this spectacular and ground-breaking original performance, and to work alongside so many brilliant people enabling some properly creative engineering solutions.”
Søren noted that a major part of that success was in amassing the right creative and technical teams and evoking an inspiring environment that allowed all to excel in their related friends … whilst also working as collaborators.
