SYDNEY — The refurbished 230-seat theatre at the Bondi Pavilion near Bondi Beach is using a new lighting control system from LSC Lighting Systems, including a maXim XL lighting desk plus four 12-channel iPro dimmers. Herkes Professional Lighting supplied the gear. The Bondi Pavilion was originally constructed in 1928 and included “dressing accommodation,” Turkish Baths, shops and a Ballroom. Revitalised by the Waverley Council in the 1950s and reopened in 1978 as the Bondi Pavilion Community Centre, it is now an arts and entertainment venue with the theatre and art gallery.
The theatre seating is in raked format onto an end stage that can also work as a proscenium. Productions include professional and community theatre, Theatresports, dance school concerts, a Schools’ Shakespeare festival, open air cinema, a South American cultural festival and an array of music and craft programs.
Tony Youlden, an LD, educator and consultant, oversees the theatre’s rig in his role as venue technician. The control room in the theatre had dimmers mounted immediately behind the lighting operator. The existing dimmers were noisy enough to be heard by audience members.
Youlden’s first comment once the new LSC iPRO dimmers were commissioned was that he “could actually hear the show.” The units also feature pulse transformer fired dimming technology, enabling the iPRO dimmers to handle whatever load gets patched in.
Youlden also found the front panel local channel control useful for solving issues encountered in one-off events, when someone arrives at the last minute with a practical lamp that needs immediate connection.
“We now have 48 x 13 Amp dimmer channels in the same wall space as we previously could only just fit 36 x 10A channels and there is room for another 24 x 13A channels when required,” Youlden said.
For more information, please visit www.lsclighting.com.au.
