The Australian Theatre for Young People has a new home at Sydney’s Pier 2/3 including The Rebel Theatre. The new theatre was named in honour of ATYP Ambassador, Australian actor, singer, writer, comedian and producer Rebel Wilson, who has been involved with the company since she was 19.
Rebel has donated one million dollars to ATYP to help the theatre company reach the goal of $2.6 million towards the fit-out and ongoing maintenance of its new premises.
HME Services provided the following theatrical systems: fixed rigging points, theatrical drapes and curtain tracks, fixed lighting bars, motorised lighting bars, technical panels, performance lighting dimmers, theatre equipment and a unique tension wire grid above the auditorium.
“The structural limitations of the wharves made for a challenging environment for the design of the hoisting and tension wire grid systems, as the lateral loads into the primary structure had to be minimised,” commented Guy Gimpel, HME’s Project Engineer. “The outcome of this hurdle meant that the design changed for both critical systems several times throughout the planning and construction process settling on a directly fixed hoist arrangement and tensioned wires drilled on-site directly into the technical platform substructure to achieve the final high standard outcome for a space of this capability. Making the best of a difficult situation did allow us to repurpose the original winch room for the performance lighting and hoist control system, and by the end of construction we found the venue to be a very slick and dynamic little space.”
Rigging Points
The theatre contains two static rigging points installed above the stage to provide locations for suspended equipment or assisted lifting. The rigging points are individually rated to 750kg safe working load, however, the total load applied across multiple rigging points is subject to structural limitations in the room.
Theatrical Drapes and Curtain Track
Theatrical drapes and tracks provide masking and the capacity to alter the venue acoustically and spatially. HME Curtain Tracks are designed to be used with their proprietary runners, all drapes intended to be mobile being fitted with these before handover when they are intended to be used with tracks. The runners are low noise and low friction, and curtains can be travelled by hand. Stoppers have been installed in tracks where fire egress clearance needs to be maintained and where individual tracks end.
In locations where drapes are fixed to motorised bars or architectural features, the drapes are fixed to the track or suspension system with ties or other static mounting hardware. The Rebel makes use of the HME Index Rotator mechanism in six locations to allow the offstage legs to be pivoted in position, providing a broad range of masking options when attached to the motorised bars.
All theatrical drapes in the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct are inherently fire retarded.
Fixed Lighting Bars
Rebel Theatre contains nineteen fixed lighting bars to provide infrastructure for performance lighting throughout the room. The fixed lighting bars are located at catwalk level above the auditorium and are arranged in three concentric rows moving upstage to downstage, integrated with the unique structure of the room. Rigging and focusing from these locations are done from the tension wire grid, allowing a clear line of sight for technical staff from the technical platform to the stage.
Motorised Lighting Bars
Overstage lighting bars in The Rebel are hoisted using the HME EDH650, customised to suit the unique structural requirements of the wharf. These hoisted bars double as motorised rigging bars and have a working load limit of 500kg each. Each bar itself uses the HME ProBatten MKII anodised extrusion and onboard Cable Bin to present a fully self-contained piece of dynamic performance infrastructure to meet the needs of the venue as required, whether it be a scenery batten or an overhead lighting position.
Technical Panels
Rebel Theatre houses two technical panels to support performance equipment at designated locations around the space. The technical panels support seven circuits each, all of which are hard-wired back to the dimmer system.
Performance Lighting Dimmers
Performance lighting in the Theatre is managed by a dimmer rack containing fifteen LSC 12 channel dimmers located on level 3 in the motor room. The dimmer racks are hard-wired, and each dimmed circuit routes directly to a lighting outlet in the field. The dimmers themselves are linked and addressed via DMX. The Rebel uses a 1 to 1 dimmed circuit system for streamlined lighting control, removing the need for physical patching at the dimmers with all lighting circuits hardwired in the space.
Tension Wire Grid
ATYP Theatre has a tension wire grid system to provide a workspace that does not obstruct performance lighting. This creates a permanent overstage floor strong enough to carry the weight of theatre technicians so they can have permanent access to moveable equipment such as lights, speakers and stage rigging. By negating the need for moveable scaffolding or ladders – and also catwalks – the tension wire grid makes any performance space much safer for everybody.
Theatre Equipment
HME Services supplied an ETC Ion XE lighting console, 12 ETC Coloursource LED Spot fixtures, 12 x ETC Coloursource PAR LED Wash fixtures, 12 x Selecon 1200W Fresnels, 12 x Selecon 1200W PCs, 12 x Selecon 650W Fresnels, 12 x Selecon 650W PCs, a Look Solutions Unique 2.10 Hazer and 44 x ETC Profile fixtures of various wattage and lens degree.
HME Services also provided theatrical equipment and performance infrastructure fitout in Rehearsal Space Two and Rehearsal Space One, which also uniquely required integration with the building fire trip system.
“HME’s work in The Rebel Theatre was focused on making these architecturally unique spaces easy to use for performances and rehearsals,” added Guy. “The theatre system’s design in each location aimed to maximise the functionality of the space with a deep focus on the removal of as much complexity as possible for the end-user. Engineering these spaces in the design and construction process allows for the venue and other clients to easily interface with performance hardware and technology in an easy-to-handle format once the venue is in use, and having as much self-contained infrastructure as possible removes the need for things like cabling, ad-hoc rigging and external hiring of gear. We firmly believe that this allows more time and money to be allocated to the works being developed in these spaces, which is of great long term benefit to the community overall.”
“We’re delighted to play our part in the creation of The Rebel Theatre which heralds a new era for the ATYP,” commented Glenn Harris, Director of HME Services. “Here at HME, we want to see as many young people in Australia as possible given access to the creative arts. The ATYP and The Rebel Theatre will be a launchpad for artists and shows that will travel the nation and the world.”
