Currently playing at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre is a vibrant new stage production of the classic dance musical West Side Story. Peter Halbsgut lit the original version which earned him a nomination for a Tony Award. Now, several years later, this Australian production is in the capable hands of Greg Yates, Associate Lighting Designer, with Chameleon Touring Systems supplying the lighting equipment for the tour.
Accompanying the show on tour is an ETC EOS 4000 console and Greg is no stranger to the ETC brand having used a wide variety of models throughout his illustrious career.
”ETC products are always really good and well made,” commented Greg. “They’re user friendly and ‘simple’ to use. They’re just really good consoles. The EOS obviously incorporates a lot of ETC history but it also seems to have the best features from other consoles. It’s like they’ve grabbed all the best ideas on the market – without copyright infringement – and put them into one console. I particularly like the direct access touchscreens, the tracking and command-line.
Greg is also enthusiastic about how easy it is to customise the EOS 4000 to operate how you prefer to operate. He also notes that it is a console that truly caters to both a seasoned light programmer and a beginner.
”Most lighting people would be able to sit down at and feel comfortable within a matter of moments,” he added. ”I think that ETC must have had a good look around at what the users wanted and needed when they were designing EOS. In my opinion, EOS is definitely going into the market where the Strand 500 used to rule. The EOS was born to handle mixed rigs; not as a conventional desk with moving light control added on, nor as a moving light desk with analogue lights mixed in.”
Pictured are Kyle Morey (Left) and Ryan Sturgeon (Right).
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