"Proving that established companies and lighting designers also work outside mainstream productions, LD Andy Webb used Robe moving lights at the core of his design for a recent production of Oliver, staged at Kingshill School Sports Hall in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The end-of year show, directed by Russell Blackaller, featured a cast of 70 pupils aged 11 to 15 and ran for three sold-out performances. Staged in a 270-degree format, almost in the round, Webb - who is also technical manager at the nearby Sundial Theatre - felt that using moving lights was the only way to maximize the space. He chose a moving light rig for two reasons - one was to give him the imaginative scope and depth needed, and secondly, the power supply was limited to four single phase 63A supplies. The lights were rigged off a 12m x 12m box truss flown six metres above the stage and consisted of eight Robe ColorWash 575 ATs, four ColorSpot 575 ATs and four ColorSpot 700E ATs, with four ColorWash 250 ATs positioned on the floor and used as kickers to highlight faces and profiles from a low level. Webb used his own Roadhog Full Boar console for control and worked with his team of console programmer Jim Hobbs and LX crew Adam Tye. The Robes were supplied by Bath-based Enlightened. "

Louise Stickland The Stage 2008-08-11

"Disney High School Musical Rocks with Robe Designer Andy Webb utilised 39 Robe moving lights and 13 Anolis ArcLine Optic LED strips for the recent Tigz Productions show, “Disney High School Musical”, staged at the Sundial Theatre in Cirencester. All 15 performances of the action-packed musical sold out, generating record box office sales for the theatre, and receiving rave reviews. It was also the largest lighting rig that has ever been installed there. Webb designed both set and lighting for the show which was directed by Adrian Ross-Jones. “Creating both these visual elements from the outset enables you to produce a really coherent and fluid look and feel for the performance – it’s definitely the way I like to work,” he says. He has used Robe for many previous designs and likes the brand for its range, brightness and reliability. The main design concept for this show came from the need to create a myriad of different locations with extremely quick and seamless change-overs, all made additionally challenging by the compact stage size and limited wing space. The need for visual dynamics and variety was another reason for choosing to light it almost exclusively with automated fixtures. Webb’s idea incorporated an open stage design with a series of fixed set pieces around the periphery, and two 3 x 2 metre moveable walls, which were used extensively to create the different scenes. There were 4 red panels flanking the upstage and downstage edges of the space, the upstage ones complete with the meshed windows of classroom doors, and concealing 2 Robe MS Zoom 250 fixtures and a strobe. The edges of each of these four panels were lined with Anolis ArcLine Optic 36 LED strips for additional colour and to highlight the edges of the stage and ‘buildings’. “Some lights were required to be integrated with the set pieces,” Webb explains. The basketball net and scoreboard was constructed from 1 and 2 metre trussing sections, illuminated with an Anolis ArcLine Optic 36 in the centre and 2 ArcLine Optic 12s either side, with a pair of 4-lite blinders in its centre. Upstage, just in front of the “High School Musical” sign revealed for the final megamix section – was the rear bar of moving lights, containing 5 Robe ColorSpot 575E ATs and 4 Robe ColorWash 575E ATs. The ColorSpots were used for assorted effects and both ColorWashes and ColorSpots were used to provide strong downlight. The lights on this back bar were fundamental to creating much of the show’s drama and atmosphere. Webb explains that he incorporates plenty of TV-style back light in his designs because it introduces so much additional depth to a space. He also needed this back bar to be densely populated with lighting fixtures for scenes when the mobile walls traverse the stage. Further downstage were a pair of Robe ColorSpot 575E ATs, used for top and side lighting in conjunction with the 5 further back. They were also used for silhouetting in specific scenes.The mid stage lighting bar consisted of a Robe ColorSpot 700E AT in the centre – chosen as an intense down-lighter, used for tight silhouetting and also wide open – aided by the low ceiling height. Either side of this were two ColorWash 250 ATs to fill in the end spaces by the rear 575s and primarily for top lighting. At the front of the wings were two side stage booms that provided absolutely crucial side lighting for the show. At the base of each was a strobe, and – going upwards – a Robe MS Zoom 250, a ColorWash 575E AT, another MS Zoom 250 and topped with a ColorWash 575E AT. The booms were specially constructed by Webb and his technical crew – all students from Cirencester College’s BTEC course in Technical Theatre - and featured a double set of rigging bars. This allowed them to rig the different sized fixtures at different depths, enabling all the noses to be lined up exactly on the same plane. “This detail was very important,” says Webb, “As the booms were in view for a lot of the audience, so it was essential that they looked neat”. Over the top of the apron at the front of stage were another two ColorWash 575E ATs, for kicking back onto the stage. On a further forward FOH bar, Webb used the Sundial Theatre’s new Robe ColorWash 750 AT Tungstens – the first in the UK, a deal that he was instrumental in completing. “They are punchy, quiet and ideal for FOH cover” he says, although needing quiet fixtures was not an issue on this production with it’s thumping soundtrack!On the advanced bar over the audience were 3 ColorSpot 700E ATs used for spotting positions and for throwing gobo washes over the set and stage – which proved highly effective as an aid to establishing different locations when beamed onto the two moving walls. The only other lighting was 12 Strand SL’s rigged on front and front-side positions, providing infill and additional face cover, two Selcon Pacific follow spots and 16 PARs flanking the “High School Musical” sign far upstage, blasted in for the final, high impact, show end “blind” cue. All lighting was run from a WholeHog Full Boar console, newly purchased by Tigz Productions for the show, programmed by Webb and production electrician Jim Hobbs, and run by Hobbs, which contained over 400 LX cues by the time they had finished. The Robes were a mixture of the theatre’s own stock and additionals supplied by Enlightened Lighting from Bath. Back to the News summary News and Events: Robe DigitalSpots specified for Fuoriclasse (2.6.2008) Miss Universe Slovakia 2008 (30.5.2008) Robe StageQubes on the TV (23.5.2008) Robe on the Kooks (21.5.2008) ROBE Goes RDM (19.5.2008) We are a member of: 2008 © ROBE lighting s. r. o., Disclaimer, Privacy Policy "

Louise Stickland Robe.Website, plus etnow.com, LSi online, 2008-05-02

"Robe in Shakespeare Classic Lighting and scenic designer Andy Webb used 24 Robe moving lights and 22 Anolis LED fixtures on a recent Sundial Theatre Cirencester production of Shakespeare’s classic, “Comedy of Errors”. The convoluted, epic tale of mistaken identity, chaos, confusion, claim and counter-clam was staged by the Sundial Youth Theatre, featuring a cast of 25. Originally planned as an outdoor show, with the UK weather being even more unpredictable than usual this summer, they decided to go under cover! Webb worked closely with director Adam Fotheringham on evolving the aesthetics. They wanted a new look for the work, so Webb developed a cartoon-edge for the piece, with strong, vivid back-light, enhancing the angular shape of the set. He also wanted to be able to change into primary colours at any time and to create a mix between a warm Mediterranean village and a simple naturalistic floor/stage area. A major element of the set was a sail structure – an inverted triangle connected to the floor of the stage, spreading out to a 5 metre width on the FOH LX bar. Attached to this was a cream gauze – for both front and rear projection, with its edges dressed by Anolis ArcLine Optic 25x6 degree LED strips. The stage floor was painted in cream, enhancing the colour-changing properties of the whole space, “I really wanted to use a moving rig and prove that you could design very subtly with it” explains Webb. He utilised both the new Robe ColorSpot 700E ATs and ColorWash 700E ATs. Four of each were rigged onto the first FOH LX bar at the rear of the auditorium, placed equally along the bar. The wide angle of the 700s easily covered the full stage width, and these were used primarily with break up gobos and prism effects. “They are great” states Webb, “Well punchy enough to cut through with all the other lanterns on”. The other pair of ColorSpot 700E ATs was used onstage to provide crisp back light either side of the sail structure, helping define the angles of the set. He comments again that the wide beam spread was ideal for this venue and its low rigging height. Four Robe ColorSpot 575 ATs were used above the main performance space, equally positioned either side of centre as another source of break-up, and programmed in to accentuate the angles created with the back lights. The other pair of ColorSpot 575 ATs were focussed either side of the steps, also in a gobo break up, beaming out towards the rear corners of the auditorium. The follow spot towers were each side of the performance space - housing 4 Selecon 80V Pacific fixtures. Rigged onto the towers was a pair of ColorWash 575 ATs, crossing the stage to provide an intense side light. These were programmed with different colour temperatures to produce elements like sunlight, daylight and enhance the naturalistic feel of the forestage area, allowing the stronger colours to diffuse through from the back lanterns and rear LEDs. Another pair of ColorWash 575 ATs sat on the floor in front of the seating rack for low level crossing front light. These were useful to lift actors faces without having to run the follow spots too bright. Onstage, a trapeze bar dropped in with two more ColorWash 575 ATs either side of the sail structure. Webb explains that he wanted the units to be seen at this juncture, and have the 700s appearing in the gap above. Finally, a pair of Robe Wash 250 XTs were used to up-light the sail structure, along with two more Anolis ArcLine 25 x 6 degree Optic fixtures. The Anolis fixtures were a major part of the set, and specifically added to the ‘cartoon’ feel of the production. The central sail featured the aforementioned pair of ArcLine Optic 1200 mm strips, with three 400mm ArcLine Optics equally spaced down each side. Another pair of these Anolis LED fixtures was rigged either side of stage, towards the wings, following the same lines of the sail. A 1200 mm Anolis ArcLine Optic strip was fixed to the side of the steps, facing upwards and two more ArcLine Optic 400 mm fixtures were rigged between the steps and the side angled bars. The Anolis generally added symmetry to the picture. The rest of the rig consisted of eighteen 1K fresnels for additional side and FOH cover, the 4 follow spots and 2 hazers, used to create the atmosphere and highlight the beams. It was the first time Webb had used Robe’s ColorSpot 700E ATs and he was well impressed, specifically with the brightness and width of the beam angle - from 15 to 45 degrees! . He adds that “The new ‘lock’ unit to lock the pan/tilt for rigging is also really useful and made pulling the units up into the rig far easier, specially with the larger side handles.” Webb programmed the show onto two consoles – a Zero 88 Leap Frog and a Fat Frog – which he operated for the show. The Robe and Anolis fixtures were all hired in from Bath-based Enlightened Lighting. DSM for the production was Chris Gunnell. Stage manager Nick Newman and the four follow spot operators were Martin Brammer, Alex Sharp, Luke Ainscough and Jim “Dougie” Hobbs. Sound was by Alex Houston and the costume supervisor was Lettie Adams. The show ran for four nights and was a great success. We are a member of: 2007 © ROBE Show Lighting s.r.o., Disclaimer, Privacy Policy "

Louise Stickland Robe.Website, plus etnow.com, LSi online, 2007-08-09

"Sundial Rocks with Robes Tigz Productions staged a hugely technically ambitious production of Queen’s blockbuster musical ‘We Will Rock You’ at the Sundial Theatre in Cirencester, featuring 37 Robe moving heads and Anolis LED lighting in a show stopping design. Tigz’ Andy Webb directed and produced the work as well as creating the lighting design. His aim was to make it “every bit as memorable as any West End production” in the context of the space and place. Webb is also technical manager of the Sundial Theatre, and they have invested in Robe moving lights as part of the house rig (Wash 250 XTs and MS Zoom 250 XTs) which have been a great asset and are used in all types of student productions. For ‘We Will Rock You’, he boosted the Robe content of the rig by hiring in additional moving lights from Bath-based rental house, Enlightened. The ‘We Will Rock You’ story started back in September 2006, when Queen Theatrical licensed the amateur rights for the show, and Webb jumped at the opportunity of producing it at the Sundial. He has seen it seven times in London and once in Las Vegas, and says: “It must be every technician’s dream to recreate this show in their own way – there are so many opportunities to push the envelope. Having worked here (at the Sundial) for some time, I know the space well, and this was the ideal show with which to push the boundaries of what we could achieve in terms of production values.” His technical team includes 11 BTEC Technical Theatre students at Cirencester College, all dedicated to excellence and keen to gain experience. Webb started auditioning for the 25 cast members in November. He wanted to offer lead opportunities to young people and to create a vibrant company on both production and performance fronts to deliver the work. Webb also undertook the show’s set design which was stark, raw and relatively minimalist, leaving plenty scope for lighting to fill any imaginative gaps – with fixtures rigged all around the stage at high and low levels. “I needed a lighting rig that would cover all eventualities – from those really glorious rock-out moments to the stark sinister underworld of the Heartbreak Hotel to the saccharine tinted me-too world of the Ga-Ga Girls.” The total Robe count included 12 ColorSpot 575 ATs and eight ColorWash 575 ATs, 10 MS Zoom 250 XTs and seven Wash 250 XTs. “Robe was an obvious choice,” he states, “because I am familiar with the brand and because they do everything I need in this. I needed fixtures that would offer a really broad range of effects.” The units were rigged all around the stage. There were six main lighting booms onstage, addressing the side and rear aspects of the set that was constructed from panels of metal fencing. The booms had a single ColorSpot 575 AT in each high position on each individual post. At the middle height sections of the booms were MS Zooms, and at the bottom of the rear ones was a pair of Wash 250XTs, flanking both side and floor panels of the set. On the mid stage overhead bar were two ColorWash 575 ATs rigged onto each corner, used for producing stark and moody backlighting, together with a pair of MS Zooms and another pair of Wash 250 XTs. A special apron was added to the front of the stage, also supplied by Enlightened and specially adapted and fitted to the space by Webb and his crew. Above this and to the sides were two 575 Washes that cut across the stage with a nice clean acute side angle. In front of these, out in the auditorium were four ColorSpot and four ColorWash 575 ATs, and further out still were the final two ColorSpot 575 ATs. These were used for additional raw, harsh white front lighting – in the lighting style of the show - and also for a series of projection effects in the opening sequence at the top of the show. The final 250 Wash XT was secreted in an understage trap at the front of stage, used for entrances and exits. To delineate the edges of the metal panelled set, Webb chose 12 Anolis ArcLine 12 RGB 400 mm strips, which were carefully located, used for highlighting, giving it depth and height and accentuating its structural form. The London show features several video walls, but this production’s budget didn’t quite stretch to that, so Webb needed to find a way of imbibing the set with an “electronic” look – and this is where the Anolis strips came in! “They worked an absolute treat,” he declares. He also utilised a plethora of generic lights in the show including PARs, Fresnels, 4-lite Moles and Strand SLs, all of which, together with the Robe moving lights and Anolis strips, were controlled from a Zero 88 Frog 2 console, donated to the production by Zero88. Artistically, Webb wanted to retain the essence of the London show in lighting terms (LD Willie Williams), whilst fitting it to the Sundial’s far smaller stage and also adding his own individual touches. These included adding some specifically ‘televisual’ elements – hints of Fame Academy, Dancing On Ice and other epic looking shows in this vein. Most of the lighting rig was deliberately placed upstage of the stage action, allowing him to keep the principal’s faces brightly and intensely lit. Much of the time, this was achieved using four Selecon Pacific 80v followspots. A pair came in from a tight side angle across the front apron, with the other pair located at the rear of the auditorium. The big colour and effects lighting looks were then applied from behind. Although containing plenty of classic rock ‘n’ roll moments, the moving lights actually only moved six times within visible cues – really maximising their impact. The rest of the time, they were used for a variety of other very theatrical functions. “The Robe’s have been brilliant,” he says. “I am very familiar with Robe through using the house fixtures and additional hire-ins for some of the student productions, but I continue to be greatly impressed every time with the brightness of the 575s and generally with their reliability.” For this production, the rig has been on 16 hours a day, everyday for three weeks! He also really likes the colour temperature flags in the 575s and made much use of them in this production. Webb spent approximately 86 hours programming and plotting over 250 cues into the desk for an extremely polished end result, 45 of which were executed in the first five minutes of the show! “I wanted it to be absolutely spot on in every way” he says. “Everyone has put a massive amount of time, energy and effort into this and I think that was really evident in the success of the show. He pays tribute to the fantastic teamwork from his crew and the cast, all of whom made the long hours, dedication and hard work fun as well as creatively worthwhile. “We should all be proud of achieving such a credible end result.” The show’s musical backing track was laid down by the resident London ‘We Will Rock You’ band (it was supplied as part of the licensing package), and all the vocals were sung live. Other key people involved in this production include show caller Gary Bowman, (a soon New York bound ex Tech Theatre student) and lighting board operator Martin Brammer. Webb operated sound for the show, using a Soundcraft 32 channel GB4 mixer, which was played very effectively through the Sundial’s Martin Audio system, with additional bass bins and 12” tops supplied by Kent based Top-Tech. All the cast used a mixture of Sony Freedom and Sennheiser EW500 mics with Sennheiser HS2 headset microphones. The show was choreographed by Katherine Bates, the vocal coach was Jenna Monroe and the fight director and acting coach was Adrian Jones. Costumes were designed by Nikki Selwyn and the AV by David Poulson. The lead roles of Galileo and Scaramouch were played by Iwan Lewis and Lucy Bennett of which they both made fantastic characters. The show received rave reviews in the local press and pulled in record attendances for the Sundial Theatre. Demand for tickets was so great that extra performances were squeezed in, and the preview was also put on sale! http://www.robe.cz"

Louise Stickland etnow 2007-05-07

"ROBES DRESS HOMER'S ODYSSEY Robe moving lights played a key role at the Sundial Theatre at Cirencester College for an ambitious production of Homer’s Odyssey which boasted an innovative lighting and set design by Sundial’s technical manager, Andy Webb. The performance was the end of year production by the Sundial Youth Theatre featuring a cast of about 28 students attending various courses at the college. It was directed by Adam Fotheringham. The production saw the Sundial configured into a minimalist stage design with a floor level thrust that came out from the centre of the main stage with seats encircling it at 270 degrees, creating an intimate performance area. The theatre’s permanent stage, a set of steps built onto the front of it and the floor level thrust area were all painted cream, the clearly defined shapes integrated with a set of multi-purpose triangular shaped screens onstage and 10 ‘S’ shaped screens rigged in the ceiling, also all painted in matching cream. The idea with colouring the stage, floor and areas in which the actors were working was to use lighting as a dramatic vehicle to produce most of the scenic and location settings, times of day, mood, ambience and to enhance the main narrative threads. The first fixtures Webb positioned were six Robe Wash 250 XTs around the circle on the floor at the end of the thrust. These were used at a low angle and also entailed all the seats having to be checked in case the audience were blinded by moving lights. Two Robe MS Zoom XTs were placed on the floor either side of the central steps and the other two Wash 250 XTs onstage either side of the large central triangular screen.The rest of the Robe luminaires - six ColorSpot 575ATs and four ColorSpot 575 washes - were hung overhead. With 12 mini stories within the main one, each needed an individual look and feel, which Webb was able to create with lighting, using different colours, intensities, beam angles and shapes. Four of the 575 Spots were rigged on what would have been the front bar onstage, poking through the gaps in the S-shape flats, and were used for much of the rear space illumination. The other two ColorSpot 575 ATs were rigged right at the ‘front’ of the space. Webb worked closely with production manager Gary Bowman on the show, Bowman himself a former Cirencester College Technical Theatre student, now studying at Bristol Old Vic. "

Louise Stickland The Stage 2006-08-24

"The epic Poem,probably by Homer, recounts the adventure of Odysseus on his way home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. The Sundial Theatre was unrecognisable from my last visit! Much imagination had changed the auditorium into a flexible arena with raised platform leading down on to a circular acting space. Above us large curling white cut-outs hung from the ceiling as an ever-present reminder of the turbulent sea. We sat in a semi-circle in close proximity to the action, for much of the time enveloped in smoke effects.............Directors Adam Fotheringham and Sarah Butcher achieved wonders in a short rehearsal period available and their work was complemented by Andy Webb's ingenious design........All in all this was a production to remember."

Donald Hollins Gloucestershire Echo 2006-07-17

"‘Alas Poor Yorick takes the essence of Shakespeare’s poetic and philosophical prose and weaves within it a thread of contemporary humour, playing off passionate soliloquise with witty asides in a highly original style. A strong cast moved effortlessly between a multiplicity of roles…tight direction, atmospheric lighting and sumptuous costume added to this powerful piece of theatre…’ "

Gloucestershire Echo 2004-09-14