Christmas Comes But Once a Year at the Hazlitt Theatre
UK - The Hazlitt Theatre’s recent investment in ProLights LED fixtures for their studio space has exceeded expectations so much that they have been promoted to the main stage.
Parkwood Theatres, which owns and manages the Hazlitt Theatre, purchased ProLights StudioCOB LED PARs, ProLights Jetspot3 LED spots, and ProLights Diamond19 LED wash luminaires.
The team at the venue in Maidstone, Kent were so impressed with the performance of their new fixtures that they moved many of them into the main house to light their bigger productions – starting with this year's ‘all-star’ Christmas Pantomime, Cinderella.
Sam Ray, the theatre's technical manager and LD forCinderella, commented: "The ProLights fixtures have really exceeded our expectations since arriving in our studio, so I wanted the benefit of using them on our main stage productions too - such as our annual Christmas pantomime.
“The StudioCOBs are delivering an exceptional wash, providing superb colour, and the palette and beams from the Jetspots is greatly enhancing the look of the production. Also, with 67 shows in December, it's important that the fixtures are reliable, and they are performing flawlessly."
To compliment the pantomime, the smaller Exchange Studio is offering a Christmas musical called Christmas Comes But Once a Year, which features ProLights StudioCOB LED PARs plus Diamond19 washlights.
Sam commented: "This is another important show for us, so it's vital that it's also well lit. The light output and wide angle of the StudioCOBs is fantastic. The Diamond19s add an extra dimension to the Christmas show this year, and it's sure to be the best lit show The Exchange Studio has ever seen."
Sam has also been impressed by the well-known benefits of switching to LED. He commented: "Energy-saving is rightly high up on Parkwood Theatre's list of priorities, and is also vitally important to us as a venue. It's fantastic that an LED unit can deliver the same output as a traditional source, but at a significantly reduced cost to run. It makes the ProLights units a 'no-brainer' from the point of view of both the LD and the Facilities Manager."
The fixtures were supplied by ProLights UK dealer, A.C. Entertainment Technologies. Sam commented: "The customer service that we have received from A.C. has been second to none, and the whole process, from the demo, to ordering, to after-sales service, has been superb. They are a truly valued supplier of ours."
Highlights from the ProLights range will be shown on the A.C. Entertainment Technologies stand at PLASA Focus Glasgow on 17-18 January 2018.
(Jim Evans)

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