Last November, our internal departments had the opportunity to visit the “Stadschouwburg” (City theatre) in Groningen. With a tour organized by the theatre, we were able to learn all about the setup, from flybars to the upper deck, to see the work and flow of what is happening in a Theatre behind the scenes.
After going through the artists entry, we had a warm welcome with a cup of coffee offered by the technical manager of the “Stadsschouwburg”. We had a small introduction of the tour at the coffee table.
The tour consisted of walking towards the main stage to take a look at the flybars from a close range. After a short explanation of their use and maintenance, we went up to the first level -at approximately 8 meters height- where we had a live demonstration of how the lift and lower different flybars in different set ups and speeds. Then, we head up to the second level, where we took a look at all kinds of different light fixtures. Right after, we went further up to the most exciting level: the upper level of the fly tower, where all the machinery of the flybar system (including the guy wire guidance system) is installed.
It was very impressive to walk around at 8 meters height above the stage while learning about the complete flybar system. To end the tour in a wonderful way, we went back to the -almost- main stage level to take a closer look at the control system and all of its functions.
Nanret, one of our newest addition to the internal team, commented: “it was a great experience to see in real life what is happening in a theatre. There is a lot more behind it, something you don’t realize when watching a play; we can definitely benefit from such field trips, it helps us to better understand our clients’ needs and you have the opportunity to see and hear things you can only grasp when physically being there.”
We would extend a deep thank the Stadsschouwburg Groningen for their time and elaborate explanation of what happens behind the scenes of a Theatre.
