LED Lighting for Gates-Abegglen and Studio 88 Theaters

Project Title: LED Lighting for Gates-Abegglen and Studio 88 Theaters

Project Lead's Name: Marly Wooster

Project Lead's Email: woostems@MiamiOH.edu

Project Lead's Phone: 513-529-7333

Project Lead's Division: CCA

Primary Department: Theatre

Other Team Members: Curtis Mortimore

List Departments Benefiting or Affected by this proposal:

Theatre
Music
ETBD
potentially others

Estimated Number of Under-Graduate students affected per year (should be number who will actually use solution, not just who is it available to): 475

Estimated Number of Graduate students affected per year (should be number who will actually use solution, not just who is it available to): 0

Describe the problem you are attempting to solve and your approach for solving that problem:

There is currently no LED lighting equipment in use in our theatre spaces. Students utilize LED light fixture in our classroom theatre, Hiestand 100, and then don't have the opportunity to use them again for projects in our theatre spaces. This greatly impacts the experience of students study lighting and the creation of theatre, but also the students who are seeing our productions as they learn about theatre as a creative art. For all of these students, they aren't getting a current and contemporary understanding of lighting in theatre because of this lack of equipment in our spaces. We would like begin to solve this problem by acquiring LED lighting equipment that can be used in both of our theatre spaces.

How would you describe the innovation and/or the significance of your project:

Access to LED lighting fixtures would allow students to better understand lighting control systems, networks, color theory, and industry-standard practices. They would enhance production through more access to color, brightness, and superior quality of light. Currently, without this equipment students studying theatre at Miami are woefully unprepared for entry into lighting in professional theatre, and students seeing our production are experiencing theatre with a key design element operating in a limited way. LED lighting technology has been advancing in theater for 20 years, but the pace of change has slowed in the last 3-5 years with more theatres being fully LED. This equipment is imperative for a theatrical production at Miami for recruiting and training our students. This equipment would also benefit students in the music department who use our spaces for production and students in ETBD who study entertainment design would also benefit from access to this equipment for hands-on experience with technology that is also used for lighting tv, film, and live events.

How will you assess the success of the project?

We will assess this project primarily by evaluating the proficiency and career readiness of the students who work with the equipment hands-on. That will be done upon completion of THE 200 and other courses. We will give students opportunities to demonstrate their ability to utilize the equipment and report on their success. It is difficult to assess quantitatively the impacts the project will have on the artistic design of the production that will utilize the equipment, but we will attempt to solicit and collect evaluations from educated viewers about the difference in the lighting design effectiveness from before the acquisition of this equipment to after the procurement. The same is true for assessing how viewers' experiences will differ, but we will discuss with the instructors of THE 191 and THE 101 specifically what their students noticed about the lighting that was discussed in class or in their written reflections and report on that.

Does this proposal create continuing costs which will need to be funded? If so, how do you plan to fund those continuing costs?

Maintenance costs will be covered through the Theatre Department Production Budget, which currently covers maintenance for our existing lighting inventory. This budget is sufficient for maintenance, but not for procurement.

Financial Information

Total Amount Requested: $200,047

Budget Details:

Vincent Lighting Systems provided us with a quote with a variety of fixture types and prices for other accessories. Specifically what we are requesting is:

Source 4 Series 3 LEDs – Unit Price - $3,233 – 50 units – $161,650
ETC Colorsource PARs - $1,155 – 25 units - $28,875
Wireless DMX – City Theatrical Show Baby - $407 – 6 units $2,442
Constant Modules - $208 – 10 units - $2,080
Cable - $5,000

Please address how, if at all, this project aligns with University, Divisional, Departmental or Center strategic goals:

The Theatre Department has 3 strategic goals that this proposal aligns with. The first goal, enhancing the real-world relevance of the BA in theatre, requires we give our students the opportunity to train with current equipment, like the LED lighting fixtures in this proposal. The second goal, increasing interdisciplinary collaboration, would be enhanced by this proposal because of the possibilities for integration with ETBD, Music, and others. The third goal, increasing the visibility of the Theatre Department, will be aided by enhanced production values and better production, which this equipment will help with as it impacts the quality of the lighting designers for department productions.