J&C Joel supplied Middlesbrough College’s Hazel Pearson Theatre with a moving lighting gantry allowing technical staff to work safely at height when accessing lighting bars and rigging lanterns and stage props.
The college’s 156-seat theatre aims to provide performing arts students and trainee theatre technicians with the perfect environment to develop while also staging performances by local and national theatre companies. The theatre must therefore meet the needs of trained professionals as well as those just starting out in the industry.
The lighting gantry sits at technical gallery level and spans the 10m width of the auditorium. It was designed specifically by J&C Joel’s installation team to offer practical access to elevated apparatus and give a safe platform on which technical students can gain experience of working at height.
A single operator using a centrally located control wheel can move the gantry the length of the auditorium easily using thanks to a twin set of guiding tracks and special ball-raced rollers in the flanges on the underside of the gantry’s steelwork. The tracks were designed to work in tandem so that the gantry remains stable and does not ‘snatch’ when moving.
For safety reasons the access gates built into the gantry’s perimeter handrail can only be opened at four points along its course when an engagement arm is activated.
Practical solutions for everyday problems
From rolling lighting gantries to pit lifts and lighting rigs, our installation team can design and install bespoke mechanical systems to meet the needs of virtually any entertainment venue.
We also supply a wide range of flying equipment including hemp sets, counterweight systems and pilewind winch units. J&C Joel also offer on-site safety inspections and maintenance to all our installed products when required.
