InterAmerica Stage's SkyDeck Takes on a New ShapeInterAmerica Stage is already well-known within the entertainment industry for their SkyDeck wire tension grid system. SkyDeck components are factory built at InterAmerica's facilities in Sanford, Florida, but the recent installation at the Mary Moody Northern Theatre (MMNT) at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, presented its own unique challenges. Unlike a traditional performance space, the MMNT's roof is not square. It's not rectangular. It's a decagon! InterAmerica Stage, Inc. was asked to replace the MMNT's existing pipe grid with a SkyDeck tension wire grid, allowing safer access to lighting and sound equipment overhead. Traditionally, the woven-wire panels that make up the walking surface of the SkyDeck system are rectangular. Right angles don't exactly fit gracefully into a ten-sided polygon. "Each panel had to be custom built to fit this unique shape," said Mark Black, inventor of the SkyDeck technology and president of InterAmerica Stage, "resulting in all trapezoidal panels." To support the new SkyDeck while preserving the MMNT's beautiful Glulam design, a custom structural frame was required. The SkyDeck panels sit upon this structural frame. All the panels are tied together at the center of the performance space with a 6' diameter tension ring. Open spaces were strategically designed into the overall walking surface, allowing the theatre department unprecedented flexibility for lighting and rigging effects. Joe Carpenter, technical director at MMNT, said, "The grid is wonderful and your crew was awesome!" To find out more about SkyDeck and the St. Edward's installation, swing by the Palmer Events Center for PLASA Focus: Austin, September 10 - 11, 2013. John Gitzy, InterAmerica's general manager, will be ready to get the conversation going at booth 325. PLASA Focus is designed to give folks the chance to check out the latest technologies and techniques, network with the industry's leading manufacturers, dealers, rental houses, and production companies, and take part in a free program of seminars, product demonstrations, and product training. 
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