ETC Donates Technology to World's Largest Scenography Festival

Every four years, the Organisation Internationale des Scénographes, Techniciens et Architectes de Théâtre (OISTAT/ International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects, and Technicians) collaborates with the Prague Quadrennial -- the world's largest scenography festival -- to present Scenofest, an educational project of performances, workshops and special projects for students from across the world. Thousands of students and artists from around the globe flock to Prague to participate in the event. Part of this year's festival -- held June 16 -26 -- was Six Acts, a collection of educational and artistic projects created by international groups of artists that were staged at cultural sites throughout the city. ETC lent a variety of lighting equipment to Scenofest that was used during several of the Six Actsand in student workshops.

ETC donated two lighting control consoles -- SmartFade and SmartFade ML -- along with SmartPack dimmers, Source Four fixtures, and Selador Lustr and Paletta LED luminaires. The equipment beautifully lit the First Act in Prague's picturesque Franciscan Garden. The First Act, a puppet-theatre and circus-art program, featured 30 student performers led by Pavel Štourac, the director and artistic coordinator of the Continuo Theatre.

The same ETC gear was used for the Fifth Act, held at the Náprstkovo Anthropological Museum. Tomáš Žižka, artistic director of the Mamapapa Theatre, and his multinational group of performers used the lighting equipment to transform the museum's courtyard into an interactive forest clearing for two nights of scenographic storytelling.

More than 1,000 students attended the workshop portion of Scenofest, where they learned about contemporary theories and skills for a variety of disciplines, including lighting, sound, puppetry, costuming, and more. The ETC technology was available for hands-on training throughout the workshop, so the students had the opportunity to become familiar with the latest innovations to prepare for future careers in lighting.