Automation (Scenic) – Theatrecrafts.com

[photo above: The Lord of the Rings, Theatre Royal Drury Lane]

Scenic automation is at the forefront of the largest most complex productions in the world, ensuring that the most mind-numbingly complex sequences of scene changes can happen at the touch of a button right in front of the audiences’ eyes.
Rather than having stage crew / stagehands moving scenery manually, automated scenery is computer-controlled, and ensures a highly repeatable and safe set of moves on every performance.

Relevant pages at Theatrecrafts.com

See also
Scene Changes

History of Automation

NEW SECTION – UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Mechanised Scenery
Mechanised scenery has been part of theatre for many hundreds of years.
The stage bridges at Theatre Royal Drury Lane could lift sets loaded with performers into view from under the stage, while tilting them to simulate disasters / shipwrecks etc. They were operated with water under pressure [see below], but were very hand-operated – huge skill was required to move a pair of levers simultaneously to keep the two hydraulic rams level, and at the correct speed.

The London Hydraulic Power Company ran a network of water pipes under central London, providing high pressure water (around 800psi) to any business (including theatres) where hydraulic power would be useful. Water was supplied to a range of venues including:

Theatre Royal Drury Lane (central pair of stage bridges were hydraulic)
Royal Opera House (main curtain was hydraulic)
London Coliseum (revolve was hydraulic)
London Palladium (revolve was hydraulic)

> More information about the London Hydraulic Power Company

Electric Power

Electric control of stage lifts and revolves arrived next, which provided on / off & speed control. Again, it was manual, but required a less-manually-skilled operator.

Re-Configurable Venues

COMING SOON

Computer-Control of Automation
The onset of computer-control was the start of the current era of truly automated scenery and flying effects.

COMING SOON

LSI: Classic Gear - Acrobat (April 2022)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Automation Timeline

1962 Blitz! – crew members manually drove electrically powered scenic towers around the stage, communicating with each other via radios.
1963 110 in the Shade – George Van Buren designed and built four motorized console-controlled stage winches to run the scenery on stage.
1965 Fiddler on the Roof – George Van Buren conceived the concentric revolve design
1966 The Kings Mare – Peter Kemp engineered Ralph Koltai’s design
1967 The Four Musketeers – Sean Kenny design featuring revolves, lifts and bridges
1980 (approx) – Hudson Scenic formed
1981 – Cats makes use of the revolving stage (and front of the auditorium) built into The New London Theatre [Kimpton Walker]
1984 – Starlight Express used a large bridge piece (which was flown, and was able to rotate) and motorised barriers which rose around the tracks during each race.
1984 – PRG Scenic Technologies formed [ref]
1985 – Les Miserables built a revolving stage and motorised barricades at the Barbican and then at the Palace Theatre, but ‘automation’ is not mentioned and no operators are specifically mentioned in the programme, other than stage management. [Mike Barnett / PE Kemp Engineers]
1986 – Time – use of hydraulic platforms
1986 – Phantom of the Opera – chandelier and various automated set pieces, including the motorised candles and the boat, making use of the existing Victorian stage technology mechanisms and modern upgrades. [Delstar Engineering]

Original Phantom of the Opera Automation Desk (1986)
Built by Barry Steel, who did similar work for many of the new musicals of the era, this console was created especially for the original production of The Phantom of the Opera, which opened at Her Majesty’s (now His Majesty’s) Theatre in London in October 1986.
From Cameron Mackintosh Ltd

1988 – PRG Scenic’s StageCommand system first used on Phantom of the Opera [ref]
1989 – Miss Saigon – Hydraulically controlled helicopter lands on stage and lifts off again [Kimpton Walker]
1993 – Sunset Boulevard – a number of mechanical effects and a huge mansion house set which was lifted on towers in its’ corners. NB: The term ‘automation’ is only used once in the programme, to credit Electrolite – the automation team are credited as ‘Hydraulics Operators’. John Hastie (who founded Stage Technologies the next year) is credited as Hydraulics System Designer. The control prototyped for this show became the Acrobat, and was brought to life on Oliver! in 1994.
1994 – Stage Technologies founded
1994 – Oliver! at London Palladium was the first appearance of Acrobat, the first custom-built computer control for scenic automation.
1995 – EFX at the MGM Grand
1997 – The Lion King – Hudson Scenic engineered the incredible Pride Rock set piece which assembled itself as it rose and rotated out of the stage floor. [Delstar Engineering, JD Automation]
1997 – Beauty and the Beast (London) had a number of automated pieces, including the Beasts’ Balcony truck, which was able to rotate and maintain the correct amount of tilt as it moved around the raked stage of the Dominion Theatre. This section also contained a lift mechanism for the Beast/Prince transformation at the end of the show. Howard Eaton built the exquisite Rose prop, which used integrated lighting and small motors and chains to control the falling rose petals precisely.
2002 – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – the flying car was a huge achievement and was a stunning effect. [Stage Technologies and Delstar Engineering]
2002 – We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre, London)
2002 – Our House – AVW Controls Impressario. Travelator, rotating stage panels, flown tracking flats, flown bridge.
2004 – KA (Cirque du Soleil) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas [Stage Technologies]
2004 – Mary Poppins (West End & Tour) Design by Bob Crowley – Big Vision Group [UK Tour – Delstar Engineering]
2005 – Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre used a metal framed structure for Billy’s house to great effect. [AVW Controls and Delstar Engineering]
2006 – The Lord of the Rings – The Musical had a total of 99 axes of automation, including a giant revolving stage with lifts built onto it. [Silicon Theatre Scenery and Delstar Engineering]
2006 – Wicked (London) – Stage Technologies and Delstar Engineering. PRG Scenic Technologies provided the engineering solution on Broadway.
2006 – Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular (Las Vegas, USA) [Fisher Technical Services]
2006 – Spamalot – Delstar Engineering
2006 – The Sound of Music – Stage Technologies
2008 – Shrek the Musical – Dragon flight from the auditorium to stage, PRG/Tait (Broadway)
2009 – Legally Blonde – Automation tracks (mouse/spade), trapdoor / lift. (Savoy, London)
2009 – Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Palace Theatre, London)
2010 – Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark used complex multi-dimensional performer flying systems to bring stunt performers into the auditorium, as well as a large amount of automated scenery, totalling 145 axes of automation. [Fisher Technical Services]
2010 – Matilda Desks as lifts, pop-up bathroom front built into floor [Stage Technologies]
2010 – The House of Dancing Water (Macau and Belgium) – [Stage Technologies]
2010 – Love Never Dies [Stage Technologies]
2011 – Wizard of Oz (London, 2011)
2012 – Newsies (Broadway & Tour) – Design by Tobin Ost – Hudson Scenic
2013 – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – a plethora of automated scenery, including laser-guided independently-moving trucks, and the showstopping (literally, unfortunately) Great Glass Elevator. [Stage Technologies / Tait Towers]
2014 – Aladdin – Trucks that more around the set autonomously, many trap doors and lifts, and an incredible magic flying carpet effect [Hudson Motion Control]
2015 – Hamilton [Hudson Motion Control]
2016 – Groundhog Day (Old Vic, London) Quintuple Revolve [AVW Controls and Weldfab Stage]
2020 – Back to the Future The Musical (Manchester then Adelphi, London) Flowing scenic automation combined with spectacular flying car and projection effects.
2023 – Stranger Things – The First Shadow (Phoenix, London) Huge automated rig (revolves, two bridges packed with automation, along with performer levitation effects, kabuki drops etc. )

Set in Motion from Lighting & Sound International

Column written by Automation expert Sam Woodward.

Set in Motion: Stops (September 2022)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Axes of Automation (November 2022)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Limits (January 2023)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Precision (March 2023)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Hydraulic Power (May 2023)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Protocols (July 2023)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: PLASA 2023 (October 2023)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Fieldbuses (December 2023)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: SMPTE Timecode (February 2024)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Safety Rated Electronics (April 2024)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set In Motion: Sharing Loads (June 2024)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Load Lifting (September 2024)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Counterweight Flying (November 2024)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Revolves (January 2025)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Controlling Stop (March 2025)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Winches (May 2025)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Set in Motion: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (July 2025)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International

Safety

Modern automation systems have a high degree of safety systems built-in.The automation operator has easy access to an E-Stop (emergency stop) button, enabling the system to stop moving in the event of a problem. There are also E-Stop buttons in locations where problems might occur, such as in the theatre basement where an actor may get onto a platform lift, or at high level if performer flying is used. The automation operator has a number of closed-circuit TV monitors to enable her/him to see all parts of the system.

This video shows a ‘safe edge’ on a lift for a production of The Bodyguard. As soon as something gets in the way of the scissor lift, it stops moving instantly, preventing what could be a serious injury.

Demonstration of Creative Connors products at Denver

PRG Scenic Technologies History

Automation Companies

Creative Conners – USA, started by Gareth Conner in 1992
Delstar
Kimpton Walker – founded by Charles Kimpton and Alan Walker. Set design and construction company. Dissolved in 2001.
Kinesys – Vector control system, now part of Tait Technologies
PRG Scenic Technologies – founded in 1984 as East Coast Theatre Supply (or 1986) (see above)
Stage Technologies – founded in 1994 by Mark Ager and John Hastie. Now part of Tait Technologies, based in the USA

MORE COMING SOON