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Kinesys Apex automation system for “American Idiot” in Copenhagen

Copenhagen’s Østre Gasværk Theatre is staging a revival of the 2017 Danish production of Green Day’s “American Idiot” sung-through drama directed and choreographed by Tim Zimmerman.

The technical discipline of automation is crucial to Benjamin la Cour’s dramatic scenography and production design, and a Kinesys Apex automation system - a combination of 1250 kg and 500 kg Apex motors with Vector control - is at the heart of the movement control. The hoists are moving three large scenery pieces making up a concrete-look scenic floor, which also transforms into separate ceiling pieces that work together and individually to evoke different locations and environments as the action and music unfold below.

Additionally, the Kinesys Vector control system is controlling two Kinesys Elevation drives linked to two travelators that traverse the stage - upstage and downstage - and is used extensively by actors and for props throughout the show. Last time these were DMX controlled from the lighting desk, but with the addition of encoders on the motors and using the Elevations, objects can be placed onstage - and removed - with millimetre accuracy.

With over 100 automation cues in the console, operator Roger Smissen has a busy show. Production manager Rasmus Haar from Light Design ApS, who is working for producers BadCat Productions on the show, asked Smissen - also involved in the original show - to co-ordinate all the rigging and automation elements, including planning, technical drawings, specifications, and system installation.

The show’s three large floor/ceiling pieces all measure 7.8 metres from front-to-back and are flat on top with graduated steps on the underside that connect with the top floor sections on the stage deck when fully ‘in’. As the slabs fly out, they reveal the stepped stage below, and they must fly and fit back in together perfectly when returning to their full ‘flat floor’ positions.

The two side pieces out of the three were also required to pitch and tilt on all axes, something that had not been fully possible in the original production due to the limited space of the venue, Den Grå Hal (The Grey Hall). With Østre Gasværk being larger, these manoeuvres are achievable.

The left and right ‘slabs’ weigh 880 kgs and are picked up on three points as this is “the only way to get the full range of movement that Tim and Benjamin want”, explains Smissen, which includes the pieces sometimes hanging underneath one another, “with as little as 10 centimetres of clearance between”, he notes.

The centre slab weighs 1100 kg and is picked up on four points, two of which are bridled, with two Apex 1250 hoists on the upstage end and two Apex 500 kg on the front/downstage. All the slab hoists are in slightly different and idiosyncratic positions calculated by Smissen to offer the desired movements and angling. To achieve this effect, it was essential that they were not picked up from symmetrical edges.

Smissen 3D printed the pieces and built a 1:50 scale working model pre-production to demonstrate the movement potential fully to the creative team. The flying points are anchored on the theatre’s own custom ground support system, a bespoke steel construction fitted to the contours of the roof. The venue also has its own Kinesys Apex motor system. The 20-metre-long travelators run throughout the show to assist actor’s movement and stage entrances and exits as well bringing a succession of props on and off, so it was essential to synchronise this with the other motion aspects.

Two Elevation drives run the two separate conveyor belt motors, both on stage right, one on step 3 and one on step 6 of the stage. These are routed via a Kinesys Mini PD-ES Array and connected to a Kinesys Mentor 4 safety controller, bringing SIL3 safety - over Ethernet in the case of the Apex drives - to the full production automation equation.

The travelator control solution was engineered by Blake McNally and Martin Jepsen at Motor Stage Automation who created a custom personality for the Elevation allowing the belt encoder settings to talk to the Vector console. They took the motors from the last show and rewired them to run through the Elevation drives and created the custom personality for them after speaking with Kinesys, which is now available in Vector for this product.

Four E-Stops are located around the space, and a team of stagehands is constantly busy moving props on and off the conveyors. Stage Manager Anders Krøll and two spotters plus Roger Smissen at the Vector console all have good vantage points across the stage and can keep eyes constantly on the automation cues and the action. The full set including the ceiling pieces were fabricated by All Stage and the lighting and trussing for the show is provided by Light Design ApS.

(Photos: Grow Productions)

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