Musikteater Vejle Invests in Robe

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Vejle Musikteater is the largest performing arts venue in the picturesque cultural hub of Vejle which sits at the head of the magnificent Vejle Fjord and the convergence of the Vejle and Grejs rivers in southeast Jutland, Denmark.

The venue has invested in over 50 Robe fixtures, including MMX Spots and LEDWash 600 moving lights and PARfect 100s in the last three years, a move instigated by Technical Manager Tor Futtrup.

Opened in 1993, the Musikteater has two main auditoriums, the Great Hall with 1,134 seats – and it can also be configured as a standing venue – and the Jacob Gade Hall which seats up to 300, plus an active programme of drama, large scale musicals, concerts and comedy productions.

It also host parties and special events, and the Musikteater crew facilitate technical production at the nearby Spectrum Conference and Sports Centre and for the annual Rock In The Park event every summer which is organised by the city council.

The current Head of Lighting, Christian Vigso, has been in the post a year and before that was a freelance technician and also ran a rental business.

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The 14 x MMX Spots and 10 x LEDWash 600s were initially purchased because they were the brightest, smallest, lightest, quietest and most cost-effective fixtures available at the time and also because the venue enjoys an excellent relationship with Robe’s Danish distributor Light Partner.

This and the growing reputation of Robe … made them look at the brand.

“We needed flexible fixtures to cater for the wide range of work we do,” said Tor, explaining that some incoming tours will use only the house lighting system while others will bring in their own full production, and others still will use a combination of both – maybe their own floor package augmenting the house’s overhead lighting.

Christian points out that the Robes are popular with the crew as they are so light, manoeuvrable and can be rigged single-handedly … a vast step up from their previous moving lights which were somewhat large and heavy!

He adds that the summer outdoor shows are a good test for any lights as they are worked very hard and he was impressed with the performance of all the Robes. He likes many of the features they offer and in particular, the hot spot control on the MMX Spot.

Most of the shows using the house rig will be operated by the LX crew themselves using either a Hog 3 or an Avolites Pearl.

Based on the excellent results of the MMX Spots and the LEDWash 600s and the fact that they were so popular with visiting shows and LDs, in 2015 they invested in 30 x Robe PARfect 100s which are used all the time.

Christian comments that they are quick and easy to rig due to the light weight and everyone likes the output and smooth colour mixing.

The PARfects are currently being used as environmental lighting for the foyer and for shows in the smaller hall. “They are robust, well built and great value for money,” confirms Christian.

Tor’s impression of the Robe right now is, “Excellent – highly reliable – the allocation of time needed for routine moving light maintenance in the department has dropped to almost zero!”